When filling open roles, what is your company’s hiring approach?

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EKG Pulse Graph with Glowing Blue Line

Our reader poll today asks: When filling open roles, what is your company’s hiring approach?

  • We always try hard to hire and fill from within first: 66%
  • We give a cursory look within but often hire externally: 28%
  • We never look at internal talent and always go external: 6%

You’ve got the talent, but are they ready? A significant portion of your hires are coming from within. The obvious benefits here are the person is a known quantity and they fit with your culture. The unknown we forget to consider and prepare for is they are an unknown quality in terms of how they’ll perform at the next level. Just because they were a good individual contributor, that doesn’t mean they’ll be a good manager. Nor a good manager a good director, and so on. What are you doing today to prepare these leaders for tomorrow? Training and developing them after you’ve put them in the new role might be too late. Don’t just build a succession plan and leave it at that. Actively find development and skill building opportunities for these next-generation leaders before you put them in that next level role.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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If you’re assigned prework for a meeting or training event, how do you approach it?

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EKG Pulse Graph with Glowing Blue Line

Our reader poll today asks: If you’re assigned prework for a meeting or training event, how do you approach it?

  • Rigorously: I do all the prework to the best of my ability: 39%
  • Seriously: I do the work, but I don’t overexert myself: 48%
  • Minimally: I do the bare minimum required of me: 11%
  • I don’t do it: I have enough to do without adding more work to the pile: 2%

Be prepared. Prework is assigned for a reason. Think back to how many meetings or training programs you’ve attended where someone said it was a waste of time and they didn’t get a lot out of it. That perspective could be directly related to the effort they put into pre-work assigned for the event. People running training programs and meetings know your time is precious. Pre-work is a way to accelerate learning and make for a better classroom session or meeting environment. The next time you’re attending an event that requires pre-work, consider the impact of not doing it. While only 13% of you tend to blow it off, you’re forcing that instructor or facilitator to spend extra time getting you caught up in the session or they have to make the decision to leave you behind and focus on the 87% of people who properly prepared. Your actions have a larger impact than just your experience in the session. You — and your colleagues — get out of it what all of you put into it.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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Do you enjoy negotiating?

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EKG Pulse Graph with Glowing Blue Line

Our reader poll today asks: Do you enjoy negotiating?

  • I love it! I’ll negotiate over everything: 10%
  • I like it especially for important things: 31%
  • It’s OK, but it doesn’t really excite me: 26%
  • Not really. I find it uncomfortable: 24%
  • Not at all. I hate every aspect of it: 9%

Let’s make a deal. A reasonably large number of you enjoy deal-making. For those who find it uninteresting or distasteful, consider the implications of that stance. Recognize everything is negotiable – salary, time off, times to hold meetings, office locations, etc. It’s not just about negotiating contract terms. When we dislike an activity, we avoid it. In this case, it might mean you avoid preparing for a negotiation or even paying attention to the fact that you’re in a negotiating situation. That can be disastrous. The party who comes to the table better prepared is significantly more likely to achieve the outcome they desire. Many times that will be at your expense if you’re unprepared. So while you might find negotiating distasteful, look at the cost of not doing it well. That might change the way you approach all the day-to-day negotiations you might be involved in without even realizing you’re negotiating.

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!

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How likely are you to overcommit yourself and run yourself down from doing so?

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EKG Pulse Graph with Glowing Blue Line

Our reader poll today asks: How likely are you to overcommit yourself and run yourself down from doing so?

  • Very. I do it all the time: 42%
  • Somewhat. I try not to overcommit but it happens occasionally: 46%
  • Not very. I rarely find myself overcommitted: 7%
  • Not at all. I manage commitments rigorously so I’m not stretched too thin: 4%

Overcommit and underdeliver. Many of you report overcommitting sometimes to all the time. Those are alarming numbers. You’re not impressing people by taking on too much work and then either failing to deliver on it to an expected standard or running yourself into the ground in the process of getting the work done. If you’re burned out, you’re worthless to the organization, your friends and family, and to yourself. Get comfortable with saying “no” or pushing back on deadlines. Take baby steps at first. When someone says they need something “right now” get clarity on the date. Oftentimes things can be pushed out. The more comfortable you get with pushing back, saying “no,” and delegating, the less likely you are to disappoint those around you and wear yourself out.​

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!

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How effectively do you feel you navigate office politics?

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EKG Pulse Graph with Glowing Blue Line

Our reader poll today asks: How effectively do you feel you navigate office politics?

  • Extremely. I’m a master at navigating office political intrigue: 7%
  • Very. I navigate politics pretty well most of the time: 37%
  • Somewhat. I sometimes miss important political issues: 33%
  • Not very. I’m not very savvy at navigating political challenges: 16%
  • Not at all. I’m at a total loss for how to navigate office politics: 7%

Politics are a big challenge. While a large portion (44%) of you feel relatively politically savvy at work, an even larger portion struggle to navigate the daily challenges and intrigue of the modern office. I’d submit that you have two choices — join into the political fray and approach it like you’re working at the Capitol or in a TV drama. This approach will tune you in to more of the political landscape and help you navigate those waters. The downside is it will consume a lot of your time and energy that could be spent on more productive pursuits — not to mention being extremely stressful. The other option is to rise above the political fray. When people try to suck you in, let them know you’re too busy working on meaningful efforts to invest time in the drama. While this approach creates political risk for you, it generates more value for the organization and keeps you out of energy-draining daily dramatic situations.

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!

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What’s your view of people taking a mental health day?

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EKG Pulse Graph with Glowing Blue Line

Our reader poll today asks: What’s your view of people taking a mental health day?

  • It’s important and they should do it whenever they need to: 78%
  • It should only be taken in severe circumstances: 19%
  • They shouldn’t take time off unless they have a physical illness: 3%

Health is health. While the overwhelming majority of you support your associates taking mental health days whenever needed, more than 20% of you are less supportive of that approach. With the rise of mental health issues at home and in the workplace, it’s incumbent upon leaders to expand their view of what self-care entails. Is it more important to keep track of why someone takes a sick day and approving or disapproving of their reasons for doing so or should we be focused more on healthy associates delivering solid performance? Most of us don’t have psychology, psychiatry, or medical degrees. We’re not qualified to accurately assess whether or not someone needs time off due to mental health reasons. If we’re not qualified to make that judgment, then we shouldn’t make it. Instead, ask how you can best support your associate who likely knows much better than you do what they need to take care of themselves.

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!

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