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
I always want it to rain on 9/11—personal reflections on the day the world changed
I always hope for rain on 9/11. Of the images and emotions seared into my mind from this day in 2001, the backdrop of that perfectly blue sky where we saw evil up close and felt the burn of tragedy and loss is something I can't shake. Clear blue skies amplify my...
I always want it to rain on 9/11—personal reflections on the day the world changed
I always hope for rain on 9/11. Of the images and emotions seared into my mind from this day, the backdrop of that perfectly blue sky where we saw evil up close and felt the burn of tragedy and loss is something I can’t shake. Clear blue skies amplify my emotions on subsequent anniversaries of that awful day.
Challenging Conversations—Navigating the Blockers at Work
It’s inevitable to find individuals standing in the way of your well-intended new programs or proposed changes. Instead of expecting logic to win the day or, resorting to aggressive tactics, it pays to use finesse. Here are some well-practiced approaches to navigating the workplace blockers in your life.
Leadership Caffeine™—Conversations for Growth
The heart of your professional and leadership development must be seeking out conversations for growth. It takes a bit of courage and deliberate effort, but the results are potentially life and career changing.
Leadership Caffeine™—Success: It’s All in the Cause
It’s not hard to identify the ingredients essential for success on a team or in an organization. Yet, manifesting a group wildly motivated to succeed is the real issue. To do this, there must be a cause that serves as the catalyst and driver. Your numbers, goals, quarterly targets, and emotional or logical pleas aren’t enough. The right cause brings teams to life.
Leadership Power-Up—Make Time to Think Deeply
There’s ample science to conclude that we’re lousy at multi-tasking and alternatively, that taking time to reflect improves our self-efficacy and ability to learn. Unfortunately, most of us work in and contribute to a perpetual tornado of activities in our daily lives. It’s imperative for your well-being and effectiveness to find opportunities to simply pause and think deeply.
podcast: Jennifer K. Crittenden: What’s A Guy to Do? How to Work With Women (#25)
I recently had a chance to interview former executive and now author and coach, Jennifer K. Crittenden, about her latest book: What’s a Guy to Do? Working With Women, as well as her other excellent books. In this engaging 40-minute interview, Jennifer shares a wealth of great guidance for all of us. Enjoy this latest episode for the Leadership Caffeine podcast.
Last Chance to Lock-In Feedback Performance Improvement in 2018
The absence of quality feedback on the tough performance and business issues is one of the most significant maladies inhibiting performance in our workplace today. Whether it’s boss to employee, vice-versa, or peer to peer, we have to be able to talk openly about individual and group performance and cut through the noise to drive positive change. Our online, on-demand course helps you and your team solve this problem to strengthen performance.
Leadership Caffeine™—It Comes from Inside
Some individuals are thrust on to a big stage and summon the strength to lead others through perilous times. For the rest of us, we are faced with almost daily opportunities to step-up and lead on the small stage. Some look the other way and others summon the strength from somewhere inside themselves to do the right thing.
In Remembrance
In honor of Veteran’s Day 2018.
Career Shift or Job Change—Which Path is Right for You?
If you’re feeling that tug of “It’s time to do something different,” it pays to spend some time sorting through whether you are best served by a job change or a wholesale career shift. As you might imagine, the two paths are radically different in scale, scope, timing, effort, and risk.