Leadership Coaching

Celebrating the Life of Steve Jobs and How He Changed Our World

October 6, 2011 By Bea Fields 2 Comments

Pick up the 5,000 leadership books from the past five years, and my hunch is that you may not hear in those books that Steve Jobs is considered one of the greatest leaders of our times. People spoke often about his difficulties with people, his perfectionism and his distaste for the press. He never finished college, had a few rocky patches in life, but that did not stop him from being one of the most celebrated geniuses of our times.

Now that Steve Jobs is no longer with us, something tells me that he will be in history books as the man who truly changed our world during the 20th and early 21st century. While he may not have been the best people person, there are many different types of leaders, and hands down, Steve Jobs (in my opinion) is the greatest visionary leader of the past 50 years. He did not just change the way we live and work in the United States but changed the lives of billions of people worldwide. In my opinion, someone who changes the entire world during their lifetime is certainly someone who defines true leadership.

When it comes to leadership, being a true visionary is a gift…not many people really have it. To get people to buy into a big, world changing vision is very tough, but not for Jobs. After a series of ups and downs, 10 years ago, Jobs went on a quest to truly change the world when he unveiled the iPod to the world. I remember seeing the tiny, simple, sleek, thin and sexy looking device and thought “It can hold over 10,000 songs? That little thing…no way! Can’t happen and wont. And who in the world will buy it at that price?.” Boy, was I wrong. When I suddenly “got” that the new device could download 10,000 songs from iTunes and watched my kids going crazy downloading songs with white earbuds in their ears, I became a believer and a buyer. I now own an iPod, iTouch, iPhone and an iPad. I still work on a Windows computer, but I want an Apple computer…that will be the next computer I own.

To see the timeline of the innovative process of Steve Jobs, just flip through this slideshow on CNN. Really amazing!

Many people will tell you that Steve Jobs was not the tech guy (although I do take some argument with that statement…you don’t run one of the largest technology based businesses in the world without a great deal of tech knowledge), but instead, he was the man who could see where we are all going in our hyper-connected world and knew how to bring the greatest minds together to get his futuristic ideas to work. He knew the home computer could do more, look and feel a lot more cool and could make life simpler for everyone. He was a music lover and knew that people would love to be able to pull out a tiny device and scroll to their favorite song out of a list of 10,000 and that those songs could then be streamed into your home stereo system. He knew that the iPhone would not just dial numbers…that it would serve as a mini computer that could be a GPS system, could turn on your lights while you were away from home, could be a barcode scanner, would eventually be able to scan credit cards and could help you find the pet of your dreams. And, once the public fell in love with the iPhone, he knew people would want something like the iPhone in a bigger form…in the form of a tablet. The interesting thing is this: Steve Jobs had a way of knowing what we wanted before we knew we wanted it, and once we had our iBooks, iPods, iPhones and iPads, we then wanted the newer version, more apps to be more efficient in life and would probably not be able live without them. And of course, as a result of Steve Jobs’ innovative spirit, his competitors around the world tried to come up with their own ideas (which were actually copycat versions of what Jobs had already built) to compete with the genius. While a few of his competitors have come close, they really have not yet quite hit the mark, and Jobs was always 2 steps ahead of the rest of the world of technology.

I know the world is grieving today, but I want to encourage you all to also celebrate his life and legacy to the world. Steve Job said it all best in his commencement speech to Stanford in 2011:

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life,” Jobs said that day.

“No one wants to die,” he added. ”Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet, death is the destination we all share. ”

“Your time is limited,” Jobs added. ”So don’t waste it living someone else’s life. … Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.

As we grieve today, let’s all celebrate the life and legacy of Steve Jobs…and look at his words closely…Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.

Watch the video tribute to Steve Jobs on Gizmodo

Filed Under: Innovation, Leadership Coaching Tagged With: apple, CNN, ipad, iphone, IPod, iTunes, Steve Job, United States

The 5 Productivity Secrets of Successful Business Leaders

October 3, 2011 By Bea Fields Leave a Comment

You can go to any store in the world today and buy David Allen’s Getting Things Done, and I do recommend this book multiple times to clients I coach.

But at the end of the day, I have discovered that the 5 most common things productive business leaders do is very simple, and anyone can implement these steps without reading a book or going to a time management seminar.

So, here we go:

1. Grab the stuff that is getting your brain’s attention and write it down. If you don’t, it will keep rolling around like marbles in your head until you do something with the information. This extra information is taking up mental space that can be used on the most important activities.

2. Go on an email detox program. I talk to leaders every day who tell me they often just sit at their desk and wait for new emails to come in so that they can respond quickly to concerns…appearing as if they are always available. While this may seem great, more often than not, the leader’s most important, mission critical activities are being avoided by their email dragon. Unsubscribe from all mailing lists you do not absolutely have to have and then do your best to check email only two times per day, preferably not the minute you walk into your office. I recommend 10-11 a.m. and 4-5 p.m. as good times to check email and then do your best to not look at your email again for any other times of the day.

3. Take a 30 minute nap. Why is it that most countries other than the USA encourage a 30 minute nap in the middle of the day? I suppose we are afraid that someone might just get ahead of us if we are napping (wink, wink). A 30 minute nap can leave you with a great amount of energy, and you will get a big boost in your productivity later in the afternoon. That 30 minute nap will last a lot longer than the latte you are probably using to give you an extra jolt.

4. Remove everything from your life that is dragging you down. This can include people, furniture, old business, old ideas, a leaky faucet, an ugly color of paint or a dying plant. I highly recommend that you de-drag your home and office. If your home, office, friends, network or organizations you deal with are not uplifting, it’s time for a total makeover.

5. Find a calendar or scheduling system that works for YOU and put very specific tasks on your list. I recall someone giving me a Franklin Covey planner when I was about 26. I tried so hard to use it, and it worked for about one month. Then, the pages of the calendar just went blank. The system did not work for me AT ALL. I now use Google Apps, and I love the tool. I put everything I need to do on my calendar, and I make sure that the task I type in is super specific. Instead of simply saying “Work on Marketing”, I will write out “Send email broadcast and write one blog post” (which was on my list for today). I put this on my calendar, and I use Tungle.me for my clients to make their own appointments. The minute I type out what I want to do during a certain block of time, Tungle.me catches it and blocks out that time so that clients cannot make an appointment during that time. So many of us are way too busy working in the business and not on the business, and we all need that time to get the most important things done.

I encourage you to try at least one of the above five strategies as an ongoing behavior and just see if it improves your ability to get things done.

Filed Under: Leadership Articles, Leadership Coaching, Productivity Tagged With: Business, Calendar, David Allen, FranklinCovey, Getting Things Done, Google Apps, time management, Tungle.me

NEW VIDEOS: Is The Media Ignoring Ron Paul? Piers Morgan and Jon Stewart Weigh In

August 16, 2011 By Bea Fields 1 Comment

Image via Wikipedia

I have to admit that I am a bit biased on the subject of Congressman Ron Paul, as my daughter Ann is working on his Presidential campaign. I honestly did not know much about Paul until this past year, and the more I listen to him, the more sense he seems to make. He believes in getting back to what our founding fathers wanted in the first place…liberty and freedom.

But, I just have to put this out on my blog today, as it has been so blatantly apparent that the media is just totally ignoring Ron Paul in this campaign. He almost tied Michelle Bachmann in the Iowa Caucus, yet everyone is just ignoring this…as if Dr. Paul does not exist. There is all sorts of talk about Bachmann and Perry and a lot of coverage on Pawlenty pulling out of the race, yet very few people are saying much about Ron Paul. It makes me wonder (based on the below interview) if the media might be afraid to bring Paul into the spotlight, because gosh…he might just be the person who could help turn our situation around. Last night, Piers Morgan interviewed Paul and was quite direct in asking the long term Congressman why no one is talking about him? Watch this video of the interview:

And, here you have the outcome of the Iowa Caucus:

Now…watch how Jon Stewart sums all up. Really right on point and very funny!~

Filed Under: Leadership, Leadership Articles, Leadership Assessments, Leadership Coaching, Leadership Lessons, Leadership Training, Politics Tagged With: Ames Straw Poll, Iowa caucuses, Jon Stewart, Michele Bachmann, Piers Morgan, Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty

3 Strategies to Make Sure Your Leadership Coaching Really Works

August 9, 2011 By Bea Fields 3 Comments

I will be the first to admit that I am not a guru when it comes to leadership coaching, but I have been around the block a few times. I have been coaching since the year 2,000, and through the school of hard knocks and trial and error, I have finally come to the conclusion that there are 3 strategies that I must use if I want the leaders I coach to be successful. Today, I would like to share those three strategies with you.

1. Design your coaching strategy around what the followers want to see change or improve…not necessarily around what the client thinks she needs. Leadership coaching is so very different from life coaching or coaching a solo business owner for this one reason: The leaders you coach have people who are following them, and as a leader, you must be willing to shift your leadership style, communication style or even the way you walk based on what your followers say they most need and want. Below, I will go into detail about the one month needs assessment, and I just want to caution you about this: Simply because a leader calls you and tells you she wants to work on her time management or organizing her office does not mean this is what her followers want to see. The most successful leaders understand their followers needs and desires and they will do anything to get the majority of their followers’ needs met. As a leader, if your client does not care what the followers think, then she is simply not a leader…enough said!

2. Begin your actual coaching only after one solid month of assessment. Assessing a leader in a company is a great deal like a physician trying to diagnose a patient’s illness. A doctor would never walk in and just start writing prescriptions without asking multiple questions of you (and maybe of your family members) to find out what is really going on. During the first month of leadership coaching, I invest my time conducting a very thorough needs assessment which includes the following:

An oral 360 degree feedback review. With my approach, I interview at least 12 people who are around the leader. The list of people I interview include direct reports, bosses, peers and even family members. While I am certified to run the online 360 degree assessments with the Center for Creative Leadership, I have found that by asking 12 simple questions of 12 different people, I get much better responses. I not only hear the answers, but I hear the sighs, the laughs, the “ughs” and I can see eyes rolling, deep thinking and smiles or frowns on faces.
The DiSC Assessment. Most leadership coaches have their favorite tools to use. Mine is by far the DiSC assessment. The tool has been used for over 30 years by over 40 million users and is one of the most trusted learning assessments in the personal and professional development industry. With the DiSC, you will quickly learn if the leader you are coaching is a strong-willed, bottom line risk taker or a leader who loves to entertain and motivate others. The communication style of your leader is critical to her approach with her followers, and this tool will help you bring out the best in your clients.
The Strengths Finder Profile. I truly believe that using a leader’s key strengths to help shore up weaknesses is one of the best ways to approach your clients. It is critical to know upfront what your leader’s strong suits are, and this assessment can help you refine your coaching and hone in on those strengths from the first coaching session to the end of the coaching engagement.
A two hour relaxed “get to know you” meeting with your new client. I always invest at least two hours in the early stages of the needs assessment with my new clients to find out what makes them tick and what ticks them off. I want to know about the music they listen to, their favorite foods and colors and a bit about their personal life. This relaxed conversation builds trust and also helps fill in some of the gaps that will more than likely be missing with the formal assessments.

3. Once you have completed the needs assessment, pick one goal ONLY to work with your client on for at least six months. I have observed coaches who pile goals on top of goals on top of more goals and “things to do”. This is a big mistake (in my opinion). I have learned that when coaching a leader, we have to agree to work on the one leadership skill that needs the most work, and work a system so that improvement starts to happen as quickly as possible. Improvement in one area will often help in other areas of leadership, so I just want to encourage you to keep hammering home points around that one critical skill that needs work. Doing a little bit of work on a long list of leadership skills will get your client to move an inch. Working on one goal and seeing a leadership skill turn 180 degrees is much easier for your client to swallow and others will notice improvement quickly if you are really targeting one area that is of greatest concern for the people who are trying to follow the leader.

If you or someone you know is interested in discussing leadership coaching, please feel free to contact me, Bea Fields, at 910-692-6118. I am happy to spend some time discussing your leadership needs.

Filed Under: Leadership, Leadership Articles, Leadership Coaching Tagged With: 360 degree feedback, Business, Client (computing), Coaching, disc assessment, Leadership, Needs assessment, time management

5 Questions And Answers to Change Your Business For The Better

July 21, 2011 By Bea Fields 1 Comment

It is hard to believe that I have been coaching for ten years. It seems like a few months, because I so love the work I do and am really so happy when I see people succeed.

As the years have flown by, it is not uncommon for the same questions to pop up over and over again, and at the end of the day, my clients (CEOs, Company Presidents, Executive Directors) hire me to make their organizations stronger so that they can be more profitable. I also work with non profit organizations, and their goal is of course to raise more funds, recruit more volunteers and provide more and better services to their clients.

So, today, I want to leave you with five questions that I have heard most often and provide you with one strategy to answer each question. I want to remind you that I am not a consultant…I am a coach, so finding solutions to these challenges rests with the client..my goal is to bring those solutions out of the client and onto the table. While you probably have similar or better solutions than the ones I am listing below, I am simply sharing with you what I have seen has worked quite well in the recent past. These solutions are not fluff or blue sky thinking…they are practical and simple, yet not always so easy to achieve. These approaches require hard work, consensus and as a leader, your full commitment to seeing that the strategy/strategies are implemented and refined over time.

The 5 Questions and Answers to Change Your Business For The Better:

Question 1: What is it going to take for me to succeed as a leader and for our company to thrive?

Answer: To be as candid, direct and transparent as possible. Too many companies “talk around” tough or sensitive issues, which can waste time, energy and money. If you are not being candid, creativity is blocked, projects slow down and money is lost. Just consider the last time you postponed having a tough conversation or being open and frank during a project, and ask yourself what was lost as a result. While being candid is simple, it is difficult to implement, because employees are fearful of backlash if they are candid and open. Being transparent, candid and direct should be encouraged, praised and rewarded, and your employees will trust that being candid is actually a success tool…not an approach that is going to cost them their job.

Question 2: How do I stay competitive in today’s business world?

Answer: Attract the best players and train the up on a regular, ongoing basis. You may have the most beautifully built company in the world, but the people who live inside that building are your key to staying competitive. If you attract top talent, and you then don’t have a world class training program (and I don’t mean sitting in the classroom), it will be very hard to retain your best people. When building a training program, it is critical to implement the following:

Planning: Your training programs need to be planned to meet the needs of a variety of learners and should be mapped out for each quarter of the year. Today’s workforce is made up of three generations, and their training needs will all be different. Consider the sub groups in your company and invest time with your HR Department to properly plan your training programs.
Mission Statement: I believe that all training programs require a mission statement. The people in your company who are being trained are more than likely sitting in their seats thinking “Why am I here?” A mission statement will clear up they fuzzy “why” questions.
Design: Your training programs need to be designed to meet the needs of your learners. If you are training a young, 23 year old woman in a classroom with a powerpoint presentation and a flip board, you won’t get very far. The best approach for this young woman would be to use short bits and bites of information while taking advantage of the use of new media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, You Tube), storytelling and experiential exercises. Why? Because this is how this generation best learns. Proper planning can make your training programs fly and build passion in your followers.
Measurement: This is a no brainer, but many companies do not measure the success of their training. The only way to improve on the next training is to measure success and ask for feedback.
Accountability through follow up coaching and mentoring: Once your training programs end, it is now time to implement the training into the real world of your company. A strong mentoring and coaching program can help your employees not only implement the steps learned but it can help your employees strengthen the skills they are learning along the way.

Question 3: Our company is going through a change, and I am having trouble getting people on board. What should I do?

Answer: Design and implement a strategy for executive level, management level and employee buy in. It is not uncommon for companies to implement a change in their company without thinking through a clear strategy on how to get buy in. There are multiple ways to get buy in (make sure to communicate the change in a clear, simple way; offer employees the opportunity to give you ideas through the use of an anonymous suggestion box; hold town hall meetings; allow employees a way to be heard), yet at the end of the day, as a leader, the skills you will need most during a change initiative are patience, listening and persistence. You will have some employees who jump right on the bandwagon with you while others will drag their feet or complain about the change. If you design a strategy for buy in, including a time frame to get everyone on board, the change initiative will go much more smoothly. Just remember this: Generally speaking, people don’t like change, and if a change is on the horizon, they are going to want a voice and a listening ear from their leader.

Question 4: How can I get my employees to do the work they have been assigned to do and to get it done on time and with excellence?

Answer: The typical answers by many of the leadership gurus of our past and present (no…I don’t put myself in the leadership guru category by any means) is to design a strategy, develop a great plan, work the plan and then hold people accountable for results. Yet there is one piece that is usually missing from this puzzle: As a leader, you must be willing to delegate the project, back out of micro-managing the project and give your employees the permission to fail. I have said it before, and I will say it again…people learn more from failures than from being taught in a classroom or even shadowing a leader or manager. For most leaders and business owners, delegation and empowerment are scary propositions. You may be a leader or a business owner who has always managed every detail of a project, and now you are being asked to step back and let them possibly fail so that they can fly. As a leader, one of the best ways to change your business for the better is to trust your employees to the nth degree to complete a project and complete it with excellence. At the end of a project, debrief the project with your team to uncover new ideas which will make the next project better and stronger and one that will have a greater positive impact on your team and for your customers.

Question 5: I have an employee who has been so loyal to our company for years, and the company has outgrown her. She no longer has the skills we need, has no interest in learning the skills she needs, but I just can’t bring myself to let her go.

Answer: If you have offered additional training, provided coaching and have done everything you can for this employee, it is more than likely time for you to part ways. I have worked with clients from age 26-75, and the old saying “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is just not true. I have coached people over the age of 70 who have stepped up to the plate to learn new media, to learn new ways of doing business. So, if you have an employee who is simply not willing to learn new skills, you can either place her in a position that does not require the skill or let her go with compassion and appreciation for her loyalty and dedication to your company. I have also worked with companies who classes to terminated employees to help them find their next job. But, at the end of the day, if your company has outgrown a few of your employees, it is time to make that tough decision and do it sooner rather than later. If you continue to hold on to employees who are not helping your company due to an unwillingness to learn new skills, your company will not only not move forward, you will take multiple steps back…far away from your future goals.

In closing, I want to leave you one of my favorite quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“Action should follow your goals. “Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment.”

Filed Under: Accountability, Business, Leadership Articles, Leadership Coaching

5 Steps for Improving Accountability on Your Team

June 27, 2011 By Bea Fields 1 Comment

When is John going to get me that report?”

“What is going on with the marketing report? When are they going to finish that thing?”

“I can’t believe Mary is so late in making those phone calls.”

“Okay…who dropped the ball this time?”

“Hey…that’s not MY job.”

Does this sound familiar? If so, your small business team may be faced with a big challenge with accountability, which results in finger pointing, frustration and broken trust…both with your employees and your customers. Personal responsibility and accountability can put an end to the blame game, saving your business thousands if not millions of dollars by increasing productivity and overall job satisfaction, which results in very satisfied customers. These five basic approaches can support you in increasing accountability, which are simple, yet they require actually building a culture of accountability for your business.

1. Communicate the big picture- Accountability stands a better chance of succeeding if everyone in your business embraces a larger responsibility for the success of the entire company. Spend time talking individually with team members about how his or her project affects the vision and mission of the business. With this communication, people can make wiser decisions from the context of the “big picture” rather than from the perspective of what may seem to be a detailed and boring task.

2. State clear expectations- If one person on your team does not meet your expectations, the entire team can fail. It is important from the very beginning of any new project to state the expectations clearly and repeat them over and over again until your team really “gets it.” These expectations need to be crystal clear, including dates, who is responsible for what, the details of the task and how you want the finished product delivered. If your expectations are fuzzy or confusing in any way, your team can break down, and the fine and very important details can fall through the cracks.

3. Accountability work groups-One of the best ways to achieve accountability is to develop shared accountability among team members. Accountability within the team can be accomplished by what Morris R. Shechtman calls “accountability groups,” groups which give team members the permission to speak and listen in a way which is frank and open. This accountability group can include 2-5 people and can then serve as a small unit of people working together to confide in with struggles, weaknesses and insecurities. They can then find creative strategies to work together in the direction of the growth the team intends to achieve.

4. Move to action-In order for accountability to work, people have to know that failure of completion will come with certain consequences, including written warnings, loss of a bonus or extra hours served on a week-end to complete the project on the table. Without consequences, your employees won’t take you seriously. They will think that they can use blame, justification and rationalization as a way to deviate from being responsible, because you have not followed through on what you said you will do if the tasks are not achieved.

5. Reward and recognition program-Employees need to know in a tangible way their efforts are indeed driving the company forward, and it is important for them to share in the fruits of their hard work. The offer of increased pay and benefits (vacations, time off and other perks) can keep accountability and morale high and can motivate employees to continue to strive for high levels of performance.

Filed Under: Accountability, Leadership, Leadership Articles, Leadership Coaching, Leadership Lessons, Leadership Training Tagged With: Accountability, Business, Employment, Job satisfaction, Small Business, Work

3 Articles to Assist You in Recruiting and Retaining Knowledge Workers

June 24, 2011 By Bea Fields Leave a Comment

Earlier in the month, I wrote a blog post by the topic of The 7 Critical Mistakes Most Leaders Make When Leading Knowledge Workers—And How You Can Avoid Them
Here are 3 additional articles to assist you with the topic of how to treat your knowledge workers for maximum performance in your company:

I also highly recommend the book Mastering the Unpredictable: How Adaptive Case Management Will Revolutionize the Way That Knowledge Workers Get Things Done

Filed Under: Leadership, Leadership Articles, Leadership Coaching, Leadership Lessons, Leadership Training, Recruiting and Retianing Talent

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

June 2, 2011 By Bea Fields Leave a Comment

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 you will do as we say, and you ARE replaceable.
No feedback meant all was okay, and then suddenly, a worker was called in and handed a pink slip for “not supporting the way we do things…we are a hierarchy, and you are trying to fight that!”
People were treated like commodities…disposable commodities, so trust was not par for the course.
Command and control styles were encouraged.
Just be quiet about what you have seen and know, and do your job, and you will be just fine.
Passion, purpose and voice were “too touchy/feely” so they were never discussed.
The worth of a person was measured by the number of hours they put in and how quickly and effectively they could run a machine or assemble a product
The more hours your worked, the more loyal you were, the more valuable you were to the company.

I could go on and on about the rules of the Industrial Age. My point to you is that the above set of rules is outdated and not in sync with today’s knowledge worker. Information, creativity and brain power are now our most valuable assets, yet companies are not leading based on this idea. The following will spell out the 7 most common mistakes I see leaders make with today’s knowledge worker and how you can not only avoid them but shift your strategies so that you get the most out of your knowledge workers.

1. Discouraging knowledge workers to find and then use their own voice. The new employee wants to know that they can be truly authentic in your organization and be able to bring their own unique voice to your company. Giving your knowledge workers permission to speak up and to use their own voice will inspire them to actually contribute new ideas and strategies to help your company thrive.

2. Not offering current, up to date training. Today’s knowledge worker was raised on a diet of knowledge, and they actually crave more knowledge. Because of the internet, the knowledge worker knows that at any hour of the day, they can go online and find more new information. Offering training in a second language, leadership or managerial skills or marketing and sales skills and delivering this training using digital media and shadowing will hold the attention of the knowledge worker and will actually help the knowledge worker build out their skill set for a stronger career down the road.

3. Training the knowledge worker using old classroom-style training methodologies. The Industrial Revolution brought the world a lecture/chalkboard/classroom format, and it worked. But times have changed. We now have the internet, social media sites, cell phones with texting and internet capability and digital mechanisms to enhance learning. It is critical to understand that the knowledge worker of today often comes to the workforce with an environment induced form of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). This is not to suggest that the new knowledge worker has ADD, but the majority of young men and women between the ages of 22-32 will admit that because of their use of social media, cell phones and instant messaging (and using them all at the same time), their brains have been trained to focus for a short period of time and then flip to a new thought or activity and that this occurs hundreds of times each day. By using new media, shadowing and experiential training, you will be able to grab and hold the attention of the knowledge worker much better and for longer periods of time than in using the classroom/lecture/power point method of training.

4. Excluding the knowledge worker from team decisions. This is one area that is a constant concern with the knowledge worker. They feel that their opinions, ideas and contributions are not valued, so they are deliberately excluded from strategic meetings which could be enhanced by their contributions. The new knowledge worker wants to know that they are helping the companies they serve be better, “make a difference”, be more profitable or help to conjure up the next big idea that will put your company on the map. At the end of the day, the new knowledge worker needs to be invited to sit at the table senior leaders, and it is critical that you take their ideas, suggestions and contributions seriously. These men and women will be your future leaders, and it is imperative that you show them that their minds and ideas do count and you want them in on your most critical discussions.

5. Treating the knowledge worker like a disposable commodity. If you are a leader, and you are seeing your knowledge worker as a commodity to use for a short period of time and then send them out the door, you are not only doing a disservice to your employees, you are building a brand that says you value things more than people. This attitude simply won’t fly in today’s world. Consumers are watching companies more and more to see if they can spot that you have a high level of emotional intelligence, and your knowledge workers will be the first to know if you are “using” them just to drain their brains and then send them packing. The knowledge worker wants to be treated as a valued member of your team…a human being and not a machine or a thing.

6. Trying to inspire the knowledge worker by offering more money. This is probably one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a leader or manager of the knowledge worker. Young hires between the ages of 22-32 truly have a different set of values than those of their parents. While they all agree that they do need enough money to be able to live, they truly value time over money, friends over big titles and promotions and opportunities for ongoing learning over getting paid overtime. When trying to inspire the knowledge worker, offering them two hours off on Friday to spend time with friends, to contribute back to the community or to take an extra course at a nearby location will be much more valuable than offering them a few extra bucks to work harder and longer hours. This demographic of workers have watched their parents work their fingers to the bone just to keep up with the Joneses, and then watched as their parents were downsized, laid off or fired. To work longer hours just to please the boss and make overtime pay is not the carrot you will want to dangle under the nose of the knowledge worker, but time off or extra learning will have the knowledge worker’s mouth watering.

7. Discouraging dreams and passions. In my experiences, I have been quite saddened to see leaders throw water on a burning passion of the new knowledge worker. The new worker of today will come to your organization with big ideas, dreams and passions, and these should be encouraged, cultivated and woven into the decision making for your company. If the knowledge worker feels that her dreams are being supported, she will stick around your company much longer than if she is told to “be realistic” and just put that dream on hold.

At the end of the day, a leadership process where senior leaders are communicating the worth, potential and possibilities to their new knowledge workers, the future for your company can be bright and limitless.

Filed Under: About Generation Y, Generation Y In the Workforce, Leadership Articles, Leadership Coaching, Leadership Training, Learning and Development, Recruiting and Retianing Talent, Team Building, Training Gen Y Tagged With: Employment, Industrial Revolution, Knowledge Management, Knowledge worker

The 5 Reasons Why I Believe Scott McCreery Won American Idol

May 26, 2011 By Bea Fields 2 Comments

The front page of the Raleigh News and Observer for today reads in big, bold letters SCOTTY WINS! The photo to the right was just below the announcement

It is no secret in my family and public network that I am an Americn Idol fanatic. I have been glued to the action for the last three months just to watch and see what would unfold. The show is a coach’s dream…to watch an average performer become a superstar over a 12 week period by learning from mistakes, being open to feedback and then practicing like mad to get better and better every week in hopes of making it to the finals and becoming the next American Idol. As Randy Jackson said “Scotty’s in it to win it!” And Randy was right.

I initially though that Casey Abrams would win, but when he was voted off, I began to watch Scotty much more closely. Here was this 17 year old kid whose low bass or baritone voice sounded like a 35 year old and who had that old country charm we just don’t see in the music industry these days. About three weeks ago, I knew that McCreery was going to win…the week he and Lady Gaga met. Two polar opposites trying to work together, and Scotty was so open and funny, considering his strong religious background and Gaga’s edgy approach. Just watch this video to see the contrast and how this young man handled all:

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So…if you are a leader, and if you are struggling…pay attention to Scott McCreery and the characteristics which I saw come out onto the stage in front of millions over the last 12 weeks.

1. Poise. This kid was unflappable. You throw Lady Gaga, Elton John, the Beatles, you name it, and he could take the genre, make it his own and then lay it out in spades in front of thousands of people.

2. Authenticity. Scotty made it clear from the very beginning that he was just an “aw schucks” 17 year old kid from Garner, NC who loved the old country classics, was going to stick to his genre and was not shy about letting people know about his Christian background. Not one time did he try to veer out of his old time country lane, and I found this so refreshing. He knows who he is, and he stuck to his guns come hell or high water. He is going to be so successful in Nashville. I am looking forward to watching him soar to the top.

3. Coachability. Each week, Scotty received feedback. The majority was great feedback, but when the bad times came, he just stood there with that grin of his, shaking his head, saying “Yes Sir” or “Yes Maam”. One of the reasons I think Haley Reinhart left early had a LOT to do with her attitude. Her defensiveness with the judges and her eye rolling when she was voted off proved that she is just not coachable. You cannot make it in business, sports or in the music industry if you cannot take feedback when it’s dished out.

4. Connection. McCreery was a connector. He made the audience and the viewers at home feel like we are all the same. Again…let me remind you, he is 17, a country classics singer who went to school in Garner, NC and worked part time at Lowes Grocery Store. He just kept his cool, connected with the audience and had a blast on stage. His likability factor was HUGE, which is so important in leadership. I will also say that Scotty’s commitment to the old country classics probably made him not so likable in the hard rock, metal, hip hop pockets of the world. But, all you had to do was to look at him and listen to him to get that he was a good kid.

5. A Strong Sense of the Importance of Family and Community. If you noticed, last night, as Scotty was crowned the new American Idol, who did he go to first…his family and friends who got him there. That was so much more important to him than standing on the stage as the glitter and confetti fell on him. I don’t recall this ever happening. If you are a leader, it is critical to understand that your employees have family, friends and communities they care about. To bring that into the workforce is going to be a critical component of success for our future workers. So, just bear this in mind the next time you ask your workers to give 60 hours a week. You are taking them away from their families and communities, and these people need your top talent.

I am from North Carolina, so I am proud of Scott McCreery. But his North Carolina roots had very little to do with why I think he won. If you did not watch the show, I would encourage you to go back and watch a few of Scotty’s performances and study them from a position of leadership and the skills he has taught us all over the last 3 months. Big congrats to Scotty McCreery!

Filed Under: Leadership, Leadership Articles, Leadership Assessments, Leadership Coaching, Leadership Lessons, Leadership Training, Learning and Development Tagged With: american idol, Carrie Underwood, lady gaga, Ryan Seacrest, Steven Tyler, Tim McGraw, Tony Bennett