The Leadership Caffeine Blog
The Problem(s) with One-and-Done Training for Manager Development—And Two New Programs that Solve Those Problems
Be Very Suspicious of One-and-Done Training for Professional Development The reflex action in most organizations for professionals is training. "Let's send Lucero and Erik to New Manager Training at (name your training organization)." In and of itself, there's nothing...
The Problem(s) with One-and-Done Training for Manager Development—And Two New Programs that Solve Those Problems
One-and-done type training programs for manager development consistently fall short. A proper professional development experience blends expert instruction, cohort-based learning/sharing, coaching, and time. For time, the issue is months, not weeks. My thoughts and two new programs that deliver the right blended experience.
Helping Your First-Time Manager Start-Up Successfully
Look around you, and you’ll see that your front-line managers are accountable for the lion’s share of people managing in your organization. Whether you call them supervisor or manager, these individuals are responsible for the teams delivering customer support,...
Harnessing the Power of the Highly Competent.
Observing someone who is highly competent at their work is inspiring. As leaders, we must invest more to find, support, and develop these high performers.
First-Time Manager #7—Beware Attempting to Fix a Difficult Employee
Your good intentions to help that difficult employee change can lead to a major misfire on your part. Recognize that it is not your job to fix a difficult employee, but rather to provide the tools, environment, timeline and accountability for the individual to change. The results are up to the individual and the implications of failure must be clear.
Beware of the Leader Who Demands Loyalty
We’re loyal to teams, candidates, and even political parties, but when it comes to a leader at work demanding your loyalty, this should raise red flags and trigger alarm bells. Effective leaders never demand loyalty, they earn it, and even this appropriately has limits.
Is Your Decision-Making Style Holding Your Team Hostage?
It was a fascinating experience in contrasting decision-making styles. One moved fast and made decisions on the run. The other studied an issue until the perfect answer emerged. According to HBR, high performing CEOs exhibit speed and conviction when it comes to decision-making.
Rethinking Emerging Leader Identification and Development
Growing the leadership pipeline is mission critical for every organization. Unfortunately, this process is either missing in action or based on old-world approaches in too many organizations. This articles offers 6 ideas to jump-start your thinking on refreshing and reinvigorating your emerging leader development efforts.
Rethinking Effective Followership in the Workplace
Few of us are exposed to what it means to follow effectively, yet followership is requisite for success in every organizational and business setting. This article offers a fresh perspective on the role and 8 key behaviors of effective followers.
Never Forget
The best of our society are those brave men and women who selected service in support of country over self. Our way of life and our hope for the future rests on the foundation so many have labored so long and sacrificed so much for in our still young country. To those...
Treat Your Career as an Adventure into Parts Unknown
Instead of worrying about career planning, treat your professional work as a series of adventures and explorations, and prepare accordingly.