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
A return of the manager as a character in a horror story?
The toxic manager style is alive and functioning in too many organizations. In my practice, I hear from clients daily about the approaches and tactics of these managers—some responding to the pressures from above and others seemingly thriving in leading by...
A return of the manager as a character in a horror story?
The toxic manager style is alive and functioning in too many organizations. In my practice, I hear from clients daily about the approaches and tactics of these managers—some responding to the pressures from above and others seemingly thriving in leading by intimidation. This latter group—those thriving by promoting fear—are the stuff of evil characters in a horror story.
First-Time Manager #17—Effective Managers Clear the Path
As a manager, you have an incredible number of opportunities every single day to help your team members move further faster. Here are 5 ideas to help you clear the path and promote progress on your team:
It’s Time to Learn to Love Challenging Conversations
I learned to love challenging conversations the hard way. I delayed and destroyed a number of these earlier in my career until I recognized these are truly the opportunities for managers to mine gold in the form of development, learning, problem-solving and innovation. Here are some key reasons why you need to learn to love challenging conversations:
Leadership Caffeine™—Leadership Grit
Leadership Grit is that grind-it-out sticktoitiveness in the face of adversity displayed by individuals long on character and short on “I can’t.” It’s also THE essential leadership characteristic I want to see in my developing leaders. Here are 12 examples I’m grateful to have observed and learned from:
For Professional Growth, Thin-Slice Behavior Change with the Help of a Swim Buddy
Too often, our approach to professional development and growth comes in the form of big, broad solutions and approaches. While these approaches sound appealing, they often don’t address the core behaviors essential for improving performance. Instead, learn to thin-slice your professional development for effective behavior change. It helps to recruit a Swim Buddy along the way.
Three Daily Resolutions of Effective Leaders
Instead of fretting over annual resolutions that tend to fizzle by February, focus on strengthening your effectiveness as a leader every single day. Here are 3 daily resolutions guaranteed to help!
“Managing Oneself” 2018-Style
Peter Drucker’s classic article, “Managing Oneself” may be the best career guide since Ben Franklin penned Poor Richard’s Almanack. Here are six added questions for our era to accompany Drucker’s simply powerful original five.
Succeeding as a First-Time Manager: Online Development plus Mentoring
The shift from individual contributor to first-time manager is one of the most challenging in all of organizational life. My Succeeding as a First-Time Manager online plus mentoring program is designed to help new managers build a strong foundation and gain access to the tools and approaches essential for success.
First-Time Manager #16—Behaviors that Build Credibility
Credibility is the manager’s currency. Without it, you are bankrupt. Here are 16 behaviors to help you build this critical store of value as a manager:
Challenging Conversations and Career Success
Perhaps the single most valuable piece of career advice I ever received happened early in my career. I’m not certain I understood the importance of this advice at the time, but it stuck with me. The advice is: