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Entries by Mike Figliuolo

7 Ways to Motivate Without Money

February 23, 2011 /3 Comments/in Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s guest blogger is Dr. Todd Dewett. You can learn more about him at the end of the post. He covers the importance of non-monetary ways to motivate your people (and we’ve talked about it NOT being about the money in this prior post – CLICK HERE to read why Nelly is wrong). Here’s Dr. Dewett: Money does not matter nearly as much as you think it does. At home or work, no amount of money replaces great relationships. Leaders generally like money more than the folks whom they lead. The fact that money motivates leaders more is not a bad thing per se. The problem is that leaders too often assume that money is a prime motivator for others. Employees, of course, do like money and want to continue receiving their paychecks. Yet, when you go ask them what really makes them happy, they will say things like being appreciated, being in the loop, and having good relationships. Money is rarely near the top of the list. If you want more bang for your buck, you actually have to stop spending so many bucks. There are many potentially useful monetary motivators that serve as a financial “thank you,” such as a day of paid vacation, tickets to a sporting event, gift certificates of any form, simple cash payouts, and more elaborate efforts such as gain sharing.

How Mr. Spock Helps You Make Better Decisions

February 21, 2011 /19 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Communications, Entrepreneur, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

As leaders, we like being decisive and making quick decisions. We know our businesses well and are willing to act. Doing so without true contrarian input can be dangerous though. You can make better decisions though simply by identifying and relying on your own personal Mr. Spock. Yes, I’ve been watching movies again and as usual, I can’t help but draw a leadership perspective from them. In Star Trek (the new version – which was awesome) Captain Kirk is decisive yet impetuous. He takes on huge risks and acts on emotion. Many times he’s right. He has a good gut feeling and intuition. He knows his team and his organization’s capabilities. He’s a great tactician. But it’s easy to see how his snap decisions could lead to disaster. Mr. Spock on the other hand is brutally logical and dispassionate. He is stylistically diametrically opposed to Captain Kirk. Needless to say the two of them go at each others’ throats (both figuratively and literally when Spock snaps and chokes out Kirk). As a team, however, the two of them make better decisions. As conflict-laden and dysfunctionally painful as their relationship is at times, it works. All of us would do well as leaders to find our own Mr. Spock. Here’s what I mean…

Tired of Being Middle Management? Try Being a Middle Leader

February 16, 2011 /2 Comments/in Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

We all deride middle management. It’s that group of folks who are responsible for getting all the work done but they seem to lack the authority to make things happen. Sure, sometimes middle managers are fenced in and cannot affect the world around them without permission but I’d argue most of those limitations are self-imposed. What’s keeping middle managers from stepping up and leading? Fear. To find out how to overcome this fear and be a successful leader from the middle of your organization, CLICK HERE to head over to Patti Blackstaffe’s blog where I explain the three things you must do to break out of the middle management rut and become a powerful middle leader. And while you’re there subscribe to her blog – there’s a lot of great leadership info there. – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC – Get your copy of my upcoming book One Piece of Paper – CLICK HERE

3 Steps to Successfully Move into a New Role

February 14, 2011 /2 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Business Toolkit, Career, Communications /by Mike Figliuolo

“Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in.” – Michael Corleone, The Godfather: Part III If you’ve ever moved to a new role in your company, you’ve probably felt like Michael Corleone at some point. The folks from your old role keep sucking you back in, asking for help, asking you to continue doing your old job, and basically keeping you from moving into your new role. Combine that pull with being a new role, new organization, and needing to demonstrate impact pretty quickly and you have a recipe for a very uncomfortable and difficult work experience. In a recent SmartBrief on Leadership poll I asked what the most difficult part of moving to a new role was. The answers are not surprising: So how can you quickly and effectively move out of your old role and into the new one?

When the Boss Says Yes And Means No

February 9, 2011 /4 Comments/in Communications, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s guest post is by Patti Blackstaffe, President of Strategic Sense Inc. You can subscribe to her blog here and learn about her first in a series of leadership guidebooks LeadershipXXL here. Here’s Patti: Because you’re not what I would have you be, I blind myself to who, in truth, you are. – Madeleine L’Engle As a leader, setting expectation isn’t always easy, sometimes it can be a balance between wanting to seem fair or likable and trying to get your team to meet your personal expectations. The Conflict In our Canadian winters, a blizzard will build as the north wind collides with pacific winds coming off the Rocky Mountains and the blizzard can last for days at temperatures well below freezing. On days like this, getting in a car can mean your life. It was during just such a blizzard, a young woman needed to determine if traveling to work would be a good idea or not. With road reports unfavourable, 8-12 hour wait-times for tow trucks, recommendations not to drive from family, co-workers and friends had her leaning toward staying at home. The fact that decision makers from her work had sent an email the night before stating; ‘…our out of town staff are not expected to travel along the out of town routes deemed unsafe…’ supported staying at home. Under the circumstances and when weighing the risks she finally came to the conclusion staying at home was the best decision she could make. Flash forward to the next day when this employee finds out several of the folks who chose to stay at home were called in and a staff meeting occurred where the boss shouted at the staff, berated them for their lack of professionalism and made accusations of relaxing at the expense of the organization.

Demystifying Who You Are as a Leader

February 7, 2011 /1 Comment/in Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

You might think you’re open, transparent, and easy to understand. To your people, though, you might be a total enigma. They might be confused about who you are, not understand what you stand for, and be frustrated they can’t predict your behavior. All these dynamics lead to workplace frustration and work inefficiency. At their worst, they negatively impact morale and eventually lead people to seek employment elsewhere. Why are they so confused? I’ve lived with myself for forty years. I’m with myself 24/7. I’m a pretty known quantity – to me. My people have known me for a much shorter period of time. They only interact with me a few hours a day (at best). Our conversations are usually confined to tasks, deliverables, and some coaching. They want to know me better because I have an impact on their lives. I affect their work, their compensation, and ultimately their careers. There’s some element of fear (however small) in that dynamic because when people don’t have complete control over a situation, they get uneasy. They really want to know me better as a person to reduce this uncertainty and discomfort.

3 Lessons on Using Social Media for Your Business, Courtesy of Your Local Mechanic

February 2, 2011 /7 Comments/in Customer Service, Guest Blogger, Social Media /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s guest blogger is Tanveer Naseer. You can read about him at the bottom of this post. If you haven’t read his blog yet, you should go read it and subscribe to it by clicking here. Enjoy! The start of a new year often fosters discussions over what will be the key events to occur over the next 12 months. So far, many pundits are pointing out how 2011 will be the year of mass adoption by businesses of social media platforms as part of their marketing, management, and employee retention efforts. Given the fact that Facebook has surpassed Google as the most visited site on the internet in 2010, as well as the deepening integration of social media platforms into people’s everyday lives, there’s no question that businesses will have to adapt and incorporate social media into their various processes. Granted, there are many businesses which are already fairly active on the various social media sites. Of course, while some of them have been shining examples of how businesses should use social media, most are still struggling in large part because they haven’t quite understood how they should be using social media to benefit their organization. So why are some companies able to join in the social media scene and within a short period, reap the benefits while others were better off before they made the jump into these online social spheres? To help answer this question, I’d like to first start off by sharing this example of an interaction between a small business owner and a customer from the ‘real world.’

How You Can Lead Like The Green Hornet

January 31, 2011 /3 Comments/in Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

I just saw The Green Hornet and it was awesome. As I left the movie I wondered what made him a great leader (or not) and how those lessons might apply to the business world. I know. I’m weird like that. The good news is I’ve unlocked the secret of great leadership Green Hornet-style. I’ve also identified a couple of things you definitely DO NOT want to do Green Hornet-style if you want to be an effective leader (and if you want to become a really effective leader, CLICK HERE to learn about a book that will help you do exactly that). If you haven’t seen the movie yet, don’t worry. Here’s the 15 second recap. Spoiled kid inherits rich dad’s company. He’s bored so he becomes a vigilante super-hero with Kato – his father’s longtime servant. Green Hornet and Kato dish out justice as they deem fit. Curtain. Needless to say an immature, spoiled vigilante has issues but he does more good than harm. He shakes things up, searches for truth, and makes things happen. He also treats his teammate like dirt on occasion and doesn’t think ahead or involve others in his planning. Net net, he gets the bad guys but in his own special way. So what can you learn from The Green Hornet that can make you a better leader? This:

4 Ways to Find Your Next Generation of Leaders

January 26, 2011 /1 Comment/in Career, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s guest blogger is Brendan Cruickshank. You can learn all about him in his byline at the end of this post. Here are his thoughts on finding that next generation of leaders. When you hear the word “leader,” what image pops into your head? A President? A General? Maybe a CEO of a large company? Sure, these are all leaders. But what about scientists, marketers, secretaries, and even custodians? Doesn’t leadership exist in these jobs too? Most of us tend to associate leadership with some sort of senior executive position. But in most organizations, leadership is required at all levels. At the engineering level, a leader might be the individual who assumes the lead role in the development effort for a new product. For a sales clerk, leadership can be going the extra mile in making sure the customer experience is improved and maximized. Among a group of designers, leadership could be demonstrated by a worker who puts in long hours for two weeks straight to make sure the next prototype is flawless. Leadership is needed everywhere in a truly successful organization and leadership skills are critical in every role imaginable. An organization that recognizes the need for leadership at all levels will reflect this philosophy in its hiring practices. The challenge is to find leaders not just at the top echelons of management, but at mid-level and even lower-level rungs of the organizational ladder. What exactly is the best way to go about finding those leaders? How do we recognize them and identify them? Here are four things you should consider as you look for that next generation of leaders:

Three Rules of Three for Successful Communications

January 24, 2011 /0 Comments/in Communications /by Mike Figliuolo

For as many words as we use, we’re terrible communicators. Voicemails are jumbled streams of consciousness. Emails are “text bombs” with no rhyme or reason. Presentations are nothing but crippling piles of slides. But don’t worry – here are three rules of three to make your communications clearer, more compelling, and more efficient/effective. All good things come in threes. Blind Mice, Stooges, Wise Men, Little Pigs, Musketeers, and Rocky movies (for the record, Rocky IV and Rocky V were terrible – see? They should have stopped at three). If you want to read the three rules that will make you a much better communicator, CLICK HERE to head on over to Tanveer Naseer’s blog where I explain these critical rules. While you’re there, sign up and subscribe to his blog – there’s some really great leadership and communications stuff there. – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC – Get your copy of my upcoming book One Piece of Paper – CLICK HERE Photo: Three by Hubert Figuiere

Have You Trained Your Replacement?

January 19, 2011 /0 Comments/in Career, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

None of us likes to think about being replaced in our jobs. We enjoy the security that comes with the routine and familiarity of our role. The notion of someone else taking that spot from us can be unnerving. I submit that the best leaders out there are actively seeking someone to replace them. Whether they are looking within their own team, the broader organization, or outside the company, a good leader always has a notion of who will be sitting in their chair next. Why? Because organizations change, new opportunities present themselves, and people need chances to grow. This is the beginning of a guest post I wrote that you can read on Mary Jo Asmus’ blog. To read the rest of the post, click on over to Mary Jo Asmus’ blog at Aspire Collaborative Services where I expand on how to think about training and hiring your replacement. While you’re there be sure to sign up to receive her blog too – there’s some great info there! To get a sample of Mary Jo’s writing, check out this post she wrote here on the thoughtLEADERS blog last week about how to be a better coach. It’s some great advice. You can read more about Mary Jo at the bottom of that post. If you haven’t read her blog yet, you should go read it and subscribe to it by clicking here. – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC – Get your copy of my upcoming book One Piece of Paper – CLICK HERE Photo: BXP135656 by tableatny

One Question That Keeps You Out of Trouble

January 17, 2011 /5 Comments/in Communications, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

You folks know I love asking questions. From this post on going from having answers to asking questions to my quote “Asking the right question about the future is more powerful than having the right answer about the past” I have found questions to be a more powerful leadership tool than many others that are out there. Heck, when you eventually get to read my book One Piece of Paper you’ll find it’s full of questions designed to help you become a better leader. Out of all the questions I know of, the shortest one of all is a great way to stay out of trouble as a leader. I’m talking about the kind of trouble that earns you a reputation as a jackass, an insensitive lout, or someone too obtuse to care about people. “Why?” We’re generally smart people (that’s why they put us in leadership roles). Smartitude can get problematic though when you assess situations too quickly, draw conclusions, then act on them without taking a moment to stop. Think. Get grounded. Allow me to demonstrate how I could have avoided looking like a complete idiot if only I had asked “why?” instead to being a “decisive leader.” When I was a sophomore at West Point, I had a bit of a reputation of being a haze. I used to pounce upon hapless plebes (freshmen) whenever they made the slightest mistake. Some of it was simply good, clean fun and sport. There isn’t a lot to do for entertainment at West Point in the dead of winter. Anyway, one day a plebe walked by me at a pretty slow pace. This was a problem because plebes were supposed to “move with a purpose” which meant at least 120 steps per minute. In the real world this meant any […]