Peace and Joy this Holiday Season! Merry Christmas!
The Leadership Caffeine Blog
Words are Insufficient
Much like everyone else, I am struggling to process the tragedy in Newtown last Friday. Words are insufficient and I won’t try to make sense of this senseless nightmare.
New Leader Tuesday-A Checklist for Effective Feedback Discussions
Feedback properly delivered is a powerful leadership tool. It helps eliminate lousy behaviors and strengthen good behaviors in support of your team’s or firm’s goals. You will be well served investing the time and energy to master this important discipline. Here are 6 items to think about in support of more effective feedback discussions:
Leadership Caffeine™-It’s Not Your Leadership, It’s the Cause
Leadership by Cause invites greatness to the party. Anything less than a clear, galvanizing, shared cause, promotes compliance-type performance and typically mediocre results. Here are Six ideas to help you identify and promote a cause that inspires in your organization:
Management Excellence Recap for the Week Ending July 28, 2012
Here’s a quick recap of my Management Excellence blog and other writings during the past week. Enjoy the reading and enjoy your weekend!
Would You Run 100 Miles to Help Families Fighting Cancer?
It’s the rare individual that can even contemplate a 100-mile footrace. I get tired and sore thinking about doing that on a bicycle. However, ultra-marathoner, Ted Friedman not only completed 100 miles in just over 24 hours last year, he’s back at it at the end of July in his “100 Miles for Life” fundraiser to support The Gathering Place, a support center offering much needed help for patients and families coping with cancer. Check out this great organization and this fascinating race in the post and in the podcast interview with Ted Friedman. Any support you can offer is appreciated!
New Leader Tuesday-4 Ideas for Avoiding Hearsay Traps
I always admire the exuberance of conscientious first-time leaders to jump into situations that might detract from their new team’s performance. This conscientiousness about doing things right and getting things done is likely part of what earned them a promotion to supervisor, team lead or some title that places them in a role responsible for others. However, the desire to do right and keep things moving and keep people happy, opens up a few potential leadership tripping points, including getting actively involved in “he said/she-said” or “he did/he didn’t” type discussions and reacting too quickly to hearsay without checking out the facts. Here are 4 suggestions for avoiding Hearsay traps:
In Memoriam-2012
In Memoriam-For those who we can no longer thank, we give our thanks. And for those walking among us, take time today and share your appreciation for their service.
New Leader Tuesday-Gaining Critical Context for Your Team’s Mission
Many first-time leaders are given the equivalent of “battlefield” promotions with no more context than, “You’ve done a great job, you’re in charge.” If you end up on the receiving side of this “Go get ‘em Tiger,” philosophy of leadership development, it’s important for you to quickly gain context for your team’s role and accountabilities.
Web Construction Update
I'm erring on the side of sharing a little more rather than a little less on some of the work going on here. A few days ago, I highlighted upcoming changes. Last night, the new format for the site went live, although much work continues on content refinement and new...
