Poll – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

How effectively do the leaders in your organization manage change?

March 4, 2021/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How effectively do the leaders in your organization manage change?

Extremely: We’re change management experts. 8%
Very well: We do a solid job of managing change. 31%
Marginally: We do OK but could do much better. 36%
Not well: We struggle with managing change.14%
Poorly: We have no idea how to manage change. 10%

Change requires focused effort. Most people focus on the change itself versus thinking through how they’ll manage the change and get people through it. Just because you implement a new system, launch the new product, or move to the new office, that doesn’t mean the change is done. If you’re not carefully planning for how to help your people deal with the change, you run the risk of attrition, project failure, and lower performance across the board. 60% of you report you’re marginal, at best, at managing change. The next time a major change effort comes along, invest the time in planning for that change and dedicating resources to getting your people through it.

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

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How much of a perfectionist are you when it comes to deliverables for clients, customers or senior executives?

February 25, 2021/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How much of a perfectionist are you when it comes to deliverables for clients, customers or senior executives?

Extreme: Everything has to be absolutely perfect. 28%
Very much so: A small error here or there is OK but no more than that. 55%
Kind of: Perfect is the enemy of done. I’d rather get things done than perfect. 14%
Not much: As long as the work is good enough, I’ll deliver it. 2%
Not at all: I tend not to focus on perfectionism. It’s annoying and slows me down. 1%

Quality matters. A strong majority of you (83%) are perfectionists or close to it when it comes to client, customer, or senior executive deliverables. Deservedly so. While it may only be a presentation, a business case, or a memo in many cases, the quality of that work is often taken as an indicator of the quality of the thinking and the quality of what the final deliverable will be. Invest the time in review. Get multiple eyes on your work. Be open to criticism and feedback (you asked for it!). For those who have a “perfect is the enemy of done” mindset, that approach does have its place. Your challenge is to recognize when it‘s appropriate and when it’s not. Taking that approach with everything you do can have undesirable consequences. Those of you in the extreme 3% minority who don’t sweat the details, I invite you to recognize the approach is quite the outlier. If you’re wondering why your ideas don’t advance and your recommendations aren’t approved, I’d suggest you start looking at the quality of your deliverables as the root cause.

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 resilient of a leader do you believe you are?

February 18, 2021/2 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How resilient of a leader do you believe you are?

Extremely resilient: I can handle any challenge and bounce back easily. 10%
Very resilient: I can handle a lot and bounce back reasonably well. 74%
Somewhat resilient: I can handle most challenges but sometimes struggle to bounce back. 12%
Not very resilient: I struggle with challenges and bounce back slowly. 1%
Not at all resilient: I feel like I’m at a breaking point all the time. 3%

Bouncing back quickly. The vast majority of respondents feel pretty good about their ability to bounce back from adversity. Just be careful during extended periods of uncertainty and adversity. Each setback is harder and harder to bounce back from. If you’re not pacing yourself and taking care of yourself day to day, you’ll find your resilience eroding. Wrap your mind around being in something for the long haul. Adopt small daily behaviors to keep your mind, body, and spirit fit. Things like meditation, exercise, mindfulness, and calendar management all become more and more crucial the longer a crisis wears on. For those who struggle with bouncing back, definitely look into these new behaviors and adopt them immediately. You need to start building your strength and ability to bounce back. That requires daily practice and discipline to build those muscles.

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 much have you grown as a leader in the last 12 months?

February 11, 2021/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How much have you grown as a leader in the last 12 months?

Somewhat. I’ve grown in a few specific areas: 50%
A lot! My leadership skills have improved dramatically: 22%
Not much. I’ve grown in very few areas: 15%
Not at all. I’m about the same as I was a year ago: 14%

A decent amount of growth. 72% of you report at least some up to a lot of growth over the past 12 months. For those who feel you didn’t grow, ask yourself why. Was it because you didn’t have a development plan? Weren’t provided growth opportunities? Didn’t take advantage of opportunities presented to you? Simply not interested in growth? If we stagnate, we fall behind because everyone around us continues to grow. For the coming 12 months I encourage you to identify your skill gaps and build a development plan. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy – it can simply be a list of “here are 2-3 ways I want to grow and the activities I’ll pursue to make that happen.” Enlist your manager’s aid in creating those opportunities. Seek out mentors who can guide you to the best ways to get these opportunities. With a deliberate and focused plan, you’ll be amazed at how much you can grow in a short period of time!

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!

When you put a team member in a stretch role, how much of that role should they know how to do?

February 4, 2021/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: When you put a team member in a stretch/developmental role, how much of that role should they know how to do before you give it to them?

90% or more: 2%
70%-90%: 16%
50%-70%: 51%
30%-50%: 25%
0%-30%: 5%

Balancing risk and growth. Developmental roles are purely a balance between risk and growth. If you don’t take any risk on people, they can’t grow. If you take too much risk, they’ll possibly struggle and fail. Finding that sweet spot can be challenging. Most successful growth roles I see put someone in the “they know 70% of the new role” range. About 67% of you fall in that space. If they know too much about the new role, they’ll grow a bit but then that growth curve flattens out. For those of you putting people in roles where they know less than 50% of the new job, be prepared for them to fail if you don’t provide them significant amounts of coaching and support along the way. Most important of all – have a conversation with this person and clearly communicate how much of a stretch it is and ask them how you can best support them in that role.

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!

When someone misses a deadline they set, how do you handle it?

January 28, 2021/1 Comment/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: When someone misses a deadline they set, how do you handle it?

I hold them just as accountable as if I had set it. 59%
I let it slide a bit because they’re learning to self-manage. 33%
I blow it off — it was their deadline to set, and it’s theirs to manage. 7%

Deadlines matter. Whether you set the deadline or your team member does, holding them to it is highly important to the majority of you. Other commitments are often made based on that deadline and your team member slipping can have follow-on effects. For those of you who are more lenient, this is a teaching opportunity. Help your team members understand how to better estimate deadlines as well as plan and prioritize their work so they meet them whether those deadlines are self-imposed or not. Show them the consequences and knock-on effects of them missing that deadline. Demonstrate how their miss causes issues for their colleagues and customers. Over time their ability to set accurate deadlines and meet them as committed will improve. It’s one of the most critical skills you can teach your team members.

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!