The Leadership Caffeine Blog
Here’s Why This Firm Will Lose the War for Talent and Fail
I received a call recently from a former colleague who was excited about an interview with a large company for a big-sounding job. The role was to build out a new facility and bring it online, and the job requirements suggested an experienced senior leader and...
Here’s Why This Firm Will Lose the War for Talent and Fail
Here are at least five ways a major organization misfired with the search for talent. Are your firm’s screening practices getting in the way of survival and success?
New Leader Tuesday-Your Responsibility for Leading the Tough Discussions
One of the biggest derailment factors for early career or first-time leaders is the issue of conducting tough performance discussions. Here are 4 critical mistakes of first-time or newer leaders when it comes to dealing with tough discussions, and 6 ideas to help strengthen performance.
New Online Program Release: Learning to Master Feedback
With this post, I’m announcing the availability of a new online program to help professionals at all levels develop and strengthen their feedback communication skills. This is a practical, powerful program based on a great deal of live-session and prior version(online) participant input. Best of all, there’s a low cost of entry to put this on-demand and guided self-development program it in easy reach of motivated professionals at all levels.
Leadership Caffeine™: Stop Feeding Your Leadership Dragons
Leadership Dragons are the outward behaviors driven by misguided underlying beliefs that keep many in leadership roles from truly meriting the label of leader. Here are 4 examples of common Leadership Dragons and some ideas for keeping them reined in:
Would You Run 100 Miles to Help Families Fighting Cancer?
It’s the rare individual that can even contemplate a 100-mile footrace. I get tired and sore thinking about doing that on a bicycle. However, ultra-marathoner, Ted Friedman not only completed 100 miles in just over 24 hours last year, he’s back at it at the end of July in his “100 Miles for Life” fundraiser to support The Gathering Place, a support center offering much needed help for patients and families coping with cancer. Check out this great organization and this fascinating race in the post and in the podcast interview with Ted Friedman. Any support you can offer is appreciated!
New Leader Tuesday-Ideas for Dealing with Messy People Problems
One of the less than pleasant surprises many first-time supervisors or managers encounter as they navigate their new roles, is a sudden immersion in the personal problems of their team members. Here are 7 ideas to help you navigate these sticky situations:
The Hard Work of Getting Better at What You Do
One of the most important “tells” of a person’s professional character comes from their answer to a simple question: “What are you doing to get better at what you do?” How would you answer this question?
What Lincoln Might Have Advised Before Sending that Angry e-mail
More than a few people I know (present company included) have created a problem for themselves by prematurely hitting the “send” button on an e-mail written out of anger or frustration. Once sent, the damage is done and these instantaneous communications have a long shelf life in the memories of the recipients. Here are 6 ideas the Rail-Splitter himself might have approved of for the toughest of communication situations:
New Leader Tuesday-7 Ideas to Help You Survive Your Sink or Swim Leadership Lessons
There was a time when prevailing wisdom for teaching people to swim involved chucking them in the water and letting them flail and flounder. This Sink or Swim (S. o. S.) method of teaching is likely responsible for more than a few really bad moments for the unwitting victims and a lifetime of terror-inducing flashbacks for many. Oddly, we subject a good number of first time supervisors and managers to a similar rite of passage in what I describe as S. o. S. Leadership Development. If you are on the receiving end of this method of new leaders development, here are 7 suggestions to help make the swim a bit more bearable:
Myths and Realities of Senior Management Teams
There are few environments more hostile to forming something resembling a functional team, than a group of people comprised of senior managers. Whether you are a member of one of these groups or the CEO in charge, it’s healthy to recognize some of the facts and myths of senior management teams and adapt your behaviors and approaches accordingly.