The Leadership Caffeine Blog
Reaching for the Executive Ranks, Part Three—Developing as an Integrative Thinker
Earlier articles in this series focused on 'Developing as a strategist' and 'Strengthening Executive Presence.' This is the first of a two-part series on 'Strengthening as an integrative thinker.' -- Solving for the problems of direction, choice, and approach The...
Reaching for the Executive Ranks, Part Three—Developing as an Integrative Thinker
The essence of your role as a senior manager is problem-solving through decision-making. Cultivating your critical thinking skills is right up there with the need to lead effectively at scale, project the presence essential to building credibility, and galvanizing support In this article, I share a case study and some resources for strengthening as an integrative thinker.
Rethinking Managing and Leading in Real-Time
For those leading and managing, it’s time to change. The life-safety of our colleagues is of paramount importance in every sector. The economic safety of our employees is right there with the financial security of our customers. And, the road ahead isn’t clearly marked. We’ll have to navigate together.
Reset, Learn, Connect (virtually), Help
We like routines, and those have been put on hold—some likely forever. A new normal will emerge, and much of it won’t feel like the old normal. That’s disorienting and can leave many of us swirling. Here are six ideas to help you reset and stop the swirl:
Leadership Caffeine™ for Leading in a Crisis
You don’t have all the answers. No one does in a crisis. However, your behaviors go a long way to gaining the collective support of your team members in pursuit of one answer and solution at a time.
Leadership and Management Book Talk #8: Robert Iger and The Ride of a Lifetime
Reading Robert Iger’s The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company was truly a joy. Wally Bock concurred, and we go on in this fun Leadership and Management Book Talk podcast episode to share the many reasons why we both love this book!
Leadership Caffeine™—It’s Time to Deliberately Strengthen Your Internal Network
What are you doing weekly to develop, renew, and repair key workplace relationships deliberately? If you don’t have a solid answer for this question plus calendar time dedicated to the work, it needs to be elevated to your priority list. It’s time to make strengthening your workplace network a top priority. In this article, I share why and how, along with a few finer points for consideration.
Leadership Caffeine Podcast—Professor Thomas J. DeLong
The best leadership book I’ve encountered in years isn’t ostensibly about leading. The book is Teaching by Heart: One Professor’s Journey to Inspire, by Thomas J. DeLong at Harvard. You’ll love getting to know Tom and his passion for teaching, and you won’t be able to help drawing some fabulous leadership lessons from him along the way.
Leadership Caffeine™—The Four C’s of Effective Leadership
The best product managers, project managers, general managers, supervisors, sales managers, and every other leader I can think of who created success over a long period all exhibited the Four C’s of: competence, credibility, connection, and caring.
Leadership and Management Book Talk #7: Talking About Clayton Christensen
The world of business lost a giant thinker recently, who by all accounts was a fabulous person. I’m referencing Harvard’s Clayton Christensen, perhaps best known for his thinking and books focused on The Innovator’s Dilemma.
Wally Bock and I connected on the latest episode of our podcast to talk about Christensen and his books.
Leadership Caffeine™—We Are All Emerging Leaders
Here’s a little secret. When I use the phrase “emerging leader,” I’m talking about all of us. You’re never done learning to lead. Some of us are a bit more experienced, and others are more effective than others, yet even at retirement, the job of learning to lead is incomplete.