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
How to create focus in your work (and personal) life to stimulate success
"We have met the enemy, and they are us." -Walt Kelly comic strip artist, slightly adapting Master Commandant Oliver Perry's original saying. Creating is a daily battle I've long known what it takes for me to succeed: it's focus. I constantly remind myself of my top...
How to create focus in your work (and personal) life to stimulate success
But, creating and maintaining focus is a battle. I often fail until I remind myself yet again of what’s important and then take action to cut out the noise and distractions. Here are some ideas to help you create focus on your path to success:
Pet Peeves: Quit Talking About Yourself—No One Cares
Why is it some people fail to talk about anything but themselves? Resist the temptation to regale others with your “I” monolog, and instead, focus on creating healthy dialog. If it doesn’t work, move on before your ears metaphorically melt.
Caretaker Managers Need Not Apply
My recent interview with a CIO from a major publicly traded firm reminds us all that some of our biggest adversaries in our push to survive in this tumultuous world are the caretaker managers inside our organizations.
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.