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 an Operating System Transforms New Manager Development
How do we help our new managers cross the chasm from contributor to manager successfully? One of the vexing career challenges any individual encounters is the shift from contributor to manager. There’s little about succeeding as a contributor that translates to...
How an Operating System Transforms New Manager Development
One of the vexing career challenges any individual encounters is the shift from contributor to manager. There’s little about succeeding as a contributor that translates to guiding, coaching, and supporting others for success. We need an operating system to guide both promoting and new managers across the treacherous chasm of starting-up. This is where the Managers Operating System fits perfectly.
Art of Managing—In Negotiations, Focus on Interests, Not Positions
All of us are involved in negotiating for something on a fairly frequent basis, and over and over again, most of us make the same critical mistake. We reduce the negotiation to a battle of wills over positions (I want/You want) and we try and brute force our way to a conclusion. For many situations, there’s a better way.
Leadership Caffeine™—Running Uphill Against the Wind
The oft-cited and disturbingly dismal numbers reported about employee engagement tell an interesting story about leadership effectiveness…or the lack thereof. Even in an environment of aberrant leadership behavior and high levels of unengaged employees, you have the ability and obligation to carve our a “safe” zone where people are treated with respect and support.
Ideas for Professional Growth for the Week of July 5, 2015
Every week, I provide a few simple (but not simplistic) ideas for you to Do/Experiment/Explore in support of your professional development and continued success. This week’s three focus on making big decisions, rethinking your approach to establishing team leadership and looking to firms outside your industry for ideas on strengthening your own organization. Use them in great professional health!
The High Professional Cost of Your Inability to Trust
Trust is one of those terms that is casually tossed around in business conversations and management literature, yet for each and every one of us, the decision to trust someone is a deep and difficult personal decision.
Leadership Caffeine™—The Alchemy of Great Leadership
Newsflash, there are no shortcuts to great leadership. Much like the failure to change nature’s principles in search of longevity or turning lead into gold, one’s ability lead develops slowly over time and with much strain. Here are 10 lessons learned in search of success as a leader:
Friday Leadership Ideas to Help You Finish Strong for June 26, 2015
Every week I share a few ideas to help you finish strong. A great ending sets the stage for success next week. For this week, I’m offering a reminder to follow-through or follow-up on the professional development activities of your team members and I suggest a fun way to stimulate ideas and discussions around topics that matter. Enjoy and use them in great professional health!
Leadership Caffeine™—The Inner Game of Leading
Leadership is played on an open court in the workplace for all to see, yet, I submit that the game is won or lost in the mind of the individual as he/she pushes self-doubt and hubris back into their respective corners. This is the inner game of leading and it is very difficult.
Ideas for Professional Growth—Week of June 21, 2015
Every week, I provide a few simple (but not simplistic) ideas for you to Do/Experiment/Explore in support of your professional development. This week’s focus is on energizing team meetings, moving forward with an overdue difficult discussion and gleaning lessons from the great age of polar exploration. Enjoy!
Friday Leadership Ideas—2 to Help You Finish Strong for June 19, 2015
Every week, I share a few ideas to help you finish strong. A great ending to your work week helps set the stage for success next Monday. For this week, I’m encouraging you to focus on assessing “what worked” and also offering an idea for you to strengthen your team’s ability to connect developments in our world to what they might mean for your firm or your customers. Enjoy!