The Leadership Caffeine Blog
Leadership Caffeine™—Commit to Helping Your New Managers Succeed from the Start
New manager development is a problem to be solved by the promoting manager. Training without ongoing observation, teaching, and coaching isn't the solution. And, the Sink-or-Swim approach for new manager development is definitely not the solution, yet it's still...
Leadership Caffeine™—Commit to Helping Your New Managers Succeed from the Start
If you are a manager responsible for promoting and developing a new manager, the hard work begins during selection and continues long after in the form of observing, teaching, and coaching. There are no shortcuts to building the next generation of effective managers.
My Personal Journey Towards Building Better Leaders
Note from Art: I’m taking time out from my usual blogging activities today to share with you a bit about the background and approach of my new program and website: Building Better Leaders. After conducting more discussions than I can count with professionals in product management, project management, marketing, new first-time leaders, those interested in leading, technical professionals thrust into leadership, I decided to create something that would solve the problems of: practical content, cost, access, sustainability and guidance. Enter Building Better Leaders.
As an Executive, Here’s How I'm Evaluating You Every Day
Someone once asked me when I evaluate people and my answer was a trite but true, “at every encounter.” For those of you early in your careers, forewarned is forearmed, and for those of you suffering from the malady of mid-level malaise, here are a few thoughts to help you snap out of it.
First, recognize that good executive managers are evaluating your performance constantly. They are watching and listening and learning about you when you give project updates. They’re paying attention to how you conduct yourself during group settings and how you manage through problem situations. Your success and growth depend upon your ability to grow and develop your leadership, communications and strategic thinking skills.
No-Regrets Career Development: You Own Your Career
In a perfect world, the firms and managers that we work for would recognize the importance of cultivating talent and they would focus their energies on working with us to develop and advance. In fact, some good leaders and managers do provide this support, but unfortunately, they tend to be in the minority.
Leadership Caffeine™: Five Simple Suggestions for Minimizing Management Myopia
Participate in or monitor enough management team conversations and you will invariably conclude that it’s darned hard for these teams to spend quality time discussing external issues. The gravitational pull of internal “stuff” is overwhelming and resists all attempts to move the conversation to topics outside of the firm’s four walls, preferring instead to keep managers focused on the nuances of their own operations. The result is a self-fulfilling management myopia where the view on the world is grossly limited to the immediate surroundings…and ranges as far as the eyes can see outside conference room windows.
Building Better Leaders: What’s in a Name?
When developing the Building Better Leaders concept, a number of advisors suggested that given my vision and target audiences, the name was too limiting. My response…balderdash! (I’ve always wanted to use that word in a post!) My vision is to help individuals in a wide variety of professions develop as leaders AND as senior contributors.
Leadership 2009 Style-What We Learned
Mix one part global economic crisis with ample quantities of uncertainty and ambiguity. Stir in two-parts ever-changing global competition and a dash of geopolitical instability and you’ll end up with something that looks and feels a lot like the world of today, complete with the mild aftertaste of fear. You’ll also end up with a remarkable living leadership laboratory, where the best leaders are rediscovering the importance of leadership blocking and tackling while simultaneously developing the new skills and approaches required in this complex environment.
Leadership Caffeine™: A Leader’s List of Thanks-Giving
Note from Art: I’m getting a jump-start on my Thanksgiving post in the hope that you have the opportunity during this holiday-shortened work week to reach out and say “Thanks” to those that you have the privilege of leading and serving. Here are my thoughts on what a leader should be thankful for:
Welcome to the Building Better Leaders Blog!
After spending several years of my life dedicated to helping motivated professionals in a variety of fields (product managers, project managers, technical professionals, non-profit professionals, marketers, first-time leaders) discover and develop as leaders and senior contributors, I recognized that I needed to find a platform that enabled me to reach more people faster and more efficiently and affordably than the horribly inefficient and expensive traditional training model.
And I did not want to sacrifice the personal contact.
Leader, Who’s Sitting at Your Table?
Once again, Mom is proven right. You become the company that you keep. Surround yourself with intelligent, aggressive individuals comfortable in professionally articulating their perspectives and taking accountability for both their words and their actions, and you will flourish.