There’s a loud ring of truth to the old saw: “Culture eats strategy for lunch.” However, sometimes, the culture needs to evolve, or everyone is at risk of ending up hungry at lunchtime.
Where Leaders Misfire on Culture and Strategy
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The Leadership Caffeine Blog
You Know Your Leadership is Working When You Can Let Go
As leaders, we often fall victim to the belief that our teams need us to survive and thrive. In reality, if we’ve done our jobs right in selecting, developing, and placing people in the right positions, and worked hard to create a healthy environment, what they need is less of us.
Leadership Caffeine™—Fear the Conversations You’re Not Having
The conversations I genuinely worry about are the ones that aren’t taking place. As a leader, just thinking about what’s not getting talked about should scare the daylights out of you.
A Beginner’s Mind Helps Solve the New Manager Conundrum
My online dictionary defines conundrum as a confusing or difficult problem. The dictionary editors might as well use the act of moving from individual contributor to new manager as the leading example.
For Success, Cultivate a Communication Style that Shows You Care
From feedback and coaching discussions to interchanges with coworkers who can say, “Yes” or “No” to your requests for resources, process changes, budgetary allocations or fresh ideas, there’s no end to the critical communication situations we encounter at work. I find that just a few common-sense, authentic communication tactics improve your success and strengthen your credibility as well.
Starting Strong as a New Manager
Here’s some guidance to help new managers move beyond that early feeling of disorientation and start strong.
Leadership Caffeine™—Character and Moral Compass
Taking a cue from the late President George H.W. Bush, character and moral compass are essential for good leadership. Here are some ideas to help you bring them to life.
For Managers—The Performance Potential of a Strong Feedback Culture
Imagine there was a tool at your disposal that would help reinforce in real-time the behaviors of group members that moved the performance numbers in the right direction. Or, a tool that would get people motivated to learn, grow, and leave behind less-than-ideal behaviors in favor of new approaches and continuous improvement. Wouldn’t this be helpful?
Well, there is. It’s called performance feedback. And sadly, it’s often missing-in-action, misapplied, or, applied inconsistently, and that’s just leaving money and morale on the table.
Leadership Caffeine™—Lessons for Management Fixers
It’s a great vote of confidence when your boss picks you to lead the turnaround of a struggling team or function. You’re the management fixer, charged with figuring out what’s not working and how to fix it. And while this is a great career opportunity, there are a number of ways you can misfire in this role. This article offers 7 hard won ideas to help you make the best of a team or function turnaround opportunity.
How to Regain Control When The Job Hits Overload
Almost every professional navigates periods of extreme busyness. However, when the workload turns into perpetual overload, motivation flies out the window and productivity and quality (not to mention enjoyment) disappear. In this article, we look at the primary causes of workplace overload and offer some ideas for you to regain control.