Poll – Page 2 – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

What are the biggest mindset challenges you face when leading your team remotely?

May 14, 2020/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Communications, Leadership, Poll, Strategy /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: What are the biggest mindset challenges you face when leading your team remotely?

I worry they’re not actually working. 19.5%
I have little control over their deliverables. 8.4%
I worry they feel like I’m not developing them. 22.2%
I worry they feel I’m not necessary or adding value. 16.9%
I don’t worry at all about anything. 12.7%
I worry about something else. 20.3%

It’s not you, it’s me. While 28% of you worry about your team members’ productivity and managing their deliverables because you can’t supervise them closely, the bigger concerns (39%) are with how the team members see you as their leader. You’re worried about not developing them or adding value. These are the true leadership concerns to keep top of mind. To manage them, schedule regular development and 1:1 calls. Don’t let good in-office habits fall by the wayside. Have explicit conversations about their development needs especially in a distanced environment. In terms of adding value, don’t just ask “What can I help with?” because you’ll get a “nothing” response. Make specific offers of assistance like “I’m happy to talk to that one stakeholder who’s giving you trouble and see if I can help remove the barrier.” Specific requests show you’re tuned into what their issues are and are more likely to be met with a response of “that would be really helpful.”

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

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How prepared is your organization for a sudden crisis?

April 16, 2020/1 Comment/in Business Toolkit, Career, Communications, Leadership, Poll, Strategy /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How prepared is your organization for a sudden crisis?

Extremely: 10.01%
Very: 27.81%
Somewhat: 36.82%
Not very: 17.56%
Not at all: 7.80%

Crisis management identifies opportunities. It would have been interesting to take this poll a few months ago and see what the responses were. My guess is the “Extremely” and “Very” categories would have scored much higher. We tend to overestimate our capabilities and underestimate the impact of a crisis. The best thing you can do during a crisis, other than dealing with it, is identify where your organization is falling short and fill those gaps either during the crisis or after it passes. The weaknesses exposed in the midst of the chaos are ways you can harden your business and get it ready for the next inevitable, unforeseen challenge. Start gathering lessons learned as soon as the crisis hits and allocate resources immediately to fix those issues. You’ll be glad you did when the next crisis hits.

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!

Which of the following skills is your team most in need of improving?

April 9, 2020/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Communications, Leadership, Poll, Project Management /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: Which of the following skills is your team most in need of improving?

Communications: 34.7%
Decision-making: 9.0%
Problem-solving: 9.7%
People leadership: 13.0%
Strategic thinking: 19.3%
Time management: 14.3%

It’s all about the communication. A significant portion of you listed communication as the most critical skill gap on your team. That makes sense. Many other skills like leadership, decision-making and problem-solving require strong communication skills at their foundation. Even skills like time management have roots in communication — how can you delegate or push back on requests if you can’t communicate clearly? Given this demand for communication skills, the question is: What are you doing about building your team’s capabilities in this arena? The ability to get recommendations approved and convey thoughts in a clear and compelling way is something that can be learned. Are you investing in building your team’s skills? Given the current environment, it seems there’s no better time than the present to start working on it.

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 get stressed out, how do you deal with it?

April 2, 2020/0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: When you get stressed out, how do you deal with it?

I go exercise. 24.38%
I take time off from work. 5.48%
I throw myself into my work and push through it. 28.86%
I meditate. 13.31%
I do something else.24.12%
I never get stressed out. 3.85%

Find a productive outlet. While many of you have productive places to release stress (exercise, meditation, time off or some other activity), an alarming portion of you (29%) simply push through the stress. This can work in the short term, but over time, the cumulative effects of this stress can be tremendous. Whether it’s health issues, relationship challenges, decreased performance, irritability or some other damaging effect, your desire to “push through” can have catastrophic effects. Find an outlet for your stress. Channel it into something productive (outside of doing more work). Your health, your family and your team will appreciate your new habits and you’ll perform better, be happier and be healthier in the process.

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 would you describe the “back office” functions at your company (finance, procurement, legal, HR, etc.)?

March 26, 2020/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll, Project Management /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How would you describe the “back office” functions at your company (finance, procurement, legal, HR, etc.)?

They occasionally add value and respond in a reasonable time. 29.78%
They add value in every interaction and are highly responsive. 25.56%
They are extremely frustrating and overly bureaucratic. 19.38%
They rarely add value and tend to slow things down. 17.98%
They make my life a nightmare, and I can’t get anything done. 7.3%

Improving the back office. Eighty percent of you report your back office functions like procurement, finance, legal and HR only occasionally add value (30%) or even worse, rarely add value or make your life extremely difficult (55%). That’s alarming. But blame resides in two places. One place is with the back office. If you’re in one of these functions, remember these other groups are your customers. While policy and procedure has a place, responsiveness to their needs helps business performance. If you’re more interested in process and bureaucracy than you are in getting things done, it’s time to rethink your priorities. The other half of the blame is with those who consume back office services. Going to them with short timelines, ill-formed requests and excessive requests for exemptions doesn’t make their lives easier. You need to plan your requests better. Give them time to respond (they have a lot of customers!). Respect their rules and processes. The answer lies somewhere in the middle here (and 26% of you have found that sweet spot). It’s a partnership — treat it as such.

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 global is your immediate team?

March 19, 2020/0 Comments/in Career, Communications, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How global is your immediate team?

Very — We have many team members from all corners of the world. 18.5%
Somewhat — We have a few team members from other parts of the world. 17.6%
Not very — We have very few people from other countries on our team. 17.1%
Not at all — We’re all from the same country. 46.8%

A worldly perspective. While the vast majority of you (80%) have little international representation on your team, a healthy chunk of you do have colleagues from other countries. In an increasingly global economy, you can’t ignore the impact of having a diverse, global perspective. If your team isn’t very worldly in composition, explore opportunities to bring in those global perspectives. Invite colleagues from other countries to join your project teams. Schedule knowledge/culture sharing calls. When out of town colleagues are visiting, go out of your way to include them in team meetings and meals. The better you’re able to see the world through other people’s eyes, the better you’ll be able to meet global competitive pressures. Plus, it’s fun meeting new people from far-off lands!

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!