The Leadership Caffeine Blog
Leadership Development is Indeed Failing Us—Time for a New Approach
A thoughtful and thought-provoking article in the Winter 2024 MIT Sloan Review (tiered paywall) echoes the themes I've outlined here on this blog about organizational failings when selecting a leadership development program. The article, Leadership Development is...
Leadership Development is Indeed Failing Us—Time for a New Approach
When it came to leadership development investments, as an executive, it grew frustrating to send people to name-brand organizations and have them return with a “nice experience,” a big bill, and no visible strengthened abilities or sustained changes.
Have You Grown Comfortable Being Miserable In Your Career? Maybe It’s Time for a Makeover
The biggest challenge faced by many individuals who desperately believe they need to do something different with their careers is moving from recognition to action. It’s easy and cathartic to daydream about doing something different with your skills and interests. Yet, bringing these daydreams to life is another matter. Here are ideas to help:
Leadership Caffeine™—A Haunting Tale of Critical Conversations Left Unspoken
Here’s what happens when my long-standing fear of the “conversations never spoken” in the workplace collides with a fresh viewing of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol. With my sincere apologies to Charles Dickens, enjoy this fun piece with a point. –Art
Sampling the Many Flavors of Career Reinvention
If you’re feeling restless in your career and wondering what else is out there for you, it may be time to start exploring options. One of the first items we tackle in our Career Reinvent™ Boot Camps involves defining what “reinvent” means to the participants. It turns out there are a wide variety of flavors for this term, and it’s possible to be interested in multiple flavors at the same time—a kind of reinvent ice-cream sundae!
What I Learned from Your Team Members that Might Help You Manage More Effectively
While I support your team members’ development through workshop programs and one-on-one coaching, my primary job is listening. Without violating our sacred commitment to confidentiality, here are some of the big themes I heard this year that might just help you manage more effectively.
Discovering the Right Approach for Leading in this Era
Much like the alchemist’s search, discovering the “just right” leadership style in today’s maelstrom of issues and wicked problems is elusive. Yet, for those striving to lead successfully, there is hope, and it comes in the form of a blended, adaptive model of leading.
Wrestling With Feedback Part 3—Conduct Feedback Discussions with Empathy and Clarity
In Part 3 of this series, the emphasis is on managing the discussions successfully with empathy and clarity. It turns out when the feedback discussion goes off the rails, as happens all too often, it’s because empathy and clarity were nowhere to be found.
Career Caffeine—How to Uncover Your Professional Value Proposition
Thinking about looking for a new job? I’ll wager the first thing you feel compelled to do is update your résumé. It’s a nearly universal reflex. And, it’s wrong. My advice is to push away from the keyboard and spend time gathering data and thinking through the value you bring to your teams and firms. It’s time to form and articulate your professional value proposition.
Wrestling with Feedback Part 2—Seven Actions to Help You Succeed
For many managers, giving and receiving feedback is challenging. However, when feedback is approached properly, it can be a powerful tool for strengthening individual and group performance. Here are seven actions you can take to succeed with feedback:
Wrestling With Feedback, Part 1—Why We Don’t Like the Idea of Giving or Receiving It
We all can benefit from the right type of specific, behavioral, task, or situational-focused feedback. Unfortunately, our natural fear of either giving or receiving feedback often gets in the way of harnessing value from this input.