Mike Figliuolo – Page 21 – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

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Entries by Mike Figliuolo

Overcoming the Fear of Giving Tough Feedback

August 14, 2017 /0 Comments/in Books, Communications, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Tough feedback is difficult to deliver so leaders avoid doing so. That leads to negative dynamics for the person who needs the feedback, for the leader, and for the company. Overcome your fear of delivering tough feedback with a few simple techniques. Today’s post is by Angela Sebaly, author of The Courageous Leader (CLICK HERE to get your copy). Beth is an employee who toggles between meets expectations and underperforming. Over the course of 4 years, she has been bounced around internally from one team to the next – working for 3 different teams altogether. Yet she has not been provided much clarity about why. First, she was told that her strengths would be better leveraged in a role that was not customer-facing. Next, she was informed that she would be more successful assisting another team. The third time she was moved, Beth learned that a different team needed her skills. When I met with her, she described feeling bounced around like a beach ball, not sure where she’d end up next. In fact, Beth was underperforming. Yet instead of saying so, her colleagues passed her along from one team to another hoping someone else would have the courage to deal with the situation more effectively. How often do we buffer others – and ourselves – from this type of situation, holding back valid and useful information and giving messages that are diluted at best? Too often to count. That’s because honest feedback is difficult – even painful – to give and to receive. It’s so much easier to shirk these uncomfortable situations by just avoiding them.

What do you believe is the most effective form of growth?

August 10, 2017 /0 Comments/in Entrepreneur, Leadership, Poll, Sales, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

Our reader poll today asks: What do you believe is the most effective form of growth? – Organic: 49% – Acquisition: 15% – Geographic expansion: 10% – New product introduction: 23% – Other: 3% Go organic. The large majority of you are fans of growing your existing business and taking it to new customers or growing customer bases you already have. While there’s a lot to be said for organic growth, it can be slow and it leaves you vulnerable to large changes in the market like competitors making acquisitions or launching new products that leave you in the dust. Evaluate your growth strategy on a regular basis. Be rigorous about understanding your growth options and choose the one most appropriate to the market environment. Sticking only to a “slow and steady wins the race” approach exposes you to other risks that can damage your business. 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!

Is Your Team Built to Last?

August 9, 2017 /1 Comment/in Balanced Lifestyle, Books, Communications, Entrepreneur, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Our teams are under tremendous pressure. That pressure creates stress which diminishes performance. You can build a more resilient team through some simple leadership behaviors. Today’s post is by Jon Wortmann, thoughtLEADERS instructor and author of Hijacked by Your Brain. He’s our primary instructor for our Building Leadership Resilience course. Let’s imagine that you are in a unique position. Your team has the talent it needs. Your organization has a strategy that continues to work with a plan that will adapt to your competitor’s actions. You have enough cash to handle the changes in your markets. Your team is ready to work hard and the energy in your offices has never been better. There’s only one question left to answer: is your team built to last? The problem with our global economy, political uncertainty, and reactive media is that too many of us are living at our edges. We work hard. Our kids’ schedules make us look like our schedules are calm. We play a lot. We travel constantly. We are on our phones frenetically. This means that our brains are always paying attention to something—until they can’t. In the hot seats of Humvees looking for IEDs or the turrets of tanks, our service men and women rotate out every half hour to 90 minutes. Most of us can only concentrate for 40 minutes at a time, but we expect our teams to start early with staff meetings, handle conference calls on international schedules, and respond to emails at all hours. Our brains are not built for the constant stimulation. So how do we stay focused and mentally healthy when our expectations of ourselves and our teams to produce keep us under constant pressure? Give people freedom Your ideal schedule may not match the people on your team. In a […]

Dealing with the Me, Me, Me Millennial at Work

August 7, 2017 /1 Comment/in Books, Career, Communications, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Millennials are easier to lead and manage than you might believe. You just need to understand their needs for more frequent coaching, feedback, and mentoring if you want to get the best performance out of them. Today’s post is by Lianna Willoughby, managing director of Open Mind Strategy, LLC. Millennials are me me me maniacs. Millennials were told by their parents that they could have whatever they want, be whatever they want and given trophies for everything from being excellent to showing up. They took their parents focus to heart deciding it was all about “me me me,” therefore in a professional setting one might assume they think that everything they do is perfect and they only want praise. However, they actually crave critique. In the workplace, millennials desire constant feedback and constructive criticism to feel they are on the right course. 42% of millennials want feedback EVERY WEEK at work. More than TWICE the percentage of any other demographic according to Harvard Business Review. In addition to regular feedback about how they are doing on specific jobs, they want advice on how to advance in their career, and they highly value mentoring relationships. Their desire for professional constant connection may also be fueled by their “always on” tech orientation. Coming of age with social media and text messaging, it is not a complete surprise that they have become accustomed to immediate responses of all kinds – good and bad – and expect it in all aspects of life, including in the workplace. Understanding this aspect of the millennial mindset is essential to their job performance and overall happiness at work. Constant feedback, including constructive criticism, can be leveraged across many situations in the workplace – while activating a team, when communicating throughout the project process and after completion, debriefing […]

4 Questions to Make Difficult Switching Decisions Much Easier

July 31, 2017 /0 Comments/in Books, Business Toolkit, Customer Service, Guest Blogger, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

In an age of too many options, four simple questions can provide a clear approach to making those frequent decisions in a way that saves us time. Today’s post is by Jack Quarles, author of Expensive Sentences (CLICK HERE to get your copy). We live in a time of unprecedented options. Those of us in developed economies of the 21st century, even with average incomes, have more choices than ever before in what we eat, what we wear, our jobs, where we live or travel, our entertainment and education… and the list goes on. Our ability to customize the details of our lives is dazzling, but it is not free. Abundant options require abundant decisions, and decisions require energy. Life’s never-ending buffet brings byproducts: too many options can paralyze us, and fear of taking the wrong option can haunt us. We can benefit from thinking about how we make decisions, and intentionally adopting practices that help us manage the cost of decision-making and feel more confident in the choices we do make. Let’s examine a class of decision that we face every day: stay or go, fish or cut bait, keep on the same path or change direction. More specifically, we’ll consider people and companies we pay, whether at work or at home: Do I like my accountant, or is it time to switch? Should I change gyms? Do we need a new marketing consultant? Is our lawn care guy charging us too much? There are both cost and benefit components to these questions. If your gym is nearby and your friends go there, it may be worth twice the price of a different gym with the same equipment because you’re more likely to go and use it. That’s an easy case. Other decisions aren’t so easy, and sometimes those […]

How comfortable are you being vulnerable with your team members?

July 27, 2017 /0 Comments/in Leadership, Poll /by Mike Figliuolo

Our reader poll today asks: How comfortable are you being vulnerable with your team members? – Very — I have no problem being seen as vulnerable: 43% – Somewhat — I’ll occasionally make myself vulnerable in small ways: 40% – Not very — It’s rare that I make myself vulnerable: 13% – Not at all — I play everything close to the vest and expose nothing: 4% Vulnerability builds trust. Opening up to your team members and sharing who you really are helps them understand why and how you make decisions as well as what you value. Armed with that knowledge, they can better predict your behaviors which is a foundation of trust. If you make yourself vulnerable first, they’re also more likely to share their thoughts, hopes, and fears which enables you to lead and serve them better. When thinking about making yourself vulnerable, focus on simplicity and share who you really are. The easier it is to understand you, the easier it is to trust you. 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!

What’s Your Leadership ROI?

July 26, 2017 /2 Comments/in Books, Communications, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Leaders need to do a better job of how they invest their time and energy. You can’t get a return on those investments if you’re not mindful of where you’re investing and the results you’re getting from those investments (your leadership ROI). You make investments every day, likely without realizing it. You’re investing time and energy in the members of your team. The often-unanswered (or even unasked) question is what is the return you’re getting on that investment? Allow me to introduce the concept of “leadership capital” which is one of the core concepts in my book Lead Inside the Box which I co-authored with Victor Prince. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to discuss the topic of leadership ROI Chris Taylor on Actionable Books’ podcast The 21st Century Workplace. During our conversation, we covered “how smart leaders guide their teams to exceptional results”. During our chat we dive into many areas, including: – What it was like co-authoring a book virtually with someone I hadn’t met in person – Triaging where you invest your time as a leader – The Leadership Matrix performance approach (and how we can best use it to drive performance) – How much time should leaders allow between performance reviews? – Defining Leadership Capital – Why if something you say during a performance review surprises your direct report, you’ve failed as a leader At first blush some of the ideas discussed in this conversation may sound a little counter-intuitive, but I’m certain they will help you better invest your time as a leader. Listen to the podcast here:

Reach Out to Young Employees about Leadership Skills

July 24, 2017 /0 Comments/in Books, Career, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Research shows that young employees feel solely responsible for developing their leadership skills. This is how you can make them feel empowered and less alone. Today’s post is by Thuy Sindell, a principal at Skyline Group International. When I was younger and less experienced, I made the same mistake as many professionals early on in their careers: I never asked for help. I was surrounded by employees who had years of insights from which I could learn, but I was worried asking questions would be a sign of weakness. I felt if I was going to progress in my career, it was up to me. I alone would have to learn what I needed to do to succeed. Over time, I did gain skills and experience, but if I’d asked more questions, it would have shortened the learning curve significantly. What’s unfortunate is that this feeling of responsibility isn’t uncommon in young people. Recent research from the University of Gothenburg found that employees between 24 and 30 tend to believe they’re the only one who can impact their career. They think they have to have all the answers and solve problems alone in order to become a leader. This creates a rift between young employees and leaders who could be useful resources for them. And as the one who knows better, it’s up to you to create a work environment that shows young employees you have their best interests at heart. Here are three ways to show young employees you can help them and develop their leadership skills:

How often do you find business lessons in unconventional places?

July 20, 2017 /0 Comments/in Leadership, Poll /by Mike Figliuolo

Our reader poll today asks: How often do you find business lessons in unconventional places? – Always — I see business lessons in all aspects of everyday life: 59% – Sometimes — The occasional lesson shows up in daily life: 38% – Rarely — It’s not at all often I find business lessons in my daily life: 3% – Never — Business is business. Life is life. They don’t intersect.: 0% Lessons surround us. Just because something isn’t directly related to your work doesn’t mean you can’t learn something from it. Everyday life offers a myriad of lessons if we’re just willing to look. The harder you look, the more you’ll learn. Actively thinking about your business and your work and trying to link seemingly unrelated lessons to it is a vehicle for creativity and insight. You might be surprised by some of the interesting places you can learn things that will inform your perspective on your business. Pause. Take a look around. Ask what you can learn in that very moment. The answers might pleasantly surprise you. 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!

Bringing Your Corporation’s Soul to the Classroom

July 17, 2017 /0 Comments/in Books, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Project-based mentoring enables your company to get involved with students in a way that builds real-world skills for them and strengthens your company’s image. Today’s post is by Patty Alper, author of Teach to Work (CLICK HERE to get your copy). One of the single most important things the human race has done over the course of time is teaching younger generations how to develop and hone a skill. Unlike nearly every other living creature on earth, we humans are born with few instincts, and it takes years before we can be self-reliant. Mentoring, in fact, goes back to the beginning of time with the hunter/gatherers. Starting with masters and apprentices, we have taught the young how to survive and how to thrive. Today, our young adults must learn the skills of survival in the 21st century. Those skills have changed, and continue to change at a record pace. To thrive, students must learn the skills that are desirable in today’s corporate world, or face the prospect of never gaining financial or social maturity. In a recent Gallup study, corporations made very clear that we are failing at passing on those skills. Only 11% of business executives agreed that college graduates have the skills their workplaces need. Yet in striking contrast, 96% of chief academic officers at colleges and universities stated their institution was effective at preparing students for employment. Whether perception, reality, or a combination of the two, this is a huge gap in our understanding of work readiness for college graduates. What can we do to bridge this gap? The answer is surprisingly obvious, but rarely implemented. We need to go back to the roots of the human race. We need experienced practitioners (in technology, accounting, law, journalism, engineering, mathematics, etc.) teaching their hard-learned skills to the next […]

How many great leaders or influential bosses have you worked for?

July 13, 2017 /0 Comments/in Leadership, Poll /by Mike Figliuolo

Our reader poll today asks: How many great leaders or influential bosses have you worked for? – Many – I’ve lost count: 3% – A few – It’s an elite group: 71% – One – They were the best leader I’ve ever had: 15% – None – I’ve not been so lucky: 11% The great ones are rare. The vast majority of you point out that great bosses are hard to find. A point to ponder is if you had a boss you didn’t think was great at the time but upon reflection realize they taught you more than you appreciated. Sometimes looking back on your past can offer insights not only about possibly great bosses you’ve had but also what you can be doing right now to be a great boss for your team members. What set those great bosses apart? What behaviors should you be emulating to be as great as they were? Periodic reflection on prior roles and relationships can yield great insights. 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!

5 Project Management Lessons from Walking Across Spain

July 12, 2017 /0 Comments/in Books, Business Toolkit, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Project Management /by Mike Figliuolo

Whether it’s knowing what you need and what you don’t on a project or knowing how to manage conflict effectively, a long 500 mile stroll can help you build these skills. A few summers ago, I hiked the ancient Camino de Santiago trail across Spain. It was the best month of my life for many reasons. Along with a lot of other great things I got by walking almost 500 miles, it also taught me some valuable project management lessons that I can use at work. Less is More When you are carrying everything you need for a month on your back, you learn to be very smart with differentiating what you need versus what you want. Variety in clothing colors and styles drives complexity and weight in packing a backpack. By the end of the trip, I found that I used 20% of the clothes I packed 80% of the time, and the rest was dead weight. I ended up throwing away a lot of the “I want” clothes and just washing and wearing the “I need” clothes more. LESSON – As I scope future projects at work, I will ruthlessly force myself to differentiate between what is essential to deliver well, and strip out all the “nice to have” parts of the project that aren’t absolutely required. Someone Has Probably Done this Before An amazing thing about the Camino de Santiago is that people have been walking that same trail for over a thousand years as part of a Christian pilgrimage. Whenever I got a blister or a twisted ankle, I realized that hundreds of people probably had that exact same problem at the exact same place and got through it somehow. When I walked by the 800 year-old ruin of a hostel for medieval pilgrims, I realized […]