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

Which of these two activities do you find to be more challenging?

June 4, 2026/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: Which of these two activities do you find to be more challenging?

Retaining great employees – 38%
Recruiting great employees – 62%

Is your role compelling? Two thirds of you report finding it harder to recruit than to retain great people. What are the challenges for recruiting? Is it a limited talent pool? Competitive options you have to beat out? Lack of a compelling role? Discomfort with the recruiting and interviewing process? Whatever is holding you back, put focused time into solving that problem. If it’s the talent pool, figure out where else you can fish to find “non-traditional” candidates. If it’s competitive options, focus your pitch on areas where your role is different (e.g., advancement, mobility, stability, professional development). If you’re not comfortable with interviewing, find a mentor who can help you improve. New employees are what keep you growing and improving. They bring new skills, new perspectives, and new energy to your organization. Don’t be satisfied with simply saying “it’s hard to find great people.” Go do something about it!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How much pressure and stress are you feeling as a leader right now?

May 28, 2026/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How much pressure and stress are you feeling as a leader right now?

Extreme — I’m at a breaking point – 16%
Significant — Much more than I’m used to – 39%
Some — Things are at a normal stress level – 33%
Mild — There’s minor stress but nothing substantial – 8%
None — Things are as peaceful as ever – 4%

Stressful times. Almost 55% of you report feeling excessive stress right now. Your teams are likely feeling even more of it because they can sense your stress too and if the boss is stressed, it’s another source of stress for team members. Please take care of yourself. Chronic stress and burnout are cumulative. Take your vacation days. Work will always be there when you get back. Don’t let a sense of loyalty to your company drive dysfunctional behavior like excessive hours, weekend work, and sacrificing beyond what you’re paid to do. Loyalty matters to the company until it’s time for a layoff and the company suddenly becomes cold and heartless. If you don’t take care of yourself, no one else will. As leaders, it’s even more important to manage your stress so you’re not adding to team member stress as well.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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When your company is having a tough year, how do you approach it?

May 21, 2026/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: When your company is having a tough year, how do you approach it?

We take urgent action and double our efforts to turn the year around – 65%
We stay the course and hope things improve – 29%
We give up and say, “Oh well, tough years happen. Next year will be better” – 6%

Push harder. That’s what most of you report your company does when facing a difficult year – you push harder to turn things around. While that’s a good short-term course of action in many instances, you must remain mindful of long-term impacts. Cutting costs, conducting layoffs, and pushing people to work harder and longer can have immediate financial impact. Unfortunately, those approaches aren’t sustainable and can cause long-term problems. Burnout, attrition, and damage to your brand as an employer can create bigger problems down the road. Whatever actions you take to turn your year around, be mindful and ask the question about how these short-term actions will affect your long-term prospects.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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Would you rather work for a large company or for a small entrepreneurial venture?

May 14, 2026/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: Would you rather work for a large company or for a small entrepreneurial venture?

I prefer large companies – 42%
I prefer entrepreneurial environments – 58%

Entrepreneurial Preference. There’s a clear preference people have for entrepreneurial environments. If you’re a leader at a big company, don’t worry – this doesn’t mean you’re facing an exodus to small companies. It’s actually an opportunity. How can you create a more entrepreneurial environment for your team? Can you relax oversight? Reduce paperwork and administrative work? Can you give people more freedom to operate? Granted, all these actions require some level of risk-taking on your part. That said, your people might surprise you with what they deliver when they have more time and freedom. Stepping back and giving them space can make the environment feel more entrepreneurial but not with the associated risk of working for a small company. If you’re one of those respondents wishing for a more entrepreneurial environment, be careful what you ask for. Leaving a large company carries significant risks and inherent instability. That said, you’ll have more control over the work you do and less bureaucracy to deal with.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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What’s the most exciting part of your role as a leader?

May 7, 2026/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: What’s the most exciting part of your role as a leader?

Helping a team member grow and reach the next level – 34%
Bringing the team together to accomplish a major goal – 36%
Guiding team members through challenging times – 13%
Setting strategy and direction for the organization – 14%
Something else – 3%

Goals and Growth. Most of you find helping team members grow and achieve team goals as the most satisfying and exciting elements of your role as a leader. It’s encouraging to see so many of you derive satisfaction from helping others achieve. Whether that achievement is of an individual nature like someone getting promoted or of a team nature like hitting your goals for the year, there’s something fulfilling about those achievements. The great thing about that mindset is once you get everyone on your team promoted, your leaders have no choice but to promote you as well and move you into roles of greater impact and responsibility. I had a great leader who taught me that the best way to get promoted is to get everyone that worked for me to the next level. By focusing deeper into your organization (rather than focusing on yourself) you’ll find your team members will push you up to your next level of achievement.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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If a team member isn’t happy with their career trajectory and opportunities, how do you prefer they handle it?

April 30, 2026/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: If a team member isn’t happy with their career trajectory and opportunities, how do you prefer they handle it?

Come directly to you for a face-to-face discussion – 79%
Go to HR or a mentor for a discussion – 9%
Send you an email laying out their case for you to consider – 6%
Seek better opportunities on their own – 5%
Stay quiet and just do their job – 2%

Talk to a manager. There’s obviously a strong preference among respondents that team members come directly to them for a conversation when the individual is unhappy with their career trajectory or opportunities. These can be uncomfortable situations and, as a leader, your role is to make sure people know they can and should come to you. You also need to make it a comfortable discussion. As soon as you say “well, that’s just the way it is” that person will never come to you again, nor will their colleagues. Be inquisitive. Seek to understand their source of frustration, their hopes and expectations, and what they want for their career. You might be able to guide them to non-traditional or interesting opportunities they (and you) hadn’t considered before. To make this process even easier, try proactively reaching out to your team members to have these discussions. That can remove the fear they might have of coming to you directly and it could put you in a more open mindset to consider opportunities for them.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How familiar are you with the day-to-day activities and responsibilities of your team members?

April 23, 2026/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How familiar are you with the day-to-day activities and responsibilities of your team members?

I’m intimately familiar – 17%
I’m very familiar – 62%
I’m somewhat familiar – 17%
I’m not very familiar – 3%
I’m not at all familiar – 1%

Know their roles. 79% of you report being very familiar with your team members’ daily activities – as you should be. The better you understand their challenges, the more effectively you can remove barriers and get them the resources they need. Knowing their responsibilities helps you avoid overloading them with too much work. Knowing their work also demonstrates you care about their experience on the job and helps you empathize with challenges they face. Sure, it takes time to get familiar with their work. That said, it’s quality time you get with them and time they get with you. It helps foster connection and build trust in a world increasingly dominated by remote work and electronic interactions. Get in touch and stay in touch with the work you’re asking them to do and, more importantly, the people you’re asking to do it.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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What best describes your organization’s approach to taking risks?

April 16, 2026/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: What best describes your organization’s approach to taking risks?

We’re risk-seeking – 11%
We’re risk-tolerant – 50%
We’re risk-avoidant – 34%
We refuse to take risks – 5%

More risk than not. Over 60% of you report your organizations are risk tolerant or risk seeking. The other 40% avoid it or refuse to take risks. What’s important to understand is risk is about uncertainty and a lack of information. As we gather new information, risk goes down. Theoretically, we can spend a lot more time gathering more and more information. Unfortunately, that takes time and with every minute we spend gathering information, new sources of uncertainty enter the equation. Know when you have enough information to take a first step or initial action. Once you’ve taken that action, reassess and take another action. You don’t always have to make a single big move. Smaller incremental steps like pilot programs, tests, and reversible changes can accelerate your decision making, provide you new information, and reduce the amount of risk you’re taking. Remember – you’ll never have perfect information so act now, learn, and act again.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How well does your organization support people who have been injured at work?

April 9, 2026/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How well does your organization support people who have been injured at work?

Extremely well – 38%
Very well – 37%
Well – 11%
Not very well – 8%
Poorly – 6%

Taking care of people. Injuries happen. How you handle them is critical. Many of you report doing a great job of supporting employes who get hurt. People notice and remember that. It builds the dynamic of “this company cares about its people so I should care about the company.” That drives engagement, retention, and it’s also the right thing to do. For those of you in the lower performing groups, ask why the organization behaves that way and think about how you can change that dynamic. Can you make it easier for people to access benefits programs? Can you reduce the pressure to come back to work? Can you make accommodations to their job responsibilities? Think about how you’d like to be treated if you were injured and make those changes happen. Often, they don’t cost a lot of money – it’s just empathy, time, and effort. Also consider the cost of not doing it well. Those stories travel and sometimes hit national newswires. Can you really afford to not treat people well after they’ve been injured? Be a leader and drive these necessary changes.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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What’s the biggest challenge you face with very experienced employees with long tenure?

April 2, 2026/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: What’s the biggest challenge you face with very experienced employees with long tenure?

Keeping them excited about their roles – 32%
Getting them to mentor those who will replace them – 17%
Understanding what motivates them day to day – 15%
Overcoming complacency they demonstrate – 25%
Keeping up with them because they’re so good at what they do – 6%
Something else – 5%

Motivating Experienced Employees. 72% of you report your biggest challenge is some form of motivation for your very experienced employees. 32% said it’s about keeping them excited, 15% about daily motivation, and 25% is overcoming complacency. Regardless of which of these challenges you’re facing, they all come down to motivation. The best way to figure this out is through a direct and candid conversation. Ask them what they want out of the role. Ask what motivates them, Have them explain the biggest challenges or dissatisfiers they deal with and how you can help overcome them. Rather than applying what you think would motivate them (and we often make the mistake of trying to motivate others the same way we’d like to be motivated), go directly to the source and see what would make them excited every day. Do what you can to meet those needs. Telepathy doesn’t work. Speak with them directly.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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When your organization has to choose between a project that has a huge benefit but it’s outside your budget, what wins?

March 26, 2026/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: When your organization has to choose between a project that has a huge benefit but it’s outside your budget, what wins?

Budget beats out benefit – 51%
Benefit beats out budget – 49%

Budget Wins (Mostly). This poll is split almost perfectly down the middle with half of you saying budget beats out benefits of a project and half saying the benefits of a project outweigh hitting a budget number. While fiscal conservatism and planning are important, I’d argue that if you have a project that will drive incremental benefit beyond artificial and arbitrary budget numbers, I’d err on the side of benefits outweighing budget. You have to factor in the opportunity cost of not executing the project as well. That’s the true cost of hitting a budget number – not just delaying the benefit you’d receive. While it’s a balance, letting budget drive all your decision making can lead to stagnation and missed opportunities. At least challenge how critical hitting the budget number is relative to the benefit and opportunity cost related to the project you’re assessing.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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When you see conflict between your team members, what do you do?

March 19, 2026/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: When you see conflict between your team members, what do you do?

I stay out of it and let them settle things on their own – 17%
I point it out and ask them to resolve it – 23%
I offer to assist in resolving it – 31%
I step in and coach them to resolution – 24%
I immediately jump in and resolve things as I see best – 5%

Teach them to resolve conflict. Ignoring conflict on your team can lead to more conflict in the future. What’s important is helping team members build the skills to resolve conflict on their own. There might be conflict simply because they don’t know how to deescalate things or they lack the tools to do so productively. Many of you indicate you offer to step in and help as well as offer coaching on how they can handle things productively in the future. Don’t shy away from doing so. By offering, you’re allowing them to choose whether or not to get assistance. When it’s their choice, the likelihood of them listening and internalizing what you’re teaching goes up significantly. Staying out of the conflict is just a recipe for future problems – get involved.

– 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!