Recharge Your Team

As most managers know, you need a vision to motivate employees to achieve goals. But people, and companies, lose focus, and the future appears hazy. People say, We're getting stale, or, I just don't know where we're headed. Leaders know they need a vision to bring people together. And they know a good vision will renew enthusiasm and commitment. But waiting for inspiration rarely works—sometimes you need a vision now. But how? Recharge Your Team not only shows managers how to create an effective vision—it shows how to do it in as little as four hours, using a time-tested, proven approach. Traditionally, companies call in consultants to help create a vision. Experts can help—for $4,000 per day plus expenses. And then there's the time involved: Visioning efforts can take months. This book offers a less-expensive, faster method. Called Grounded Visioning, and based on a concept called appreciative inquiry, the process allows groups to come up with a revitalizing vision that everyone buys into in half a day or less. How? As this book shows, the key is to be sure everyone takes part, to base the vision on how the team acts when at its best, and to imagine a vision bold enough to inspire but practical enough to feel achievable. This book covers the six quick but essential steps that ensure such results—with small teams or large groups. And any manager, not just trainers or HR people, can lead a successful Grounded Visioning session. Grounded visioning is a breakthrough concept of breathtaking simplicity and power that any leader can put to use today. It works, because it frees employees to share their dreams, hopes, and aspirations. As they soar, a vision naturally arises that recharges the team.

Transform team dynamics with practical, real-world tools for sustainable change Fix Your Team is the manager’s essential and practical guide to diagnosis and intervention. Packed with expert insight acquired over decades of experience in workplace relations and conflict resolution, this book systematically addresses problems with team dynamics and provides a blueprint for moving forward. Authors Rose Bryant-Smith and Grevis Beard bring a unique combination of legal nous, conflict management expertise, emotional intelligence and business experience to provide a wealth of valuable insights, with robust tools designed for easy implementation. This book offers diagnostic guidance to help you analyse existing issues with confidence, and a clear framework for removing the dysfunction. It includes practical scenarios we can all relate to, and actionable guidance on building buy-in, executing the strategy and looking after yourself through tough transformations. By tackling problems early and providing employees with the opportunity to improve their working relationships, managers, human resources and other internal advisors demonstrate their commitment to productivity, genuine care for employees and dedication to a healthy and ethical working environment. People working in dysfunctional teams will understand better what is going on, and understand what options exist for improvement. Diagnose team problems and learn what tools are available to help Determine the best use of resources and choose an implementable fix Develop a business case for intervention, and get support from the top Build morale, productivity and collaboration within the team Upskill employees to ensure sustainable improvements Build accountability in everyone for a positive workplace culture In today’s competitive environment, managers need to bring out the best in everyone. Team dysfunction affects productivity at all levels, and it’s contagious — managers must stop the problem before it spreads, to prevent larger and more pervasive issues down the road. Remediating team issues reduces legal and safety risks, but it goes deeper than that. Solving problems before they become public or impact other areas of the business improves the team’s respect for managers and leadership, reducing unnecessary turnover and resignations of good staff. Fix Your Team is a groundbreaking handbook for management looking to improve team dynamics, with practical solutions for productivity-killing, unethical and distracting issues. It gives all managers and internal advisors the confidence, strategies and solutions they need to repair tricky, toxic and troubled teams to create a great workplace.

Successfully achieve business objectives through the use of teams. Why work in teams? Simply put, PERFORMANCE! Teams vastly outperform the combined output of individuals in traditional work settings. But high performance teams require planning, accountability, and commitment. This book gives you the tools you need to build a case for teaming in your organization, set performance goals, and continually measure team effectiveness. You’ll learn how to identify and foster the characteristics of successful teams, define responsibilities for team members, and overcome common obstacles to high performance. What’s more, you will put your newfound skills to the test using real-world business case scenarios provided throughout the book. And you’ll gauge the effectiveness of your own team with in-depth self-assessment exercises. The skills you will master here can be applied to any team situation—from a single work unit team to wider multi-unit teams spanning the organization. Readers will learn how to: • Identify the best type of team for your organization • Perform the essential “getting off to a good start” steps • Define key responsibilities for team members and team leader • Set the best goals against which to measure performance • Anticipate and address team transitions. This is an ebook version of the AMA Self-Study course. If you want to take the course for credit you need to either purchase a hard copy of the course through amaselfstudy.org or purchase an online version of the course through www.flexstudy.com.

Getting individuals to work together as a team is one of the hardest tasks for any manager. This book takes the reader step by step through the life cycle of a project, and how each stage can be used as a means of learning and developing for individuals as well as the team as a whole.

Become a doer. Motivation and strategies from a top figure in sports leadership There are many books available on the topic of leadership, but none quite like this one. Walk Off Winning: A Game Plan for Leading Your Team and Organization to Success is the work of Steve Trimper—a college baseball coach who shares what he has learned about business through his extensive leadership experience in high-level sports. In addition to reflecting on his own failures and successes, Trimper interviews leadership experts to distill a wealth of wisdom into this valuable book. Inside, you’ll read about the key principles of team building, culture, and organization building. If you are looking for a way to enhance your leadership, whether you lead a team of one or an entire organization, Walk Off Winning is for you. This book will give you the motivation and strategies to “become a doer.” Anyone involved in leadership, sports management, or the general business world will benefit from the inspirational anecdotes and honest advice in this much sought-after guide for leaders of all kinds. Discover the key principles of team building that apply in every organization and setting Gain the motivation you need to stop waiting around for success and “become a doer” Learn from the real-world successes and failures of a top leader in high-level sports Get inspired to take an honest look at your opportunities for leadership growth From the sports field to the business office, good leadership in any arena shares a single, universal foundation. If you want to achieve your dreams, you’ll have to learn to Walk Off Winning.

Why do most corporations fail to achieve breakthrough performance? They make things too complex. They clutter it with jargon and confusion. They dither on the launch pad. They hire too many consultants, chase after too many fads. It doesn’t have to be that complicated. Whatever your goal, whatever your role, Michael T. Kanazawa and Robert H. Miles introduce a simple, practical, 100% results- driven approach that works. Drawing on their experience working with hundreds of senior executives, they show how to align your organization behind just a few core initiatives; bias your people toward speed; create leaders at every level; and achieve traction and accountability in all facets of execution. You’ll learn how to engage people instead of frustrating them, and harness their energy instead of wasting it. Whether you’re executing a new initiative, entering a new market, or attempting to transform your entire enterprise, this book will help you find the right path, clear the obstacles, and get there—surely and quickly. Today’s companies recognize that they must constantly improve at every level, from frontline customer-facing functions to enterprise-wide strategy. They must execute bold new strategic initiatives more effectively... integrate and align acquisitions more quickly...and accelerate and sustain growth in the face of unprecedented competition. But wherever business transformation and breakthrough performance must occur, many of the challenges are the same. Now, there’s a breakthrough methodology for overcoming these challenges. In BIG Ideas to BIG Results, Michael T. Kanazawa and Robert H. Miles introduce the Accelerated Corporate Transformation (ACT) methodology: A simple, no-nonsense process that is grounded in reality, inclusive of people, and 100% results-oriented. Drawing on over twenty years refining and applying ACT, initially at Harvard Business School and then in leading enterprises, Kanazawa and Miles identify crucial steps to success, as well as practical solutions to the inevitable roadblocks you’ll face. Their #1 insight: Many obstacles stem from managers making situations and decisions more complex than they really are, and taking too much time to get ready. ACT strips away complexity and indecision, helping you move far more rapidly and predictably from strategy development through execution. Designed by leaders for leaders, this book will help you execute more rapidly and lead more effectively, to achieve breakthrough performance at any level, in any function, in any organization. Step-by-step, leader-driven techniques that work–simply and quickly Business transformation and breakthrough performance without the confusion and complexity What leaders must know–and do–to succeed Making it happen from the inside out–without hordes of consultants Conquer “corporate gridlock” at last Stay focused on what really matters, instead of bouncing from one initiative to the next Rapidly engage the full organization... ...to power up leadership at every level www.bigideastobigresults.com

Imagine if we were using the same medical techniques today that were used during the Industrial Revolution, including the practice of bloodletting using leeches. Medicine has come a long way since then. So why do organizations and corporations cling to management techniques that are just as obsolete as the bleed-and-leech model? In a global workpla