The Leadership Caffeine Blog
Seizing the Big Moments that Define Your Leadership Career
We work for decades, yet for most of us, there are a handful of moments in time that define the course of our careers. Unfortunately, these moments—opportunities or crises—don't come with a caption suggesting, "Hey, pay attention and embrace this mess because it's...
Seizing the Big Moments that Define Your Leadership Career
For individuals who choose to lead, it pays to see the signposts. Here are several significant moments in the career of everyone who leads that merit your complete engagement.
Ideas for Professional Growth—Week of June 21, 2015
Every week, I provide a few simple (but not simplistic) ideas for you to Do/Experiment/Explore in support of your professional development. This week’s focus is on energizing team meetings, moving forward with an overdue difficult discussion and gleaning lessons from the great age of polar exploration. Enjoy!
Friday Leadership Ideas—2 to Help You Finish Strong for June 19, 2015
Every week, I share a few ideas to help you finish strong. A great ending to your work week helps set the stage for success next Monday. For this week, I’m encouraging you to focus on assessing “what worked” and also offering an idea for you to strengthen your team’s ability to connect developments in our world to what they might mean for your firm or your customers. Enjoy!
Manage How You are Perceived or Someone Else Will
As much as we would like to believe that good work is always rewarded, that’s a naive view of the realities of organizational life. You need to understand how others perceive you and focus on adjusting your behaviors to ensure that the perceptions are positive and not limiting. Here are 5 lessons on the dangers of ignoring how you are perceived from a very real case:
Leadership Caffeine™—Is Leadership Changing?
There’s an interesting interview at McKinsey, with Heidreck & Struggles CEO, Tracy Wolstencroft, that explores what they describe as the changing nature of leadership in this era of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. The interview prompted my own consideration of some of the changing leadership behaviors I’m observing in firms who are succeeding in navigating the fog of these times.
Ideas for Professional Growth—Week of June 14, 2015
Every week, I provide a few simple (but not simplistic) ideas for you to Do/Experiment/Explore in support of your professional development. This week’s focus on achieving better alignment with your manager, improving the effectiveness of brainstorming and improving your effectiveness in leading group discussions. Use them in good health and great professional development!
Friday Leadership Ideas—3 to Help You Finish Strong for June 12, 2015
Before you move into a well-earned weekend of whatever it is you enjoy doing, take time today to address a few key leadership items on your agenda. The benefits of finishing strong will carry through into a great weekend and positive re-start on Monday. Here are 3 for today…
Art of Managing—There’s No Substitute for the Right Tools
Most of the tools of management were conceived in an era characterized by a great deal of consistency and predictability…two attributes in short supply today. It’s time to rethink everything, including the tools we use to manage and plan for our very uncertain futures. There is no substitute for the right tool. Sometimes, you simply have to create that tool.
Leadership Caffeine—Becoming Agile and Adaptable is THE Leadership Issue
The Leadership Caffeine™ series is intended to make you think and act. -- What if everything that used to work for your business no longer did? The business challenge of this era for long established firms is much about escaping the powerful pull of the past....
Ideas for Professional Growth: Week of June 7, 2015
Every week, I provide a few simple (but not simplistic) ideas for you to Do/Experiment/Explore in support of your professional development. Use them in great professional health and personal gain. Here are the ideas for the week June 7, 2015: