Leadership Coaching,Leadership Training,Team Coaching Programs USA» About Generation Y

The 7 Critical Mistakes Most Leaders Make When Leading Knowledge Workers—And How You Can Avoid Them

Bea Fields — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 16:44:36 +0000

Unless you have been living under a rock, you probably know that we are no longer living in the Industrial Age. You remember that era…a time where machines and things were the drivers of our economy and people were there to simply “run and churn” those machines. Machines, things and people were replaceable. It did not take a brain surgeon to run machines. It just took an able body who acted like a robot to turn on a machine, run the machine or work an assembly line.

Well, here we are today…the year 2011, and while some companies have truly “gotten” that we are now in the era of the knowledge worker, many modern day companies are still trying to lead based on the rules of the Industrial Revolution.

Those rules included:

Start at the bottom, working on the assembly line or in the mail room and hope you work your way up to the top (a hierarchical form of leadership was the norm).
Pay your dues for 20 years and then ask for a promotion. You may get it or you may not.
Don’t rock the boat! We have about five people who are making decisions, and

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How Do You Keep Your Top Talent Excited About Staying With Your Company?

Bea Fields — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 02:28:18 +0000

Watch This Guy In the Video…Watch Him Very, Very Closely

Did you get very, very sleepy? I know I did. Thank God the video was only 18 seconds. The pencil tapping and fiddling with the keyboard were my first clues, but when he started nodding, leaning on his hand and YES! Finally fell out of the chair…I knew! THIS POOR GUY IS BORED OUT OF HIS MIND! And the odd thing is, the employees in the background just kept on about their business as if this is a normal scene in their workplace…probably so!

How many of us, and how many of our employees feel just like this guy? Just looking for an excuse to head to the coffee pot, to run an errand or get a terrible stomach bug in the middle of the day.

So, the question is “How in the world do you keep your top talent excited about not only staying with your company but literally dancing out the door to get to work every day?

The answer: RADICAL INNOVATION!

Radical innovation is going to be a critical component in a leader’s toolkit in the future, and this does not mean that you “try innovation” … Read the rest of the post

Self Directed Leadership Defines a New Era for Egypt and the World

Bea Fields — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 23:23:43 +0000

Today, Jeannette Paladino wrote a great blog post about the protests in Cairo and the new era of leadership...one that is community driven…not lead by a dictator directing the lives of others (more about this subject below). Over the last six days, the anti-Mubarak protesters (those men and women who want to see drastic change in the Egyptian government) have reportedly been peaceful and cooperative.

But today, the scene took a turn for the worse as pro Mubarak groups prepared to “take over the crowd” by storming into Cairo on the backs of horses and camels. Bearing sticks and knives, the pro government group looked a bit archaic. They resorted to not only beating the protesters but attacking Americans like news CNN anchors Anderson Cooper and Hala Goroni. Apparently Cooper was struck in the head at least ten times and after being confronted, pushed and hit, Goroni was escorted to safety by a protester.

As Jeannette mentioned, the use of social media and a new thought pattern about community leadership have come together to send us a huge message in our world…our next generation of thinkers and leaders want freedom and a voice. They know how … Read the rest of the post

A Company Divided: Bridging the Generation Gap at Work Through the Power of Communication

Bea Fields — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:54:58 +0000

Jeannette Paladino was kind enough to ask me to write this blog post today for Write Speak Sell.

The excerpt is below, and you can read the full post here.

At the end of the day, your company will either sink or swim based on how well you communicate.

I am sure you have heard this 1,000 times…”Great communication is necessary for great leadership” or “We must communicate better if we want to be successful” , womp, womp, womp. The topic of communication has been beaten to death, so we have become numb to its importance. We go about our day not returning phone calls to customers, sending out curt, hurtful e-mails, turning a deaf ear to our employees and just basically shutting people out or cutting them off at the knees.

In this day and age, I have a prediction…and I am not a futurist. I believe that those companies who will succeed in the future will be those companies who learn to not only communicate better with their customers but who take the time to actually learn how to communicate across generational and cultural barriers. I believe those companies and businesses who choose to ignore this … Read the rest of the post

Pew Resarch Report Reveals Gen Y Internet Users Don’t Dominate Online Life

Bea Fields — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 12:46:50 +0000

Contrary to the image of Generation Y as the “Net Generation,” this Pew Research report from earlier in 2009 reveals that internet users in their 20s do not dominate every aspect of online life.

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