Wake-Up Calls for Managers
For the hard parts no one prepares you for
When the path isn’t clear, the stakes are high, and the answers aren’t obvious—this is where managers struggle most.
Wake-Up Calls for Managers delivers practical, real-world guidance for navigating:
- Tough conversations
- Leading through uncertainty
- Building influence without authority
- Driving results through others
The Leadership Caffeine Blog
Ten Lessons from Experienced Managers Hungry to Learn and Grow
Last week I wrapped up two different cohorts of my Experienced Manager Program. In twelve hours of program time spread over multiple sessions, the ideas and insights flowed, and I left impressed with the passion so many have for their work leading and managing. Here...
Ten Lessons from Experienced Managers Hungry to Learn and Grow
Last week I wrapped up two different cohorts of my Experienced Manager Program. In twelve hours of program time spread over multiple sessions, the ideas and insights flowed, and I left impressed with the passion so many have for their work leading and managing. Here are some of my favorite insights from the program:
Lessons Learned and Joy Gained While Writing 500 Posts on Leadership and Management
My lessons learned and my sincere thanks for your support during my journey towards 500 posts on leadership and management.
Dealing with Active Resisters and Apathetic Loafers at Work, School or in Workshops
There are those that are eager to learn, inquisitive, participative and genuinely excited to hear something that challenges their pre-conceived ideas or that expands their thinking. These Active Learners bring energy to the situation and they raise the quality of the engagement for everyone involved. Unfortunately, it’s common in many settings to meet the alter egos of the Active Learner. They come in several shapes and sizes, ranging from Aggressive Resisters to Apathetic Loafers. What’s a manager, educator or facilitator to do?
Art Guest Posts on Leadership at Tanveer Naseer’s Blog
My guest post at Tanveer Naseer’s blog, The Great and Perilous Leadership Journey Ahead, reflects my perspective on the rapidly and radically changing nature of leadership in our emerging environment. Perhaps my subhead says it best: “Welcome to the Leadership Blender.”
Leadership Caffeine™: How to Grow Your Leadership Credibility in 15 Easy Lessons
Like good health, you cannot have too much credibility as a leader. You build credibility as a leader one interaction and one decision at a time over a long period of time. Here are 15 suggestions to help build your leadership credibility.
A Leader’s List for Giving Thanks
As we take a momentary time-out in America from our significant challenges as a professionals, citizens and family members and give thanks for what’s good and right in our world and lives, those of us that serve as leaders owe a few additional toasts and thoughts for the privilege that we have in working with others. The Leader’s List for Giving Thanks, includes…
Leadership Caffeine™: Mistakes are the Raw Ingredients of Leadership Courage
’ve made a number of mistakes over the course of my leadership career that make my head spin and my stomach turn just thinking about them. No life or death or business impacting mistakes, but, definitely some people and team impacting issues that created ill will and most definitely didn’t show me off at my leadership best. Learning from those mistakes helped me evolve my thinking on the role of a leader and on my true priorities in supporting my business, my peers and my team members.
Leadership Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Watch and Learn
Most great leaders that I’ve encountered are astute observers of their environment. They are good at reading people and situations, and they apply the insights gained through observing to improving their performance as leaders and to navigating the ever-present corporate politics. We spend a great deal of time helping individuals develop their skills as speakers, but when was the last time that you attended a workshop on improving your observation skills?
At Least 3 Reasons We’re Still Raving About Lousy Leaders
I’ll wager a month’s worth of coffee that if you asked everyone that you know to generate a list on what makes an effective leader, the output would be nearly identical. So if this construct of an effective leader is so readily apparent, why is there a nearly endless supply of disgruntled workers capable of describing lousy leader horror stories to anyone that will listen?
Leadership Caffeine™: The “I’s” Have It
The short, important and seemingly harmless word, “I,” is a potentially lethal weapon of morale and credibility destruction when used for evil or ego instead of for good. It’s so powerful in fact, that I envision a future world where leaders wear the equivalent of a dosimeter badge to warn leader and followers when the use of “I” is in danger of creating a toxic event…most likely a spillover of b.s. into the workplace.