The Leadership Caffeine Blog
The Grit Behind the Grime: How Summer Jobs Teach Lasting Life Skills
I started working in a factory when I was 13. Before you jump to conclusions about child labor violations, know that my work hours were carefully controlled. (I also cornered my neighborhood newspaper routes, so I worked before I went to work.) Pasting Labels on Empty...
The Grit Behind the Grime: How Summer Jobs Teach Lasting Life Skills
It turns out, those dirty, sweaty summer jobs we held earlier in our lives teach some foundational lessons. I love that I learned to grind with some tough, grimy tasks. And most of all, I love the lessons I learned about people and leading along the way.
Solving for Unproductive Workplace Conversations
How many conversations at work have you participated in or observed that went nowhere? Chances are, you can think of more than a few. The best workplace communicators understand these situations offer ripe opportunities to level-up discussion quality and improve outcomes. Here are ideas to help you do the same in your workplace:
Where Leaders Misfire on Culture and Strategy
There’s a loud ring of truth to the old saw: “Culture eats strategy for lunch.” However, sometimes, the culture needs to evolve, or everyone is at risk of ending up hungry at lunchtime.
The Promise Behind First-Time Manager Academy
I created our online/on-demand program, First-Time Manager Academy, to fill a gaping hole in the market for practical, actionable new manager development, and, to fulfill a career-long promise to myself.
Leadership Caffeine™— Rocket Fuel for New Manager Success
Once you’ve reached the level of managing managers on your team, your professional development focus shifts considerably. It’s up to you to provide the environment, context, and motivation that serves as rocket fuel for your new managers.
Free Mini-Course Helps New Managers Start Successfully
The transition from individual contributor to new manager is awkward and filled with unexpected challenges. Our free mini-course, Overcoming and Succeeding with the Top 5 Challenges of New Managers, is filled with practical advice to help smooth a few of the bumps out of the journey.
You Know Your Leadership is Working When You Can Let Go
As leaders, we often fall victim to the belief that our teams need us to survive and thrive. In reality, if we’ve done our jobs right in selecting, developing, and placing people in the right positions, and worked hard to create a healthy environment, what they need is less of us.
Leadership Caffeine™—Fear the Conversations You’re Not Having
The conversations I genuinely worry about are the ones that aren’t taking place. As a leader, just thinking about what’s not getting talked about should scare the daylights out of you.
Career Reinvention Journal—There’s a Process, But It’s Messy
The decision to embark on a career reinvention process is non-trivial. If you do, prepare yourself for a process that includes ample learning and regular iteration between the stages. Much like running a marathon, your commitment to sustaining the process determines your outcome.
A Beginner’s Mind Helps Solve the New Manager Conundrum
My online dictionary defines conundrum as a confusing or difficult problem. The dictionary editors might as well use the act of moving from individual contributor to new manager as the leading example.