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
Effort is necessary. Results count.
Effort is necessary. Results count. As an undergraduate at the University of Illinois, I was shocked to receive a C+ on a submission in my business writing course. This was a project I had put considerable effort into and expected to be rewarded with at least an A....
Effort is necessary. Results count.
The leader should recognize and reward results, celebrate successes, advance those who demonstrate the acumen to get things done within the boundaries, and remember to adjust the pace to reflect the human need to recharge before tackling the next big thing
Seven Things to Stop Doing as a Leader This (and every) Year
As you search for new resolutions and ideas to grow and strengthen in your leadership role in the months ahead, here are seven things I encourage you to stop.
Professional Development is the Gift that Keeps on Giving
The best managers and executives I work with are always on the lookout for opportunities to support team member growth. Here’s a list of great professional development opportunities for you or your team members.
Fresh Lessons from the Latest Feedback Boot Camp
I run the 3-hour Feedback Skills Boot Camp program six times per year, and in every session, I’m reminded how motivated good managers are to find ways to both praise and encourage growth with their team members. Here are some of the key insights shared by the most recent cohort:
Turning Your Goals (and Resolutions) Into Growth and Gold
As you approach the annual resetting of the calendar and contemplate how you will make this year different, better, and complete, here are some thoughts on how you can rethink your approach to your goals and turn them into growth and gold.
The Leader’s Guide to Fighting Fatigue in This Era
In the best of times, leading and managing is hard work. In this era, the demands are unceasing, and it’s easy for fatigue to set in and dull a leader’s thinking. Here are seven ideas to help combat this sense of creeping fatigue:
Leadership Caffeine™—Why You Need to “Write the Rules for Success” with Your Group
There’s a simple, powerful exercise you can run with your group that will transform the working environment for the better and provide you with the critical framework for coaching you’ve been lacking. You need to Write the Rules for Success with your group.
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.
Introducing the Leadership Caffeine Jam Sessions—What Webinars Should Be
Any event that brings people together and doesn’t tap into the knowledge and ideas of the participants is an event that misses the mark. It’s time for something different! Introducing the Leadership Caffeine Jam Sessions!
Leadership Caffeine™—Lessons for Transformation Learned in the Northwoods
Our organization changes don’t feel like the work of transforming a shoreline or beach, but maybe they should. Imagine if the transformation team members viewed themselves as stewards of the environment and not experts playing with boxes on an organization chart in pursuit of trivial outcomes. I suspect more of those initiatives would succeed.