The Leadership Caffeine Blog
Toward a Better Model for Leader Development
Leadership development is broken—we need a new approach Strengthening leader identification and development is a priority for many organizations. While recent big layoff announcements and a cooling of the post-pandemic job market have quieted the "global talent...
Toward a Better Model for Leader Development
Our traditional methods for developing leadership talent in our organizations, including check-box training, loose mentoring, and limited access to coaching, need to be changed for a world where all organizations need to field talent able to help align, execute, and renew at the speed of change. We need a different model for leader development.
Leadership Caffeine™—Aim for the Heart
Leading by the numbers isn’t leading. Numbers are outcomes of nearly countless workplace and customer encounters. The real goal of the leader is to make certain those encounters create value. Do a great job building energy for the mission and good results will follow.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Coaching Experience
The opportunity to work with a professional coach is a game-changer for many in their careers. Those who derive the most out of their firm’s investment in their development tend to display these 10 important behaviors:
The Discipline of High Performers
I love former Navy Seal, Jocko Willink’s personal mantra: “Discipline equals freedom.” The development of and rigorous attention to discipline in every area of our lives is the difference-maker when it comes to succeeding or failing. Through out the resolutions and instead, start by developing discipline around one small activity. It’s contagious.
Leadership Caffeine—The 7 Tools of Great Leaders
For now and forevermore, vow to be a leader that serves as a source of growth. To do that, employe these seven powerful tools…
Life and Career Lessons from Tony Bennett
From his early life family struggles to serving as an infantryman in World War II to marching for civil rights in Selma, Tony Bennett personifies what it means to be a model citizen. And as impressive as his civic contributions are, his career and life lessons in remaining relevant across the decades are priceless for all of us.
Quit Waiting for Somebody or Anybody to Show Up
It’s time to break thru the status quo of inaction around problem-solving, improving, and innovating in our organizations. Change is a personal issue played out in group settings. It’s time for you to start the revolution of action!
Leveling Up in the Face of Change is THE Issue
In a recent discussion with a potential literary agent for my book proposal for, “Level-Up—The Career Guide to Surviving and Thriving in an Era of Change,” the agent suggested that books built around the theme of “change” were unlikely to sell. That perspective is preposterous. Learning to help our organizations navigate change while constantly leveling up in our own careers is a core challenge that all of us face in our professional lives. We need more help on this, not less, regardless of the views of publishers. Here’s why…
Leadership Caffeine—Teaching Your Firm to Survive a Crisis
Crises happen and the right top leadership and organizational response is essential for survival. Unfortunately, too many of these events catch our firms and top leaders unprepared. A starting point is to adopt a standard of required behaviors in the face of a crisis. Consider these “10 Commandments for Acceptable Corporate Crisis Behaviors” as a starting point.
Project Management for the Rest of Us—Getting Started
Congratulations, you’ve been named to lead an important project initiative! Now what? While the growth in formally trained and certified project managers is accelerating, in most organizations, many of the important initiatives are led by functional managers and technical experts. If you find yourself in charge of one of these programs without a background or training in project management, this new series is intended for you. This article identifies some of the critical front-end work necessary for success and offers suggested “getting started” resources.