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
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.
Leadership Caffeine™—Spotting Leadership Potential
Identifying individuals with leadership potential remains an imperfect process in most organizations. While we have tools and models and assessments to help, experienced talent scouts rely on their own well-honed senses as they strive to identify potential future leaders. This article shares some highlights from a recent group interview on this topic.
Working with the Enemy—5 Approaches for Navigating Difficult Relationships
It is a fact of life that we will not like everyone we work with and not everyone will like us. While workplace feuds are commonplace, effective and opportunistic professionals strive to navigate those situations in the best interests of their firms and careers. This article offers five strategies for helping you navigate awkward workplace relationships.
The New Model for Leadership? Win at All Costs
Much like the earlier years of this century, we seemed to have returned to an era where examples of corporate malfeasance are plentiful. In this case, the spread of “win-at-all-costs” leadership is on display in the banking and pharmaceutical industries. Is this the new model for the future of effective leadership? Is the new approach, “results count, regardless of the tactics?” I hope not.
A Model for Effective Leadership
We spend a lot of time and energy writing and reading about effective leadership, yet in many cases, we fail to practice it. In the absence of a unified theory of leadership and performance that we can easily understand and apply to our work, the model for effective leadership is on display and easy to decipher. It comes from those charged with leading in dangerous situations.
Leadership Caffeine™—Experience Cuts Both Ways
When we overweight the value of experience in hiring situations or in navigating strategy, we increase our risk of failure. The challenge we face as leaders and managers is to imbue ourselves and our cultures with a sense of curiosity and the means and confidence to experiment.
Leadership Caffeine Anniversary, Special Offers and a Coming Attraction
I continue to be both amazed and humbled at the reception to my book, Leadership Caffeine: Ideas to Energize Your Professional Development. In celebration of the sixth year since publication, I am sharing one secret on where the book idea came from and showing my thanks for your support with 3 very special offers for free books to the first to respond.
Strategy Hunt
Getting strategy right is hard work. Most management teams struggle and many play with the tools of strategy, but never finish anything. Teams that get it right share some common traits, including…
Reorganization B.S.
Structure is a powerful management tool when developed carefully and focused on aligning your team’s superpowers with the big opportunities.
The Checklist App for Living and Leading
It seems like everyone I meet is in search of tools to help improve performance and find time for the things that matter. Perhaps we are looking too hard at our technology and our apps to solve what is a distinctly analog problem. Consider the example of my pilot friend and his preflight checklist. Perhaps we need a checklist for living and leading.