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
Thinking of Managing? Six reasons why you might love this role
I run a variation of this post the day before every New(er) Manager Development cohort kick-off. (January 2025's group includes 12 emerging leaders who will be with me for 5 months in this blended cohort/coaching program. We're enrolling for our Spring/Summer session...
Thinking of Managing? Six reasons why you might love this role
I run a variation of this post the day before every New(er) Manager Development cohort kick-off. Here are six reasons why you might love the role of manager.
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.
Seven Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Coaching Experience
The opportunity to work with a coach in support of your development can be a game-changer for you in your career. Or not. The outcome, in large part, is up to you. Here are seven tips to help you get the most out of your coaching arrangement:
Leadership and Management Book Talk #6: Words Matter—Great Books for Developing as a Communicator
Words matter! We all know this, yet for many, there’s room to strengthen how we present and project ourselves in our daily exchanges with colleagues, team members, and bosses. In this episode of the Leadership and Management Book Talk Podcast, Wally Bock and I share our favorite resources for strengthening communication skills.