Mike Brent

Discover the secrets to high performing teams from the success stories of sport, military and restaurants – and what to do if your team isn’t working. Teams are everywhere: At work we are part of many different teams: the department team, the sales team, the planning team and the project team. At play we join the football team, the netball team, the swimming team, the bridge team and the dance team. Socially we support teams, watch teams and are served by teams in restaurants, hotels, shops and at events. But how much do we really know about them, what makes a successful team and why do teams fail? Effective teamworking is a perennial issue – there are so many difficulties and traps. We have all worked in teams and seen these problems at first hand and have suffered from them. This book will help you to identify the most common issues and give you and your team the tools to improve them and achieve better teamwork and performance.get the best out of yourself and others and avoid the common pitfalls that prevent teams from being the best they can be. We will look at how sports and business teams are developed and work, as well as giving examples and learning lessons from specialist teams in the many different areas such as the military, restaurants, orchestra’s, aerobatics and many more. These examples will be woven in throughout the book, and lessons drawn about what we can learn for our own teams. Developing high performance teams and effective teamwork is a perennial issue for team leaders and team members alike. Most of us work in teams yet few of us have the capacity to fully assimilate what it takes to resolve common issues such as conflict, low engagement, lack of purpose and accountability in teams. This book is for team players, team leaders and anyone who is setting up and supporting a team. It sets out all that you need to know to create a successful team and how to fix it if things start to go wrong. We think the combined experience of the authors and their direct experience of working with both sports and organisational teams is unique. The combination of an academic perspective with a high level practical experience of coaching and leading high performance teams brings clarity and understanding to the concepts , balanced with a pragmatic perspective on how to put these into practice The book draws together the combined experience of Nigel Melville as a High Performance sports coach and Chief Executive , and Mike Brent as an academic, author of several bestselling business books and specialist in team dynamics.

Teams are everywhere - business, industry, schools, hospitals and government. There are executive, management and cross-functional teams, as well as teams formed for specific tasks and projects. But when a team can succeed or fail on the quality and effectiveness of its leader, everyone will have a view on the leadership qualities that are most important. So what makes a successful team? And what can leaders do to ensure that their teams collaborate effectively and are committed to the right goals? The Leadership of Teams examines some of the most common challenges facing both teams and leaders, including: · interpersonal challenges; · working in a global context; · different roles in different teams; · multicultural teams; and · coaching and developing team members. Written by experienced academics and practitioners, The Leadership of Teams incorporates results from specially-commissioned surveys on team-working, organized by Ashridge Business School. Using examples from sport, the military, business and the charity sector, this book shows how the best leaders successfully inspire, support and work with their teams in order to produce peak performance.

Coaching mentoring skills are essential to help people reach their full potential. Once the preserve of qualified external coaches, all managers are now expected to apply these skills to get the most from their people. This guide provides the tools needed to coach & mentor within your role unlock top performance in your people.

'A very valuable resource for busy leaders to dip in and out of as time allows.'- Dr Mark Pegg, Chief Executive, Leadership Foundation for Higher Education'Clear and concise with great anecdotes and oozing with experience.'-Dr K. D. Akabusi, MBE, MA, FPSA, Executive Director, The Akabusi Company Coaching, motivating, team building and influencing are all essential tools for getting the most out of the people around you. Commonly described as 'soft skills', there's nothing soft about the impact they will have on your business performance. This book is your toolkit for managing yourself, facilitating team performance and surviving and thriving in times of change. Step up your management skills now to get the business results you need.

Shortlisted for the CMI Management Book of the Year 2011, Practical Manager CategoryThe Leader's Guide to Influence will show you how to step up your people skills and improve working relationships so you can get the business results you want. Combing the hugely popular areas of influence and leadership, this book will show you how to step up your interpersonal effectiveness by learning how to work more successfully with those around you, be they people you manage, colleagues, client or business partners. Through a combination of practical exercises, case studies and no-nonsense advice, this book shows you how to:- Increase your confidence and impact.- Communicate more effectively.- Learn different tools, techniques and approaches when working with different types of people.- Listen and question effectively.- Develop rapport and empathy.- Give better feedback.- Deal with difficult situations and cope with conflict.