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
Four Ideas to Improve Workplace Communication
In approximately 800 hours of executive and manager coaching each year, the one issue that arises in almost every call is a communication challenge. CEOs are struggling with tough conversations with board members. Vice-Presidents don’t seem to have the ear of the CEO...
Four Ideas to Improve Workplace Communication
In approximately 800 hours of executive and manager coaching each year, the one issue that arises in almost every call is a communication challenge. Here are four sets of ideas you can implement yourself or with your team to strengthen communication effectiveness.
Leadership Caffeine™—A One Line Job Description for Managers
If you manage, lead, or are otherwise responsible for the work of others, the working environment is everything. Creating a healthy working environment is literally your only job. Get this right and the results take care of themselves.
Lead Like Lives Depend Upon It—Six Leadership Lessons from Pfizer’s Moon-Shot
What if we led as if lives and livelihoods depended on the outcome? There are some great lessons from the vaccine moon-shot described by Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla in the latest issue of Harvard Business Review. It’s time to put these lessons to work in all of our organizations.
How To Get More Done at Work Through Positive Persuasion
If you’re motivated to maximize your impact in the workplace, you’re dependent upon others to support your efforts. When it comes to workplace negotiations, the principles of positive persuasion are priceless!
Career Webinar Replay and F.A.Q.s for the Career Reinvent Boot Camp
We received a great response to our recent webinar, Why a Career Pivot is Possible & Tips to Jump-Start Yours (you can view the replay here), along with some questions about our Career Reinvent Boot Camp (learn more). In this note, I’m sharing answers to the most frequently asked questions.
Just a Few Seats Left for the Next First-Time Managers Academy Cohort
If it’s time for you or a new manager on your team to take a big step forward in developing as a manager, it’s time to enroll in First-Time Managers Academy-Live.
It’s Past Time to Rethink the Role (and Label) of Manager
The view on the role of Manager is a relic of yesterday’s thinking and practice in management. It’s an industrial revolution hangover that is ripe for retirement to a museum display. The label and old meaning don’t hunt in a digital world.
Career Reinvention Journal—Solving Your Career Pivot Puzzle
There’s a Rubik’s Cube puzzle to solve when considering your “next” options in your career. Solving this puzzle requires you to think differently about yourself—something that requires thoughtful introspection and outside support.
Insights from the Latest Career Reinvent Boot Camp
We wrapped up the latest Career Reinvent Boot Camp with last night’s group session, and as always, for this program, it’s part celebration of incredible progress and new friendships made, and a short, slightly sad goodbye. Here are some of the key insights gained via this fabulous cohort group:
Leadership Caffeine™—Small Changes in Your Routine and Approaches Can Generate Big Results
I regularly talk with managers and leaders who believe they are grinding harder but getting nowhere. One described himself as working in quicksand: “The more hours I spend and the harder I push, the faster we are sinking. I need to do something different.” Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt this way. Here are ideas to help you adjust your approaches and regain control: