The Leadership Caffeine Blog
Leadership Caffeine™—Two Attitude Hacks to Help Create a Better Day
With most of us still working remotely, many of the conventions we created to tune-in and support our team members have to be rethought. I have two favorite hacks that work regardless of your location. One puts you in the right frame of mind for managing and leading,...
Leadership Caffeine™—Two Attitude Hacks to Help Create a Better Day
With most of us still working remotely, many of the conventions we created to tune-in and support our team members have to be rethought. I have two favorite hacks that work regardless of your location. One puts you in the right frame of mind for managing and leading, and the other helps your team frame the day for success.
Extreme Career Development
Warning-Extreme Career Development is not for everyone! If you enjoy the consistency of your day job and the warmth of your familiar cubicle walls, then run, don’t walk away from this posting. On the other hand, if you are uncomfortable being comfortable and you have experienced the surge of adrenaline that comes from pushing yourself […]
Are your managers talking candidly with each other?
I’ve been out on the road for a few days, so the postings slowed down a bit. Back in the office part of this week and a lot of thoughts and ideas to offer on a variety of topics. Full disclosure for today’s posting on communications…I market and deliver workshops that address team communication issues. […]
In support of (the people that have to complete) performance appraisals
This is the time of year when it is popular in the business press to criticize performance appraisals and everything about the performance appraisal process. Consultants and critics roll out their long lists of everything that is wrong with sitting down once or twice a year and telling someone what’s wrong with them and what […]
Trust and Team Performance
Earlier in my career, I remember rankling at a comment from an outside adviser that suggested that our management team did not trust each other enough to deal with the tough issues. I disagreed. We were all motivated, experienced professionals, committed to doing what was right for the business. Surely we could hunt down and […]
Keeping it In Perspective
No thoughts on compelling business issues today, other than the reminder to everyone about the importance of keeping the activities of your life in proper perspective. Family, food and football have become the staples of the American Thanksgiving, but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded that we are all on a similar journey of unknown […]
Management by Consensus-The Tyranny of Mediocrity
Developing an Effective Decision-Making Style is One of the Many Challenges of New LeadersMany managers and most early-career leaders struggle with their responsibility for decision-making. Some leaders are fearful of exposing themselves by making a bad decision and therefore, avoid this responsibility. Others feel empowered by their station and make frequent, unfounded and ill-advised decisions, […]
Leadership Development and Technical Professionals
My partner and I recently launched a research initiative into the challenges that technical professionals face when jumping on the leadership path. We are actively interviewing and surveying professionals in development, engineering, IT and consulting, and drawing upon the considerable experience of many of our long-term associates including-Joe Zurawski, Jerry Deville at Construx, Jack Kalander […]
The Best Leadership Books are Not Found in the Business Section
I’ll say it again. In my opinion, the best leadership books are not found in the business section of your library or local bookseller. This is a bold (or at least controversial) claim from someone who just spent 14 months co-writing and publishing a book on leadership that is carried in the business section. In […]
Finding Talent in Unusual Places
One of the chapters in my book (with Rich Petro), Practical Lessons in Leadership, emphasizes the role of the leader as Chief Talent Scout and Developer. A lesson that I learn frequently in my travels on business and in my consumer experiences is that some of the most talented potential employees can be found in […]