Leadership Archives

The Six Core Programs of Your Personal Manager Operating System

May 6, 2021

From the challenges of dealing with people and personalities to the never-ending, ever-growing lists of things to do, often with conflicting priorities, managing is a tough job. Yet, when I explore the stress points with struggling managers and ask some questions, I often discover they are attempting to execute their role without the benefit of what I describe as a Manager Operating System. Here are six critical components of every manager’s effective operating system:

Leadership Caffeine™—A One Line Job Description for Managers

May 2, 2021

If you manage, lead, or are otherwise responsible for the work of others, the working environment is everything. Creating a healthy working environment is literally your only job. Get this right and the results take care of themselves.

Lead Like Lives Depend Upon It—Six Leadership Lessons from Pfizer’s Moon-Shot

Apr 29, 2021

What if we led as if lives and livelihoods depended on the outcome? There are some great lessons from the vaccine moon-shot described by Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla in the latest issue of Harvard Business Review. It’s time to put these lessons to work in all of our organizations.

It’s Past Time to Rethink the Role (and Label) of Manager

Apr 13, 2021

The view on the role of Manager is a relic of yesterday’s thinking and practice in management. It’s an industrial revolution hangover that is ripe for retirement to a museum display. The label and old meaning don’t hunt in a digital world.

Leadership Caffeine™—Small Changes in Your Routine and Approaches Can Generate Big Results

Apr 5, 2021

I regularly talk with managers and leaders who believe they are grinding harder but getting nowhere. One described himself as working in quicksand: “The more hours I spend and the harder I push, the faster we are sinking. I need to do something different.” Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt this way. Here are ideas to help you adjust your approaches and regain control:

Strengthening New Manager Development is a Key Priority

Mar 24, 2021

New managers are the front-end of our leadership pipelines. And, they face a daunting challenge in shifting from contributor/producer to manager. They need help, coaching, training, and on-going support, and that’s often hard to come by in our time-stressed worlds.

Fixing the Fatal Flaw in New Manager Development

Mar 23, 2021

There’s a great deal we don’t get right in our organization when developing our first-time managers. Peel the layers of the onion and ultimately, you find a fatal flaw in the nature of the promoting manager to new manager relationship. Here are some ideas to fix that flaw:

Think Differently About Engaging with Your Organization’s Top Leaders

Mar 22, 2021

Your assumption that they’re busy doing top-leader things and don’t want to hear from you is partially flawed. Most senior leaders I’ve worked with and around love to hear from individuals at all levels. Here are five ideas to help you think differently about engaging with your organization’s top leaders:

Winning the Inner Game of Leading With Positive Self-Talk

Mar 19, 2021

Fear, self-doubt, and the tendency to catastrophize situations are your adversaries as a leader. The essence of life is overcoming challenges. Instead of allowing your negative emotions to rule you, engage in a little self-trickery and reset and reframe the negatives to positives.