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Entries by Mike Figliuolo

How I’m Kicking My Worst Behavior to the Curb

January 14, 2019 /0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Books, Career, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

How performing simple daily affirmations helped one leader kick her worst habit to the curb, improving her relationships at home and at work. Today’s post is by Glain Roberts-McCabe, author of Did I REALLY Sign Up for This?! (CLICK HERE to get your copy). In October of this year, it will be seven years since my dad passed away. He was a larger than life personality. As a rugby coach, dad was tough as nails, didn’t suffer fools gladly and was quick to give people around him a strong tongue lashing if he was tired, stressed, or just generally miserable… which seemed to be fairly frequently. Growing up, I couldn’t wait to get out from under his domineering, authoritarian approach to parenting and ran away from home at 17. I always swore I would never be like my dad and would never speak to the people I loved in the tone of voice that he spoke to my mother, brothers and myself. Fast forward into adulthood and marriage and where do I find myself? You guessed it… throwing around a “what are you, stupid?” tone of voice with accompanying eye rolling and impatient body language… just like dear old dad. I was actively embracing my father’s emotional bullying tactics! Of course, by my view, nowhere near to the same degree and certainly not all the time. It’s interesting how we will excuse or dismiss bad behavior as something that we “can’t help” but always seem to be able to manage it when it counts. Feedback at work came along the lines of… you can be intimidating; people may be afraid to disappoint/approach/disagree with you; you’re a bit of a hothead; I think (person X) is afraid of you. Spouses are a little more direct… stop speaking to me like I’m an […]

Managing the Safari Way

January 7, 2019 /0 Comments/in Books, Communications, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Plans and strategies get derailed on a daily basis. Unpredictable issues, market forces, and unforeseen circumstances can all throw your plan off track. Being flexible, having contingency plans in place, and trusting others can help you overcome these obstacles and get back on track. Today’s post is by Larry Ackerman, author of The Identity Code (CLICK HERE to get your copy). I’m just back from my third trip to Tanzania – a three-week immersion into a startlingly different land, whose people, animals, birds and weather never fail to help me see life more fully than I otherwise might. These safaris give new meaning to the word perspective. Safari, which literally means journey, is defined above all by its unpredictable nature. Yes, there is an itinerary – a plan, as it were – but the real adventure unfolds in ways that includes a variety of unexpected pitfalls, which need to be reckoned with in the moment. This reality got me thinking about the surprising connections between safaris and managing organizations. Here are five such connections to consider as you strive to help your organization succeed. Getting stuck in the mud The safari situation: Eleven of us are in two Toyota Land Cruisers when a back tire on one of the trucks suddenly slides into a muddy ditch: We’re completely stuck. The second truck comes over, unfurls a tow-rope that can pull five thousand pounds, hooks it to our undercarriage and with a lurch pulls us free so we can safely continue on our journey. The management situation: In business, getting stuck in the mud can show up in a number of ways. One is when a company has been very successful. So much so, that it has come to take its success for granted and, unwittingly, has developed myopia about its […]

In the Absence of Clarity There is No Accountability

December 24, 2018 /0 Comments/in Books, Communications, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Project Management /by Mike Figliuolo

A leader’s number one job is to create clarity. Leaders who fail to create clarity will struggle with holding their people accountable because their people will choose to perform the activities that fit closest to their current comfort zone. Today’s post is by Hamish Knox, author of Accountability the Sandler Way (CLICK HERE to get your copy). Stop reading if you’ve never said or heard this from a leader, “but I thought they knew what they were supposed to do!” A leader’s number one job is to create clarity in their organization. Lack of clarity leads to lack of accountability and ultimately frustration and conflict. As much as we’d like to think we aren’t, humans are animals. Social animals. In the wild social animals are led by an alpha who provides guidance (usually in the form of violence) on what is acceptable behavior in the pack. Animals also have no capacity to process language so all of their clues about what is acceptable and how to be accountable come from the alpha’s behavior. When an alpha (in the wild or in business) is unclear about the behavior that is acceptable and/or the consequences for not showing the right behaviors, the animals in their group will demonstrate the behaviors that they believe the alpha wants. If the alpha doesn’t punish or correct those behaviors, their group members will continue doing those activities until their alpha erupts with frustration, which they caused. With humans, our team members filter the behaviors they believe their leader wants from them through the filter of their hopes, dreams, fears, and comfort zone. A recurring theme in my coaching sessions with the leaders I work with is “why aren’t my people doing (behavior expected)?!” The answer is usually “because they didn’t know you wanted them to do […]

Lead with Courage like a Navy SEAL

December 17, 2018 /0 Comments/in Books, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Fear holds us back from achieving outstanding performance. The more rapidly you can identify the type of fear you’re facing, the more easily you can overcome it. Whether it’s fear of failure, fear of not being liked, or fear of loss, understanding and embracing that fear enables you to move beyond it. Today’s post is by Mark Divine, author of The Way of the SEAL (CLICK HERE to get your copy). The SEAL leader stands on the ramp and peers into the inky blackness below. His team is inserting from 20,000 feet above ground level on a mission to rescue hostages taken by ISIS. He notes the familiar tightness in his chest, narrowing of focus, pit in the belly. ‘Hello fear, my friend,’ he thinks to himself with a grin. He reviews his mental checklist, taking comfort in the countless hours of training as well as the expertise of his teammates. Connecting once again to his “why” the feelings of fear are soon experienced as determination, intense focus and you might even say… excitement! The light turns green. The SEAL turns, smiles to his team, and with a thumbs up leaps off the ramp into space. Back in New York, you are getting ready for your speech at the annual gathering of industry titans. That same tightness and pit in the stomach that the SEAL experienced hits you. This creates anxiety as you face an unknown crowd with your first major speech. Public speaking is scary to you, almost as much, you imagine, as jumping into the night out of a C-130. You don’t know how you’re going to perform or what the outcome will be. Tension builds, your field of sight narrows and those nasty “fight-or-flight” symptoms kick in. Your body’s sympathetic reaction creates an extreme hormone imbalance and […]

Which environment is harder to lead in: a crisis or the boring day-to-day?

December 13, 2018 /0 Comments/in Entrepreneur, Leadership, Poll /by Mike Figliuolo

Our reader poll today asks: Which environment is harder to lead in: a crisis or the boring day-to-day? Crises are harder to lead in: 17.% Day-to-day environments are harder to lead in: 83.0% Harder to lead during the calm. It makes sense that it’s harder to lead a team during day-to-day calm periods. There’s no “enemy” to galvanize your efforts. There’s no crisis to rally the team around. It’s just the boring daily operations that have to be done, but they also have to be done well. Just remember the old military aphorism that how you train in peace defines how you fight in war. If you’re not maintaining standards and holding people accountable during the slow times, they’re more prone to mistakes that can be costly during a crisis. If you place the right focus on the details when things are slow, that will be one less thing to worry about during the crisis that’s inevitably going to come your way. 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 Tips for Networking the Right Way

December 10, 2018 /0 Comments/in Career, Communications, Guest Blogger /by Mike Figliuolo

Networking isn’t just about getting a job for yourself. If you focus on it for that purpose alone, you’re doomed to fail. By seeing networking as a way to bring value to others, you’ll find your network grows rapidly and your opportunities will multiply. Today’s post is by Annie Walton Doyle of Inspiring Interns. Whatever stage you’re at in your career, networking is critically important. Today’s job market is hugely different from that of the past, and the majority of the reason why is networking. Never has who you know been quite so important, and never has knowing more people been quite so accessible. Not only can networking help you advance in your career, or redirect your path of employment, but it helps build a supportive network around you. And yet networking can get a bad rap. Some see it as insincere or smarmy, while others think it’s simply a waste of time. But done right, networking is one of the most valuable tools to have in your arsenal – not just in terms of finding your career path, but in terms of progressing and growing in your chosen career. Here are five tips on how to network more successfully. Plan Ahead If you can, start networking before you properly “need” to. Build a network you can access and use when you need it; don’t try to start building it when you really need one. People can sense desperation and the insincerity which comes with it, and it can be a huge turn-off. If you approach people when you genuinely want to build connections, and not when you’re trying to figure out what they can imminently do for your career, you’ll come across better and build better relationships. Once you’ve started networking, know what you want to put across and […]

How do you address conflict with a peer you have a great relationship with?

December 6, 2018 /0 Comments/in Communications, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Poll /by Mike Figliuolo

Our reader poll today asks: How do you address conflict with a peer you have a great relationship with? Ignore it. Things tend to work themselves out on their own: 15.2% Say something directly and get to the root of it quickly: 82.7% Act passive aggressively in retaliation for the conflict: 2.1% Get to the issue quickly. The vast majority of you identify and try to resolve issues with peers as quickly as possible. Bravo. Letting something linger won’t necessarily resolve it. Granted, there’s judgment involved in which issues to proactively discuss and resolve and which issues (the small ones) to just let slide in the interest of maintaining a good relationship. If you find you tend to avoid issues and are afraid to give feedback because of the reaction you might receive, try using a fact-based feedback model that focuses on the behavior first and then highlights the emotional impact of the behavior. Starting with facts can reduce the tension and enable you to move forward more quickly. And if you’re passive-aggressively retaliating, stop. It doesn’t help anyone — least of all, 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!

Positive Work Cultures are More Productive

December 3, 2018 /0 Comments/in Books, Communications, Customer Service, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Achieving a breakthrough organization is achievable for any leadership team willing to invest in designing for the future of work. Creating work that is both customer-centric and that is employee-centric is possible. Today’s post is by Jessica Higgins, Chief Operating Officer at Gapingvoid Culture Design Group. “Although there’s an assumption that stress and pressure push employees to perform more, better, and faster, what cutthroat organizations fail to recognize is the hidden costs incurred.” – Proof that Positive Cultures are More Productive, Harvard Business Review The timeworn industry standard is to focus on purely bottom-line results. Productivity obsessed leaders, however, experience a massive, and often invisible, cost of doing business this way. News outlets are reporting that employee burnout is costing US business alone over $300 billion in labor costs annually. Voluntary separations and employee churn are well documented in companies, but what is less well documented are healthcare costs, which are increasing rapidly, according the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Simply put, your machines are breaking down on you, and most leaders are failing to see it. In any average company, human capital is the primary expense. This means that your people have the highest replacement cost, and the highest value. I am arguing that you should start treating them this way. It’s well proven that employees cost around 4 months of time to train. In companies that haven’t resorted to 1099s primarily, there are healthcare costs associated throughout the year. Let alone your churn rates, unemployment, recruiters and all of the other expenses attached should any employee choose to leave. The cost of implementing more holistic management systems that take care of your human capital quickly become cheap, once all of your invisible costs of old management are brought to the surface. I first noticed this trend at the beginning […]

How do you deal with slackers on your team?

November 29, 2018 /0 Comments/in Communications, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Poll /by Mike Figliuolo

Our reader poll today asks: How do you deal with slackers on your team? I immediately counsel them and put them on performance plans: 8.3% I try to figure out how to motivate them: 37.0% I ignore things and hope their performance improves: 2.3% I restructure their roles to make them happy: 1.7% I use a combination of tactics: 50.7% It’s about motivation… and consequences. Clearly the majority of you focus on finding your slackers’ motivation. That’s the key. They often have the skills and abilities to do great work — they just choose not to. Unlocking a slacker’s motivation is the key to turning around performance. That said, sometimes it’s impossible to find a way to motivate them in their current role. In those situations, the combination approach of finding motivation but then doling out consequences, up to and including termination, are on the table. Regardless of which approach you choose, doing nothing is not an option. The rest of your team sees the slacker getting away with it, and their morale suffers as a result. 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 Figure Out Where You Should Focus

November 26, 2018 /0 Comments/in Books, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

True business leaders stay focused. This is crystal clear. But how can you make sure you are focusing on the most promising business opportunities that can lead your company to success? Today’s post is by Sharon Tal, co-author of Where to Play (CLICK HERE to get your copy). In their best-selling book Creativity Inc., Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace present well known pieces of advice that lead you nowhere. One of them is “focus, focus, focus!” As they explain: “When people hear it, they nod their heads as if a great truth has been presented, not realizing that they have been diverted from addressing the far harder problem: deciding what is it that they should be focusing on. There is nothing in this piece of advice that gives you any idea how to figure out where the focus should be.” Indeed, knowing that you need to focus is the easy part, but choosing which opportunities to focus on is a hard nut to crack. This is true for founders of a small startup, just as it is for managers of a large organization. In any case you will need to assess and prioritize your business opportunities to figure out what horse you are betting on. Here are few tips that will help you to evaluate and compare your business opportunities in a systematic manner, so you can set your strategic focus more easily. Spotlight on two key factors Theories on motivation stress that a great goal should be desirable and feasible – both at the same time. A business opportunity is just the same: it should be highly desirable, i.e., offer a high potential for value creation, yet also highly feasible, i.e., bear limited challenges in capturing this value. So when you assess different opportunities for your company, make sure […]

How well does your organization anticipate and influence regulatory changes?

November 22, 2018 /0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Communications, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Poll /by Mike Figliuolo

Our reader poll today asks: How well does your organization anticipate and influence regulatory changes? Very well. We see them coming and help shape them: 27.7% Well. We see them but could do more to shape them: 37.1% Not well. We’re sometimes surprised and don’t shape much:27.7% Not at all. We’re always caught off guard: 7.5% Staying ahead of the rules. All businesses are impacted by new laws, rules, and regulations. Ignore their development at your own risk. It can be a terrible outcome to be unaware of a rule change until it’s announced. Doing so can cause massive disruptions to your business and lead you to incur significant costs. On top of that, you’ll be at a competitive disadvantage if you’re remediating regulatory issues while your competitors are attacking you since they’ve already remediated their issues before the rule was finalized. Even better than staying apprised of pending regulations, see if you can influence their development. There are many opportunities to provide input into the regulatory process. Don’t miss the opportunity to shape the rules you’ll compete under in the future. 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!

Three Best Practices to Obtain and Retain Top Talent

November 19, 2018 /0 Comments/in Books, Career, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

The top talent your organization needs is bullish on the future. Here are three best practices we found to obtain and retain your best employees. Today’s post is by Mark Miller, author of Talent Magnet (CLICK HERE to get your copy). Top talent is bullish on the future. Many would say they’ve already been there in their imagination and are excited about the prospects. In late 2017, my team and I, with outside assistance, finished a research project where we sought the factors that attract what I like to call top talent. That private research gained insight from more than 7,000 people, collected through various methods across the U.S. One of our findings is the fact top talent has more of a future bias than their fellow employees. So much so, a brighter future is one of the attributes they consider when evaluating an organization or job opportunity: “Will this place and role help me prepare for my future?” What is the role of leadership then? Our research identified three best practices to help top talent realize their preferred future while serving the organization along the way. Champion Growth If your goal is to help top talent grow into a brighter future, you can do countless things over the months and years to assist these most talented people. But, there may be nothing more critical than your continuing efforts to champion growth. Champion is not a term you hear often as a verb; however, in this context, it is the perfect word. To champion growth means you will fight for, defend, promote, affirm and assist others as they attempt to grow. Not only that, you’ll do all of this with tremendous energy, enthusiasm, passion and fervor. Everyone needs a champion when it comes to growth. As a leader in this […]