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
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.
Leadership Caffeine™—Six Skills Essential for Career Success
While there’s no one-formula-fits-all recipe for career success, there are common ingredients in the form of behaviors and skills. Here are the six base ingredients I see most often, albeit in different proportions
8 Ideas to Help You Regain Control at Work
It’s great to be busy, but excessive busyness comes from a flawed approach to your situation. Assert control over your priorities and time, and quit letting the lower priority items rent space in your mind. Here are 8 ideas to help:
Leading and Succeeding in the Gray-Zone
I’ve long believed learning to lead in the gray-zone inside organizations is a great approach for creating value, standing out, and getting ahead in your career. Here are 10 tips to help you tackle those vexing issues no one owns, by cultivating support and helping others succeed.
Investing in and Building Strategic Partnerships that Work
The best partnerships in my experience involve deep integration of business processes, including development, sales and marketing, and customer service, all aligned around a clear audience and strategy. Inherent in this process is the need for you to invest time and money, for people, product, promotion, and programs.
Leadership Caffeine™—4 Approaches of Great Problem-Solvers who Lead
Develop a reputation as someone everyone can count on to tackle the big, ugly issues, and watch the doors open. Of course, it pays to have a strategy to avoid the traps while stepping up to solving or fixing the problems others actively avoid. Here are 4 approaches to help:
The Destructive Drumbeat of Incessant Feedback
Feedback is an important tool for managers to promote high performance and performance improvement. However, when the flow of feedback exceeds a person’s ability to process and act on it, the results include stress and disengagement. Here are ideas to help managers tailor their feedback volume and frequency to the needs and styles of their team members.
Career Reinvention Journal—Moving Beyond Fear
Of all of the monsters lurking in the dark and keeping us from moving forward or onward to new career adventures, fear is the most potent. Kicking fear to the curb through deliberate action is key to overcoming the gravitational pull it exerts on our lives and careers.
Three Questions to Help New Managers Start Strong
The work of new manager development in our organizations is mostly messy. If you’re the new manager, that’s a problem. Ditto for the promoting manager. Here are three questions to help new managers gain critical context for their challenging new roles:
Three Discussions Most Managers Don’t Have with Their Teams (But Should)
People do their best work when they have context for their labors. Here are three discussions managers should be having with their team members to promote performance and stimulate career growth.