The Leadership Caffeine Blog
Life and Leadership Lessons from My Dad’s Early Life
Photo: One of the few childhood photos of my Dad. Dad is the boy in the center. -- I wrote recently about the journey and travails we navigated this past Summer as my Dad struggled and eventually passed. In this and one more planned article, I share some of the many...
Life and Leadership Lessons from My Dad’s Early Life
I wrote recently about the journey and travails we navigated this past Summer as my Dad struggled and eventually passed. In this article, I share some of the many life and leadership lessons I learned from this remarkable man.
Seven Ideas to Help Harness the Power of One-on-Ones
One-on-ones are not just meetings; they are the most valuable engagements on your calendar. By applying the seven strategies outlined here, you can ensure these sessions are productive and transformative, fostering a culture of growth, trust, and innovation.
Introduction to The Manager’s Journey
Joseph W. Campbell’s description of The Hero’s Journey has 17 distinct stages, starting with The Call to Adventure, navigating The Road of Trials, and ending with the Freedom to Live. Of course, the action occurs between those stages, with untold challenges, exhilarating highs, and soul-crushing lows. Campbell might have been writing the story of The Manager’s Journey.
Feeling Invisible at Work? It’s Time for Action
If you’ve been passed over for promotion opportunities or you find yourself relegated to less-than-strategic initiatives in your organization, that creeping sense of irrelevance you are feeling might be real. As the late Andy Grove offered, “Only the paranoid survive.” Let’s channel this paranoia into some focused actions to regain your relevance.
Bad Day as a Leader? Smile and Keep Marching
Not every day in your life as a leader is a party complete with cake and ice cream. When you encounter one of those days where everything seems to be working against you, it’s time to force a smile and keep marching.
Four Steps to Harness the Power of Quality Feedback
In every healthy working environment, quality feedback flows in three directions: up, down, and sideways. Here are four steps for managers to take to bring the power of quality feedback to life on their teams.
Thank You to Wally Bock and Three Star Leadership
My good friend and mentor-from-a-distance, Wally Bock, announced yesterday that he will no longer be adding content to his fabulous and long-running Three Star Leadership Blog. Wally is shifting gears to focus on his book writing/coaching practice. In this article, I share my thanks and great regard for someone who has inspired me for years.
FIve Big Ideas to Help Get New Manager Development Right
Managers are the individuals we need to create engagement, deliver quality results, and serve as critical enablers of change and adaptation in our world. And if Gallup. is even half right with their measures of disengagement and their pointing to managers as the cause, we’re failing at manager development. Here are five big ideas to help.
Reaching for the Executive Ranks? Part Two—Cultivating Executive Presence
I’m fascinated by the topic of executive presence and particularly by the feedback many receive that sounds like, “You need to work on strengthening your executive presence.” This feedback typically leaves people stressed and needing clarification. In this article, I strive to demystify executive presence and offer some tips and resources for strengthening yours.
Reaching for the executive ranks? Cultivate these five skillsets—part one, developing as a strategist
While today’s career world for many is about something other than “The Climb,” my coaching ranks and workshop programs are filled with individuals striving to scale their impact and, for many, gain a seat at the executive table. If you are motivated to grow your responsibilities and engage at a senior management level, you must cultivate your knowledge and skills in five critical areas. In part one of this series, I focus on developing as a strategist.