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
Fifty Something with More Gas Left in the Career Tank But Need a Change? What To Do
It's Less About the Climb and More About the Quality of the Work The concept of "career" takes on a different complexion as you move through the decades. For the experienced fifty-something professional who's seen and done a lot, it's much about finding fresh ways to...
Fifty Something with More Gas Left in the Career Tank But Need a Change? What To Do
The concept of “career” takes on a different complexion as you move through the decades. For the experienced fifty-something professional who’s seen and done a lot, it’s much about finding fresh ways to contribute and create, not climb. It’s also a personal drive to (pick your flavor) reset, refresh, recharge, and sometimes build new. Making a significant career shift in your 50’s (or any age) is daunting. Here are some experience-tested ideas to help you get started:
Leadership Caffeine™ Are You Making Time for the Big Topics?
When it comes to the forward-looking issues around talent, team and strategy development, the uncomfortable answer to the question in the headline for this post for just about all of us (myself included) is, “Not enough.” Here are 4 ideas to help you manufacture time for the critical developmental and strategy discussions needed to push your business forward:
Friday Leadership Ideas to Help You Finish the Week Strong for August 7, 2015
Every week I share a few ideas to help you finish strong. For this week, I encourage you to revisit the connection between your/your team’s goals and your firm’s strategies and to reach out to your geographically dispersed colleagues. Additionally, I offer up some ideas on exciting new business books and I point you to this month’s great collection of leadership writing at the August 2015 Leadership Development Carnival. A great ending sets the stage for a fantastic new week!
Cultivating A Constructive Response to Momentary Failure
The most successful people I’ve worked with are incredibly adept at navigating those moments of mental devastation we call failure. For anyone striving to achieve something big, great or new, failure is an inevitable part of the process of striving for success. It’s part of learning and growing and while it hurts momentarily, successful professionals process the experience in a very different fashion than those who are more easily derailed. Here are 5 constructive responses to navigating a momentary setback:
Ideas for Professional and Performance Growth for the Week of August 2, 2015
Every week I offer ideas to encourage you to stretch and grow with my ideas for Do/Experiment/Explore. For this week, I offer ideas on strengthening team performance, leveraging your operations meetings to promote managerial skills development and learning to mess with your competitors just enough to keep them off balance. Use them in great professional health!
Friday Leadership Ideas to Help You Finish Strong for July 31, 2015
Every week I share a few ideas to help you finish strong. For this week, I offer ideas on mixing up your routine to spark energy, gaining much needed marketplace context and planning for success in the new month.
Art of Managing—5 Big Lessons Learned from My Hiring Mistakes
Over an extended career, you will make more than one hiring mistake. I guarantee it. No hiring manager escapes unscathed in this process. While a misfire is inevitable, this painful mistake (for you, your firm and the hire) is packed with some powerful life and career lessons. Here are 5 big lessons I’ve learned the hard way:
Leadership Caffeine™—Resist the Urge to Shield Your Team from Bad News
In difficult situations, reality tinged with optimism and backed by encouragement serves as a more effective motivator than a saccharine-sweet message of false praise and manufactured positivity.
Friday Leadership Ideas to Help You Finish Strong for July 24, 2015
Every week I share a few ideas to help you finish strong. A great ending sets the stage for success next week. This week’s suggestions include rethinking your approach to initiative post-mortem meetings and getting into gear on your own professional development.
Ideas for Professional Growth for the Week of July 19, 2015
Every week I offer ideas to encourage you to stretch and grow. For this week, my suggestions include volunteering to solve a vexing problem, experimenting with assignment rotation and taking your team on a field trip. Use them in great professional health!