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
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.
Quit Telling Us We Work Too Much
The notion of work as an addiction and the need for work-life balance may be out of balance for some of us. The issue is work-life fit, and for me (and many I know) our love of our work is who we are. In fact, it’s not work.
Your Best Work…
It is natural at some point in time to wonder whether our best work is behind us. For anyone negotiating with this creeping sense of obsolescence, you face the choice to capitulate or to reinvent. One is much harder, but the end result may well be the pinnacle of your life’s work.
A Day to Remember
To those who served and preserved our freedom, thank you.
The Painful Process of Pivoting to New Markets
Helping a once successful business navigate to new markets is one of the most difficult acts in all of business. The deck is stacked against us in many places, particularly when it comes to the issue of leadership courage.
Leading Employees Who Struggle with Self Confidence
The biggest barrier to remarkable achievements in our workplaces is not a lack of resources or a shortage of great ideas. Rather, it is a distinct shortage of a very personal attribute: self-confidence. Here are six ideas to help you strengthen your support of these individuals on your team:
A Note of Encouragement to the MBA Graduates of 2016
Every year, I share my thoughts and encouragement for the latest graduates of our business schools. For this year’s graduates, take a little time to reflect on your accomplishment, recharge, and then pursue the challenges of this world with zeal.
Leadership Caffeine™—Don’t Let a Bad Employee Experience Define You
A “difficult employee” experience wreaks havoc on team morale and the manager’s psyche. For some managers, this experience is so painful, it prompts them to redirect in their careers. For others–survivors, they find different ways to turn the negative experience into improved leadership performance in the future. Here are four approaches of leaders who survived and thrived following a toxic employee situation:
Observations from a Sabbatical in the Southern Hemisphere
I never imagined taking a sabbatical from my work. It turns out, it was remarkable. Here are some observations and insights from my recent travels in Australia, New Zealand and French Polynesia.
The Best Of: 8 Lessons in Creative Talent Acquisition
Nothing is as important to your success as a leader as the talent you bring to bear in support of the work of your organization. Here are 8 ideas to stimulate your talent acquisition thinking and promote action: