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
Enough on Giving Feedback—The Real Success Comes from Learning to Receive It
Feedback is a complicated topic. We lament that our managers are either not good at giving it or don’t give it frequently enough. When we get feedback that challenges us to adjust our behaviors to improve our performance, we grow frustrated, angry, or both. As Walt...
Enough on Giving Feedback—The Real Success Comes from Learning to Receive It
Feedback is a complicated topic. We lament that our managers are either not good at giving it or don’t give it frequently enough. When we get feedback that challenges us to adjust our behaviors to improve our performance, we grow frustrated, angry, or both. Here are three big tips on strengthening as a receiver of feedback:
Three Keys to Creating High-Performance Teams in Virtual or Live Settings
Anyone who has been on a team they might reasonably describe as “high-performance” understands how rare these experiences are in the workplace. Add in the challenges of groups new to virtual collaboration, and the potential for underwhelming outcomes rises considerably. However, with a few essential adjustments, the team leader and members can counteract the team development challenges and live to prosper together.
Leadership Caffeine Podcast—Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg on What’s Your Problem?
Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg joins Art Petty on the Leadership Caffeine podcast to discuss his book, What’s Your Problem? To Solve Your Toughest Problems, Change the Problems You Solve. The focus is on using reframing as a method to explore problems from alternative viewpoints and to identify creative solutions. The book is a great resource for everyone anywhere who is regularly called upon to solve problems in organizations.
Great Leadership Must Be More About What Happens Before the Crisis
In the sweep of recent history, there’s a familiar theme: almost no one and no nation is ever prepared for a crisis. If you read history, it’s clear we celebrate crisis leaders for their resilience and creativity in helping people survive and sustain. However, I wonder just a bit why we don’t do a better job creating leaders who prepare for and even prevent crises in the first place.
Leadership and Management Book Talk #10: Books on Crisis Leadership
Wally Bock and I share our recommended resources on leading in crisis situations. We had to stretch to find business books that we love on this topic, however, the selections from history are plentiful. Enjoy and use the ideas in great leadership health!
Leadership Caffeine™—Hard-Decisions, Soft-Touch
From small business owners to global corporate leaders—for anyone who cares about their employees, customers, and business partners, this is a time of sleepless nights and soul-crushing tough decisions. Yes, this is a time of hard decisions. It’s also a time for the softest of touches.
Rethinking Your Management Approach and Your Team’s Operating Routine in Real-Time
In talking with top executives, it’s no surprise that one of the biggest challenges they are facing is transferring their well-established operating routines into an online/virtual format. Many managers are learning their well-honed cadence and schedule of activities to review, plan, and communicate no longer works in a virtual world.
Leadership and Management Book Talk #9: Books on Thinking
Art Petty and Wally Bock take on the topic of “books about thinking” in this episode of the Leadership and Management Book Talk podcast.
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: