Art Petty, Author at Management Excellence by Art Petty

About Art Petty

Art Petty is a coach, speaker and workshop presenter focusing on helping professionals and organizations learn to survive and thrive in an era of change. When he is not speaking, Art serves senior executives, business owners and high potential professionals as a coach and strategy advisor. Additionally, Art’s books are widely used in leadership development programs. To learn more or discuss a challenge, contact Art.

Looking for Leadership Lessons in the Wake of Wall Street Crisis

The greatest spectator sport available the past few weekends has been the systematic dismantling and reassembly (of sorts) of many of America’s financial icons and of America's capital markets. In case the return of college and pro football the last few weekends kept you from paying attention to the financial news, the American financial infrastructure (or at least the world’s confidence in the American financial infrastructure) has teetered on the brink of disaster.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:49:05-05:00September 15th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|2 Comments

Good People or Good Ideas? The Importance of the Working Environment

After many years of leading and now several years of working with aspiring and experienced leaders in all manner of industries and cultures, I remain convinced that most individuals lack proper context for their role as leaders. The great leaders at all levels understand that they have a unique responsibility and unique power to adapt and form their working environment to the unique circumstances at a point in time. Less effective leaders allow the environment to form around the wrong issues including ego (theirs) and petty politics. The lessons of Pixar are hard-won and the outcomes visible to all. You would be well served to listen, learn and apply some of Mr. Catmul’s wisdom to your environment.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:49:06-05:00September 10th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|1 Comment

Latest Edition of Leadership Development Carnival at Great Leadership

Dan McCarthy is back this month with the 3rd edition of his Leadership Development Carnival at his Top 25-rated blog: Great Leadership. Dan brings together in one place some of the best leadership and talent blogging content from around the globe.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:49:07-05:00September 7th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|1 Comment

Common Sense and the Role of Leadership in Project Management Success

As organizations grow increasingly dependent upon project execution and professional project management practices to drive strategy execution, a firm’s leaders have to be smart enough and engaged enough to recognize an imbalance between process and people. Methodologies are guidelines to be strictly or liberally adhered to depending upon circumstances. Good leadership in this sense means tuning in to project activities at a level sufficient to ensure that the right approaches are being applied for the right reasons. While your methodology might have its champions, don’t lose track of the fact that the methodology must enable success, not fight it.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:49:08-05:00September 4th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|1 Comment

What’s A Good Meeting Anyway?

I’ve heard the phrase “We had a good meeting,” or some derivative of it so many times that I’ve lost count. Whenever I hear this meeting review or it’s ugly stepchild, “We talked about a lot at that meeting,” alarm bells start ringing, my spider sense tingles and I have to resist the sudden urge to scream. I know then that I am in the company of a Professional Meeting Attendee!

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:49:09-05:00September 2nd, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|4 Comments

Are You Making Progress?

Not surprisingly, it’s often difficult for senior executives and management teams to gain objective feedback on their individual and collective performance. I’ve worked with clients and in organizations where the management team was generally satisfied with their own performance and would give themselves high marks at a time when the employees would give them lower or even failing grades. In all cases where I’ve observed this perception gap, there was no objective, systematic means of measuring performance and perceptions in place.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:49:11-05:00August 27th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|2 Comments

Back to School!

One of the things we often lose as busy working adults is that sense of excitement about learning. It’s easy to let years and even decades slip by and focus on everything but our own self-development. Sure, we attend mandated training in our company and possibly even the periodic seminar to earn the Continuing Education Units (CEUs) mandated by our professional certifying organizations. Unfortunately, neither of those formats creates the exhilarating sense of learning and discovery that we may have had at some time earlier in our lives, but lost along the way to becoming responsible adults.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:49:12-05:00August 25th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|6 Comments

HR Has Yet to Establish Credibility As Weapon in War for Talent

While not quick to throw stones as my own functional counterparts (sales and marketing) have plenty of their own challenges, it is time for HR to stand-up and be counted on as a key enabler of strategy. They can start by helping their firm institutionalize talent identification, recruitment, retention and development.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:49:13-05:00August 22nd, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|2 Comments

The Leadership Art (and Importance) of Encouraging Constructive Dissent

This topic goes to the heart of creating an effective feedback culture—one where everyone is comfortable tackling the tough topics and highlighting when the Emperor has no clothes. The discomfort of a team in expressing alternative viewpoints with a leader is one sign that all is not right with the feedback culture. In many cases, some simple behavioral adjustments and appropriate reinforcement on the part of the leader can open the spigot to some great ideas from some smart people. Remember, the contest is in the market for the hearts, minds and dollars of your customers, it’s not in your team meetings to show that you’re the smartest.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:49:14-05:00August 21st, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|0 Comments

We Are All Just Temporary Stewards

From my own perspective, I like the concept of thinking about our tenure as finite. It creates a sense of urgency and it helps focus on priorities. I’ve observed too many corporate managers that lost track of the fact that they are not guaranteed a job or even that their company will be there next week. Once you start acting like you own the bricks and mortar and the chair and desk that you sit at and even the people that work for you, your judgment clouds, your motivation weakens and your intentions become suspect.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:49:15-05:00August 20th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|5 Comments

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