Ryan Shaw – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

What does your budget look like going into the new year?

January 23, 2020 /0 Comments/in Career, Communications, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: What does your budget look like going into the new year? We have a lot more to spend than this past year. 15.4% We have about the same amount to spend as this past year. 54.7% We have much less to spend than this past year. 29.9% Belts are a little tighter. A large portion of you reported having less to spend in the coming year. That requires more focused prioritization. One way to free up some additional budget is by stopping unproductive activities. Stop throwing good money after bad and make the tough decision sooner rather than later. The faster you shut down unproductive projects, the less money you’ll burn on those efforts which means more money for more important ideas. The longer you let those bad projects run, the worse your budgetary challenges become. For those with more to spend, Consider spending it quickly. Changing priorities can always cause adjustments to budgets and rarely are those changes in a positive direction. Make investment decisions quickly and get them moving. Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below! – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!

How To Build Executive Presence

January 22, 2020 /0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Leadership, Strategy /by Ryan Shaw

Mike Figliuolo, thoughtLEADERS’ Managing Director, talks about how to build executive presence. Beyond the Uniform is a site for career resources for Veteran’s and they host a podcast where they interview a military Veteran about their civilian career: what they do, how they got there, and advice for other Veterans seeking to do the same. This is a skills episode, where Mike sat down with the team at Beyond the Uniform to dig into a specific skill set that is likely to be highly relevant to all listeners. Mike is an expert corporate instructor on many topics, and in this episode he delves into Executive Presence – what it is, why it is so important to the Veteran community, and specific actions they can take – today – to start to further build this. Mike also talks about his own career path, starting his own company, and how Executive Presence has played a role in his success.

Recovering Your Company Culture

January 20, 2020 /0 Comments/in Books, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Ryan Shaw

Company culture is one of the most widely discussed parts of the recruiting process, and takes strong leadership from the top to course-correct when things have gone astray. Today’s post is by Vicki Brackett. I recently spoke with Greg, an Executive Vice President who runs global operations for a multi-billion-dollar, multinational company. During our video conference, when I asked what challenges he was facing he responded, “Employee sourcing, recruiting and training costs.” Next, I asked Greg about his employee attrition and absenteeism. Reluctantly, he shared that the organization had over 100 percent annualized employee attrition and over 20 percent absenteeism. It wasn’t hard to do the math and see that the organization was bleeding money off its bottom line and eroding emotional stability within the company. I thanked him for being so honest and upfront with me and mentioned that a lot of organizations struggle with the very same issue. At this point, I felt like I knew what the answer to my next question would be, but I asked it to confirm my suspicions. I asked Greg to tell me about his organization’s culture. Very enthusiastically he said, “We have a great culture! People like working here!”. I wasn’t surprised by his response. Business leaders are often mesmerized with their company culture and wear their definition of that culture as a badge of honor. However, what they seldom realize is that their own ego is tied to how they define their culture.

How rigorous are the change management practices in your organization?

January 16, 2020 /0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How rigorous are the change management practices in your organization? Somewhat. We manage change for big changes but less for everyday stuff. 37.1% Not very. We don’t actively think about how to manage change. 23.3% Not at all. Change just happens and we react. 21.8% Very. We actively and effectively manage change. 17.8% Change just happens. 45% of you say you don’t manage change actively or are purely in reactive mode. People dislike change and times of change are times of risk for your business. People get distracted. Morale drops. Productivity flags. These events need to be managed actively. While huge change projects usually get the resources for change management, it’s the cumulative effect of all the small changes that saps the will of your organization. Your change management efforts don’t need to be huge. It’s mostly about communicating clearly and directly. Invest some extra time in your change efforts for the next few months and see what the impact is. Hopefully it’ll be a more focused organization that moves through change more quickly so they can get back to business sooner. Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below! – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!

Being a Leader Through Conflict Management

January 15, 2020 /0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Communications, Leadership, Strategy /by Ryan Shaw

Jon Wortmann, thoughtLEADERS Principal, sat down with Jim and Jan of The Leadership Podcast to discuss conflict management. In continuation of our new collaboration with The Leadership Podcast, Jon delves into conflict management in this short form “chalk talk.” These chalk talk series are bitesize sessions on a common (but challenging) leadership issue. Jon explains some of the keys to conflict management, the most important being the awareness of it, and also the importance of strong verbal communication skills in order to navigate through and best understand any conflict. In further discussion, Jon points out that, though navigating conflict itself and being able to hear individuals and various sides of an issue is important, conflict management is only successful when you can come to an actual resolution. Solving the problem, even if it involves compromise, is ultimately the most important piece of conflict management. Stay tuned for more of these brief Chalk Talks featuring Jon, as well as many more members of the thoughtLEADERS team.

New Roles Aren’t Cause For Losing Old Skills

January 13, 2020 /0 Comments/in Books, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Ryan Shaw

When leaders take on more responsibility it’s important not to lose all the skills and qualities that got them there. Today’s post is by Graeme Findlay, author of Evolve (CLICK HERE to get your copy). Ahmed, the Vice President for Manufacturing in a large pharmaceutical company could hardly sit still as frustration boiled over. He sat opposite me, stabbing his finger at the circular diagram on the desk between us and exclaimed “I don’t understand it, twelve months of concerted effort and I’ve gone backwards … BACKWARDS!” Ahmed had just received his latest 360-degree feedback report. I had recently started working with Ahmed as his executive coach and this was our first full coaching session. I thought it might be our last as Ahmed raged against the futility of trying to improve his leadership over the last twelve months. He had been slapped in the face with evidence that his determined efforts had come to nought. There was no way forward with Ahmed in his agitated state so I suggested that we go for a walk. I hardly said a word for the first twenty minutes as Ahmed talked out his frustration. Then we got to the heart of the matter. Ahmed had been promoted to the position of Vice President eighteen months earlier from the position of Site Manager for one of the company’s premier manufacturing sites. His promotion was based on a spectacularly successful performance turnaround at the site. Under Ahmed’s leadership, production at the plant had increased almost 40%, with improved safety and quality outcomes. With this success recognized throughout the company, Ahmed approached his new job with vigor – he was now responsible for the company’s entire portfolio of manufacturing sites.