Of the many important themes espoused by the late and arguably pre-eminent management thinker of the latter part of the twentieth century, Peter Drucker, perhaps the most valuable to us as individuals, is his constant reminder that we are responsible for our own self-development. One of Drucker’s more provocative suggestions as described in William A. Cohen’s enjoyable read, “A Class with Drucker-The Lost Lessons of the World’s Greatest Management Teacher,” is for managers to actively work at developing expertise outside of their chosen field as a tool to preparing to become a senior or strategic leader. (Read More…)
The Leadership Caffeine Blog
New Leader Tuesday-Your Responsibility for Leading the Tough Discussions
One of the biggest derailment factors for early career or first-time leaders is the issue of conducting tough performance discussions. Here are 4 critical mistakes of first-time or newer leaders when it comes to dealing with tough discussions, and 6 ideas to help strengthen performance.
New Online Program Release: Learning to Master Feedback
With this post, I’m announcing the availability of a new online program to help professionals at all levels develop and strengthen their feedback communication skills. This is a practical, powerful program based on a great deal of live-session and prior version(online) participant input. Best of all, there’s a low cost of entry to put this on-demand and guided self-development program it in easy reach of motivated professionals at all levels.
Leadership Caffeine™: Stop Feeding Your Leadership Dragons
Leadership Dragons are the outward behaviors driven by misguided underlying beliefs that keep many in leadership roles from truly meriting the label of leader. Here are 4 examples of common Leadership Dragons and some ideas for keeping them reined in:
The Hard Work of Getting Better at What You Do
One of the most important “tells” of a person’s professional character comes from their answer to a simple question: “What are you doing to get better at what you do?” How would you answer this question?
What Lincoln Might Have Advised Before Sending that Angry e-mail
More than a few people I know (present company included) have created a problem for themselves by prematurely hitting the “send” button on an e-mail written out of anger or frustration. Once sent, the damage is done and these instantaneous communications have a long shelf life in the memories of the recipients. Here are 6 ideas the Rail-Splitter himself might have approved of for the toughest of communication situations:
7 Ideas to Enhance Your Career During Your Firm’s Strategic Planning Process
If you are tapped to participate in your firm’s strategic planning process, it’s important to approach this work as a career building opportunity, and not simply “more work” piled on top of your already overloaded schedule. Here are 7 Ideas to help you leverage this great opportunity:
New Leader Tuesday-Showcasing Your Authentic Self
It’s typically good advice to “be yourself” and “be authentic” when it comes to leading others. Unfortunately, for many starting out as leaders, it takes time and experience to develop the confidence necessary to let the world see us as in our leadership skins au naturel. Here are 5 ideas to help you cultivate the confidence necessary to show yourself as you are:
Leadership Caffeine™-Coping with a Personal Leadership Confidence Deficit
Lack of self-confidence is a limiting factor in the leadership careers of many good professionals. This is a difficult and extremely personal topic. Here’s some added context to help you recognize that we all struggle with many of the same issues, however, with deliberate daily actions on the right issues, we can strengthen our confidence and improve our performance.
A Great Product Manager
Someone asked me about the importance of product management in my prior tech businesses. My answer was blunt. Great product managers see beyond customer requirements to the often unspoken needs, and they move organizational mountains to fill those needs.

