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
Leadership Caffeine™—Are You the Cause of Your Team’s Creativity Deficit?
Creativity—the ability to look at complicated situations and identify novel solutions that solve problems, advance initiatives, or rewrite old rules—may be the most critical skill of all in our workplaces. As leaders, we need to foster it, stimulate it, and do...
Leadership Caffeine™—Are You the Cause of Your Team’s Creativity Deficit?
Creativity—the ability to look at complicated situations and identify novel solutions that solve problems, advance initiatives, or rewrite old rules—may be the most critical skill of all in our workplaces. As leaders, we need to foster it, stimulate it, and do everything we can to ensure we’re not the ones suppressing it. Sadly, creativity is something that many leaders trample all over in their daily activities.
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.
Why Competition is So Great and What Chicago Needs to Learn
Note from Art: I love the city of Chicago. I love the people, the energy and I love the feel of the restaurants and museums and the theaters. However, I don’t love the knuckleheaded political and union wrangling that blares from every news channel in a constant drone of finger pointing and accusations and bone-headed moves. We’re battling insane ex-governors and ridiculous retail sales tax increases in the face of a recession. One of the latest issues is the backlash and the stream of excuses for the loss of several major conventions due to complaints of usurious pricing and strong-arm tactics. It’s time for Chicago to step up!
Getting Out of Your Own Way
Almost without exception, the primary reason for sub-optimizing in your career and in life can be seen every morning staring back at you in the mirror. Notice that it’s not your boss, your spouse or significant other or your parents or friends. It’s you. How do we overcome our own “going through the motions” inertia and reach or return to a level of high performance?
Leadership Caffeine™-Don’t Wait for the Title to Start Leading
The time to start leading is now, long before anyone has bestowed the title of leader on you. Much like the famous trio of Scarecrow, Lion and Tin Woodman of Oz-fame, they didn’t really need the Wizard to bestow a brain, courage or a heart, and you don’t need someone to anoint you as a leader before you can start learning and practicing. The great news is that today’s organizations are filled with opportunities for you to easily and informally develop both your leadership and your followership skills.
Finding Your Extra Performance Gear
I know a great number of people working hard and digging deep to find that extra-something inside that will allow them to push through the almost overwhelming challenges on the path ahead. While none of the people that I’ve spoken with in the situations described above are resting easily, to my observation, they share a stubborn commitment to persevering in spite of the fact that the road ahead seems to be unpaved, uphill and against the wind the entire way.