The Leadership Caffeine Blog
We’re Evaluating Professional Development Investments the Wrong Way
The search for the return on investment from professional development activities has been a long, unresolved quest for many HR and Learning and Development professionals. It turns out, we're looking at it all wrong. The real challenge is for an organization's managers...
We’re Evaluating Professional Development Investments the Wrong Way
The search for the return on investment from professional development activities has been a long, unresolved quest for many HR and Learning and Development professionals. It turns out we’re looking at it all wrong. The real challenge is for an organization’s managers and leaders to CREATE the return on investment from professional development.
Art’s Writing and Week in Review for February 6, 2016
A brief look at the week just past and a recap of my leadership and management writings from around the web.
Art of Managing—Change Your Field-of-View
Too often, we’re laser focused on the object in front of us; the next project or the person we’re working with, and our field-of-view is severely constricted. We fail to see the bigger picture until something from outside our narrow view of the world runs us over. Here are 8 ideas to help jumpstart your external scanning activities:
Leadership Caffeine™—How to Get Your Team to Open Up to You
It’s impossible to lead effectively if you don’t have an open line of communication with your team members. Here are six ideas to help your team members open up to you:
Art’s Writing and Week in Review for January 30, 2016
A bit of commentary on the month that was January, 2016 and a recap of my leadership and management writing around the web. Enjoy and have a great weekend!
Dear Corporate—Why We Hate Your Business Reviews
The Business Review meeting is a staple of large and small organizations everywhere. These can either be constructive opportunities to reflect on challenges and opportunities and identify needed actions, or, they can be destructive time-wasters. Sadly, in many organizations, these meetings resemble the latter. Here are six ways the group from corporate contributes to the destruction of what should be an important meeting:
Leadership Caffeine™—Leading Your Peers
We tend to reserve our thinking, writing and talking about leadership for the hierarchical relationships. However, peer groups represent great, untapped sources of problem-solving and improvement. There’s ample opportunity for you to assert as a leader of this group, if you take the right approach. Here are 7 steps to asserting as a leader of your peers without being perceived as a jerk…
New Coaching and Webinar Offerings from Art Petty
During the past few months, I’ve received a number of inquiries that neatly fit into two key themes: coaching services for individuals below the executive or soon-to-be executive ranks and coaching services for those interested in reinventing their careers. I’m excited to announce two new programs: ACCELERATE and REINVENT. Also, I’m kicking off my 2016 webinar series with “Level-Up and Accelerate Your Career” on February 4, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. CST.
Art’s Leadership & Management Writing for the Week Ending 1/23/16
For this week, my leadership and management writing focused on sharing ideas on re-energizing, improving performance, navigating difficult moments and management insights gained in the role of product manager.
Leadership Caffeine™—Refueling as a Leader
From about the six-month mark out of college and for all but eighteen months of the next twenty-two years, I supervised, managed and cultivated my leadership skills in a variety of different technology and software firms. While I loved and still do love the challenge and responsibility for guiding and developing others, the work (including the actual running of the business) was and is demanding and draining. I learned over time that I could only be at my best for others if I took care of my own refueling needs first. Here are 9 ideas to help re-energize your leadership spirit:



