Declaring Meeting Bankruptcy: A Strategy for Leadership Efficiency In this episode of the For Love of Team podcast, host Winston Faircloth introduces Chapter Eight: 'Declaring Meeting Bankruptcy' from his upcoming book, 'Team Love, 28 Ways to Demonstrate Caring at Work.' Winston discusses the overwhelming nature of back-to-back meetings and offers a radical approach to regain control of one's schedule. Through practical steps, Faircloth outlines how leaders can inventory their meetings, assess t...
Jan 31, 2025•9 min•Ep. 51
S3 E109: Clarify Communications Channels In this episode of the For Love of Team podcast, Winston Faircloth delves into Chapter Seven of his new book, 'Team Love: 28 Ways to Demonstrate Caring at Work,' titled 'Clarify Communication Channels.' Winston narrates the challenges of managing multiple communication platforms and the chaos it can bring, using a relatable scenario of miscommunication and lost information. He shares practical strategies to streamline communication within a team, such as ...
Jan 10, 2025•9 min•Ep. 50
S3 E108: Protecting Productive Times In this episode of the For Love of Team podcast, host Winston Faircloth discusses Chapter 6 'Protect Protective Times' from his new book, 'Team Love: 28 Ways to Demonstrate Caring at Work.' Winston emphasizes the importance of recognizing and protecting individual productive times within teams to enhance work efficiency. He explains that, as leaders, understanding when team members are most creative, alert, and energized is crucial for balancing productivity ...
Dec 13, 2024•5 min•Ep. 49
S3 E107 – Stay in our Strengths In this episode of the For Love of Team podcast, host Winston Faircloth delves into Chapter 5 of his upcoming book, 'Team Love: 28 Ways to Demonstrate Caring at Work.' This chapter, 'Stay in Our Strengths,' scrutinizes the traditional self-review process. Winston critiques the typical approach as a compliance task that often overlooks team members' growth and contributions, proposing instead a shift towards emphasizing daily acknowledgments of team efforts and cel...
Dec 06, 2024•6 min•Ep. 48
S3 E 106: Identify Unique Contributions In this episode of the For Love of Team podcast, host Winston Faircloth delves into Chapter 4 of his book 'Team Love: 28 Ways to Demonstrate Caring at Work,' focusing on identifying unique contributions. The chapter discusses the importance of recognizing and utilizing individual talents and passions within a team to enhance productivity and satisfaction. Winston advises leaders to reflect on tasks that bring effortless engagement versus those that feel bu...
Nov 29, 2024•5 min•Ep. 47
S3 E105: Your Team Owns the How In this episode of the For Love of Team podcast, Winston Faircloth delves into Chapter Three of his upcoming book 'Team Love: 28 Ways to Demonstrate Caring at Work.' The focus is on empowering teams by letting them own the 'how.' After hiring top talent, leaders should provide the 'why' and success metrics but avoid micromanaging. Insights include the importance of not dictating detailed processes to experienced team members, fostering innovation through trust, an...
Nov 22, 2024•7 min•Ep. 46
S3 E104: Defining Clear Success In this episode of For Love of Team podcast, host Winston Faircloth delves into Chapter 2 of his new book, 'Team Love: 28 Ways to Demonstrate Caring at Work.' Winston shares insights on the importance of clearly defining success for your team. He recounts a metaphorical race with no finish line to illustrate the necessity of setting clear markers of achievement to maintain momentum and alignment. Winston provides practical steps for leaders to establish observable...
Nov 15, 2024•5 min•Ep. 45
In the season three premiere of the For Love of Team podcast, host Winston Faircloth introduced his new book, 'Team Love: 28 Ways to Demonstrate Caring at Work.' This episode shares insights from Chapter One, focusing on the importance of starting with a compelling 'why.' Winston narrates the challenges of an executive team facing an uncertain future and highlights how a clear vision can galvanize a team. Through personal anecdotes and practical advice, Winston underscores the significance of an...
Nov 08, 2024•7 min•Ep. 44
In the first episode featuring first-draft audio chapters from his new book, “Team Love: 28 Ways to Demonstrate Caring at Work”, Winston shares the introductory chapter, reflecting on his journey as an executive leader and the pivotal moments that led him to prioritize team love over merely focusing on solutions and client satisfaction. The discussion highlights the stages of a visionary leader's journey, the challenges of maintaining a visionary path, and the importance of nurturing a team-cent...
Nov 01, 2024•9 min•Ep. 43
In this premiere episode of Season 3 of the For Love of Team podcast, host Winston Faircloth reintroduces the podcast after a three-year hiatus. Winston shares personal and professional updates since the last season, including his transformation into an avid writer and his 'Reunion Tour' exploring personal spirituality. Winston recounts his extensive career in leadership roles, primarily in the United Way and nonprofit sectors. He unveils a bold new experiment for this season: writing a book cal...
Oct 25, 2024•9 min•Ep. 42
This week, we wrap up Season 2 with a significant milestone - our 100th episode! To celebrate, we're having fan favorite Mark Ross return to interview Winston about his entrepreneurial journey to creating, For Love of Team. “You know the term “For love of the Game”? I was on a walk one day, and somehow, it just came to my mind that for love of team was what I was missing as the CEO of a very successful multi-million dollar company. I had started a business because I had an idea of how I could he...
Oct 20, 2021•33 min•Ep. 41
Amy Alexander is Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Refuge Center for Counseling in Franklin, Tennessee, where the Center serves more than 30,000 counseling sessions to over 4,000 clients annually. As a nonprofit, Amy is always wrestling with how to retain quality people on her team. And for her, it's the culture they create day-to-day that retains the best people. Amy encourages and supports culture through her ‘Three C’s approach’ of connection , character , and continuous growth within ...
Oct 13, 2021•28 min•Ep. 40
In this week’s episode, we're chatting with Dr. Kristy Goodwin who is on a mission to promote employee wellbeing and bolster workplace productivity. With the pandemic accelerating the work from home (WFH) movement, how we work online and how we disconnect while living in the same place is more important than ever. “I've never had a genius idea looking in my inbox or working in an Excel spreadsheet. I have most certainly had one when I've been swimming or been for a run, or in the shower. And thi...
Oct 06, 2021•29 min•Ep. 39
In this week’s episode, we're continuing our series on how values drive success in business. We are chatting with industry experts to gain their insight on developing Core Values that create a winning team. We're bringing back one of our favorite guests Victoria Mininger, Founder of Bear Creek Outdoor Living. Victoria strives to see each one of her team members thrive, learn, and grow. She shares her journey on how this core value became such a centerpiece of her business. “ We (my husband and I...
Sep 29, 2021•32 min•Ep. 38
In this week’s episode, we're continuing our series on how values drive success in business. We are chatting with industry experts to gain their insight on developing Core Values that create a winning team. We're bringing back one of our favorite guests Craig Wood, CEO of Premier International. Craig is a seasoned CEO and Board member who understands how to get the best out of a company and its employees. He is passionate about personal development for his team and the impact that culture has on...
Sep 22, 2021•40 min•Ep. 37
On this week's podcast we introduce a new interview series where we will be chatting with industry experts to gain their insight on developing Core Values that create a winning team. We kick off this interview series with Teresa McCloy -- a Certified Coach, Speaker, and Enneagram Professional. Teresa was once a workaholic who spent much of her time looking for affirmation through her productivity. After her family experienced a personal crisis, Teresa knew it was time to look inward and work thr...
Sep 15, 2021•39 min•Ep. 36
On this week’s episode, we discuss how by building a business from a state of ‘love’ you will see your success grow exponentially. When you surround yourself with people working in their gifting and focused on a common mission, not only do you get to spend more time working where you're most gifted, but you also create this virtuous cycle where your clients are being loved and your product just keeps getting better. So, as a leader where can you show love in your business? Love of Product: Face ...
Sep 01, 2021•12 min•Ep. 35
Hall of Fame. Shrines to outstanding achievement. A place to remember and recognize legends in sports, business and arts. Many of these accomplishments focus on individual accomplishments. Others recognize a team effort. Imagine for a moment, what it would be like to be on a HOF team. In this week’s episode , I’d like to focus on another use of the letters HOF. It’s the opposite of Hall of Fame work. Can you guess what this HOF stands for? Hair on Fire. What does the “Hair On Fire” organization ...
Sep 01, 2021•14 min•Ep. 34
In this week’s episode , we talk about a familiar expression that founders and leaders of businesses often face. “It’s lonely at the top”. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple famously said, “It’s sort of a lonely job. The adage that it’s lonely — the CEO job is lonely — is accurate in a lot of ways. I’m not looking for any sympathy. You have to recognize that you have blind spots. We all do.” As Cook notes, it’s in these blind spots where the feeling of loneliness can be most apparent. As a business grows, a...
Aug 25, 2021•12 min•Ep. 33
In this week’s episode , I want to share a hard lesson from my time leading a team of 30 people distributed across four time zones. A popular acronym from that time was MBWA (Management by Wandering Around). It was the practice of leaders wandering around the office, in an unstructured manner, at random, to check with employees, equipment, or on the status of ongoing work. One of the greatest benefits to the WFH (work from home) movement is that it has dramatically reduced the interruptions of M...
Aug 18, 2021•15 min•Ep. 32
What would it be like to have a 24/7 coach for each of your team members? On this week’s podcast episode we talk about how you can achieve this. Core value statements serve as a 24/7 coach to your team members, providing practical guidance for how you and your team show up for one another, and how you handle your clients and your customers. Imagine having a set of core values so well stated and clear that you no longer have to be the go-to person in every situation that comes up in your organiza...
Jul 26, 2021•18 min•Ep. 31
In this week’s podcast episode , we dig into two essential leadership decisions in business, creating a compelling why and a clear what to build a team you love. But before you can define these, you need to be clear on your mission, vision, and values. Why does this matter? Without defining your business's purpose first, you won't be able to clearly define the what and why of your team’s purpose. By doing so you create a feeling of vagueness and disconnection between the person and the goal. A c...
Jul 19, 2021•17 min•Ep. 30
Hiring is a business cost that I can't afford right now. In this week’s episode , we get to the problem faced the most by solopreneurs building their very first team, the cost. Let us ask you, what kind of cost is hiring? Do you look at a gym membership as just a cost? or an investment in your future health? Is your mortgage a household cost? Or an investment in your future? So is hiring a team a business cost? Or is it an investment in you? We’d argue it's the latter. Think about your time, it ...
Jul 12, 2021•12 min•Ep. 29
In this episode we do a deep dive on this question: What does it cost to do everything yourself? The bottom line is that as the leader of your organization, doing something you don't like or are not good at is the largest expense to your company, bar none. This is because there's 10 times more energy and time wasted trying to master a new skill, or procrastinating on the action due to lack of interest or time. Therefore, when you start to create a team, you're already getting a 10x return on you...
Jul 05, 2021•12 min•Ep. 28
“Here's the deadline and this is how I want you to do it. And if you don't do it the way I want, you may have to do it over and over until it’s right.” As a team member, there's nothing more demotivating than this. A+ talent will not hang around to find out what the next job is and the step by step ‘how’ you want it done. In today's podcast episode we explore leadership methods, and how one can lead to a spiral of unenjoyment and damaged working relationships, while the other can set you and you...
Jun 28, 2021•14 min•Ep. 27
Six years ago, Winston Faircloth stepped down from the technology organization he helped to build over a 15 year period. As a founder, one of the hardest things you can do is to “let your baby go”. Yet, the prior 12 months had been filled with turmoil and internal discord -- it was no longer fun, senior leaders were at odds with one another, and the organization was experiencing higher than normal turnover. After an extensive search process, UPIC Solutions found their new leader from within. J.R...
Jun 07, 2021•36 min•Ep. 26
In the Indian fable about the blind men who each touched a different part of the element, we aren’t surprised to see that an argument breaks out. Each man trusted his own perception to guide him. Until someone with sight coached them on their error, they made assumptions about the whole. Within an organization, leaders can easily find themselves in the shoes of blind men. With a limited field of view, they make assumptions about the entire organization, process, and team. Just before recording t...
May 31, 2021•16 min•Ep. 25
The impact of the pandemic over this past year has hit everyone. While no one would argue that healthcare and frontline workers have felt it the hardest, the next largest industry might just be the change management professionals. These individuals have worked for years to persuade businesses and teams to embrace needed change in organizations. But few people and employers are comfortable trying new things when the comfortable, old way of doing things is still an option. But, in 2020, everything...
May 24, 2021•16 min•Ep. 24
Comic strips and funny stories abound with humorous anecdotes about clogged sinks and how homeowners make things worse before calling in a professional to fix the problem. There’s a reason they are funny. Because it’s a universal experience. We have a problem. We think we can fix it. Only to discover that the fix we tried made the problem worse. After several experiences like this, most people will call a plumber before they attempt anything other than running the garbage disposal or trying drai...
May 17, 2021•12 min•Ep. 23
Whether it’s a home improvement weekend adventure, a quick renovation, or flooring or paint refresh, Americans love DIY projects. In fact, in 2020 the total sales of all 3 types of home improvement stores totaled more than $450 billion dollars. And HGTV’s website attracts an average of 10.2 million visitors each month. That’s a lot of DIY! But when it comes to your business, trying to DIY-ing it is holding you back. You’ll get further, faster, when you build a team. And you may be thinking that ...
May 10, 2021•14 min•Ep. 22
