Leadership Coaching,Leadership Training,Team Coaching Programs USA» Team Building

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

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

A is for Accountability

Bea Fields — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:58:46 +0000

Tardiness. Bickering. Indecisiveness. Blaming. Irresponsibility.

Does this sound familiar? If so, your team (or family) may be suffering from a clear lack of accountability. While I realize the “A” word is used and overused, I am going to continue talking about it, because I believe a clear accountability process is critical for companies, both large and small, to be able to thrive in the future.

Here is what I experience with many leaders I coach. One of the first questions I ask is this “Tell me about your accountability and decision making process. How does it work?” Approximately 93% of the time, the response is “Uhm, well…er…we don’t really have one.” As I begin to talk more with the leader about how an accountability process might work and how it can…

1) Save time

2) Stop team conflict

3) Improve decision making

4) Make more money

5) Reduce a stalemate

and so forth, their eyes light up. They get so excited. I then say “So…tell me about how you feel about being the role model for an accountability process by giving your team permission to start calling you on your stuff?” Guess what happens? About 93% of the time, the … Read the rest of the post

5 Steps for Improving Accountability on Your Team

Podcast: Calling All Teamwork Facilitators: IATFConnect.com Is Now Open

Bea Fields — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:31:34 +0000

(This interview is great! Tom offers several insights into teambuilding for the future!)

Teamwork Facilitators this is for you! It’s the ultimate resource for anyone with a passion for creating high performing teams. It’s all here: a dynamic world-wide community of Teamwork Facilitators, monthly leadership training calls with top experts (like Bea Fields) in team and leadership development, hours of recorded training calls and class notes and resources archived and available 24/7, online archive of teambuilding games with video clips and downloadable directions, and much more! This is all found at the International Association of Teamwork Facilitators (www.IATFconnect.com) and when you join during the month of June you’ll receive a free ticket to the 10-week Leader As Coach Fast Track Program ($800 value) plus you’ll receive a free membership to give away to a colleague.

… Read the rest of the post

Are CEOs Good At Rewarding Employees

Bea Fields — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:45:03 +0000

Jeannette Paladino of Write Speak Sell.com wrote a great post of an interview with a few folks on the question of “Are CEOs Good at Rewarding Employees?”

I know she would love for as many of you as possible to weigh in on this question by commenting on the post.

Read the full post here

… Read the rest of the post