Poll – Page 5 – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

What is your perspective on multi-day team offsite retreats?

August 14, 2025/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: What is your perspective on multi-day team offsite retreats?

They’re an invaluable way to build team cohesion and get work done 18.48%
Sometimes they’re effective at team building but sometimes they’re wasteful 52.87%
They’re usually minimally effective and mostly wasted time 21.65%
They’re complete wastes of time and resources 7.00%

Offsites are as valuable as you make them. 70% of you think multi-day team offsites can be effective but their value can be questionable (especially for the 30% of you who see them as a complete waste of time). An offsite can only be as effective as the facilitation, purpose, and execution. I’ve seen too many “Let’s have an offsite! What should we talk about/teach there?” situations. Let purpose drive offsites. It should be something like “we need to reassess our strategic plan – let’s do it as an offsite” or “we need to build xyz skills – let’s train those at an offsite.” When offsite comes ahead of purpose, it’s often a waste of time. Additionally, cramming too many topics into too short of a time makes all the topics ineffective. Opt for fewer topics but go deeper on them if you really want to get something out of that time away from the office.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How do you handle it when you find out about a workplace interpersonal/romantic relationship on your team?

August 7, 2025/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How do you handle it when you find out about a workplace interpersonal/romantic relationship on your team?

I stay out of it. It’s none of my business 27.59%
I refer them to HR to discuss complying with any company policies 41.00%
I tell them to keep their personal lives private and out of the office 29.88%
I tell them the relationship is improper and should end 1.53%

Managing relationships at work. While almost 30% of you say you stay out of office relationship dynamics, the vast majority of you refer these situations to HR or try to shut down the relationship. Romantic relationships in the office can get messy, especially when they don’t work out. They can create perceptions around favoritism, inequity, and general discomfort for coworkers. If you’re in the 30% who mind your own business, recognize that at some point that relationship might become your business when relationship issues spill over into performance issues. Consider going to HR now to get a good understanding of your company’s office relationship policies and know your responsibilities for discussing those situations with HR or executive management when they arrive.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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When a high performer who works for you is actively positioning themselves to assume your role, how do you handle them?

July 31, 2025/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: When a high performer who works for you is actively positioning themselves to assume your role, how do you handle them?

I try to stretch myself into a larger role to make room for them 56.53%
I look for similar roles for them elsewhere in the company 27.05%
I try to slow them down and manage their expectations that they’re not ready for my role 9.66%
I add more work to their plate because clearly they’re not busy enough 6.76%
I actively discourage their pursuit of my role 0.00%

Use their growth for your growth. It’s encouraging to see so many of you (57%) seeing a subordinate “stretching up” as an opportunity for you to grow and stretch yourself. The great thing about this dynamic is you can offload simpler work that you find tedious or boring onto their plates. Before you feel bad about doing so, they’ll probably find that work interesting and challenging because they’ve never done it before. This then creates additional bandwidth for you to take on more challenging work (which might be your boss’ simple and tedious tasks that you find challenging or interesting). When people stretch, everyone wins. For those of you seeking other roles for your team members, that’s also a great way to help them grow and build the organization. It gives you an opportunity to share talent and create opportunities for more junior people to grow into that high performer’s role too so when they depart you have a replacement ready to step in.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How do you deal with a vendor whose final invoice is substantially higher than their initial estimate?

July 24, 2025/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How do you deal with a vendor whose final invoice is substantially higher than their initial estimate?

I just pay the invoice 3.22%
I negotiate with them to get the final price down a bit 34.41%
I offer to split the difference between the estimate and final bill 6.42%
I offer to pay slightly more than the initial estimate 8.71%
I hold them to the initial estimate they provided 47.24%

Holding them to the estimate. Almost 50% of you push vendors to stick to their initial estimate in situations where the final invoice is much higher than the estimate. The rest of you work toward negotiating the final bill back toward the estimate with varying degrees of pressure. To avoid these situations in the first place, be sure the estimate is rigorous and accurate. Also make sure you fully understand it and what actions can trigger higher costs, like customization during the project, scope changes, delays, or personnel changes. You bear some responsibility in these situations too – ensuring the estimate is as accurate as possible before signing off on any work.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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Which approach best describes what drives action in your company?

July 17, 2025/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: Which approach best describes what drives action in your company?

Finances determine which actions we should take and business outcomes are the result 55.00%
The market environment dictates which business actions to take and finances are the result 45.00%

Beware of numbers driving strategy. A very common strategy mistake I see companies make is letting their financial results dictate their strategy. “Last year’s budget plus 10%” is not a strategy – it’s a goal. If you use that approach to drive strategy, you might pursue short-term financial results that are not aligned with market trends. For example, that approach may lead you to invest in declining technologies and avoid investments in new areas like AI. While that approach may deliver short-term financial results, you could be harming yourself long-term. I strongly advise companies to assess the market and competition, decide where they want to differentiate themselves to compete most effectively, then assess the financial results that come from that strategy. If the financial results are acceptable, pursue the strategy. If they’re not, consider other ways to attack the market.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How much has AI impacted your workplace?

July 10, 2025/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How much has AI impacted your workplace?

Tremendously – we’re facing major upheavals from AI’s presence 3.15%
Significantly – certain areas are being impacted in substantial ways 13.84%
Somewhat – a few specific areas are AI-impacted but most aren’t 30.82%
Not very – there are a small handful of areas slightly impacted by AI 27.04%
Not at all – AI has barely impacted us in any meaningful way 25.15%

Get ready for change. While only 17% of you report substantial AI impacts on your workplace, that’s a huge number in a short period of time. Right now, AI companies are ramping up their capabilities and expanding into new markets. As their functionality increases, it’ll be easier for them to make the business case for more changes in traditional organizations. Once those use cases and the corresponding economics overcome organizational inertia in the user companies, the tidal wave will break. At that point, those companies not integrating AI into their businesses will be at a competitive disadvantage – commercially, talent-wise, and economically. Start assessing your business now for areas that will be impacted and consider your priorities for bringing in new AI capabilities where they make sense. This doesn’t mean simply integrating AI for the sake of doing so. It means fully understanding the changes that are coming and taking action before you’re at a disadvantage.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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When hiring for a critical role, which best describes your approach?

July 3, 2025/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: When hiring for a critical role, which best describes your approach?

Hire a good fit now, versus waiting for a perfect fit that might come later 65.70%
Wait for a perfect fit, even if it means doing without in the near term 34.30%

Perfect is the Enemy of Filled. The vast majority (2/3) opt to hire someone who is a good fit sooner rather than waiting for a perfect fit later. Seems like a pragmatic approach. The one risk to manage is that they don’t have enough of the required skills to be fully successful in the role. Be sure to interview for this and surround that new hire with a support system that will help them learn the rest of their job and be successful in role. For those who prefer to wait for a perfect candidate, consider the opportunity cost. What work is not getting done while you’re waiting? Don’t only consider the work this person will be doing. Also consider the work of people (including you) who have to fulfill these responsibilities while the role is vacant. Consider what work those people aren’t doing while they’re performing tasks related to the open role. Once you consider this cost, you might reconsider your decision to wait for a perfect candidate.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How do you react when someone unexpectedly quits the team right before a big deliverable?

June 26, 2025/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How do you react when someone unexpectedly quits the team right before a big deliverable?

I get extremely frustrated and feel betrayed or let down 8.59%
I get frustrated, but departures are a fact of life 39.92%
I get annoyed, but they have to do what’s right for them 38.19%
I’m happy they found a better opportunity 13.30%

Saying goodbye at an inopportune time. It’s the natural ebb and flow of people coming into your organization and departing it. Many of you (49%) report being frustrated when they leave right before a big deliverable. In fairness, that’s an appropriate reaction. Their departure has left the team in a pinch and unless there’s a strong bench to draw from, sufficient resources, or enough advance warning to put a transition plan in place, their departure has left you in a tight spot. Communicate expectations with team members related to departures – well in advance of them leaving. Let them know you’re happy to help them move onto new roles but that you expect the courtesy of enough advance notice to plan for their departure as well as the request that departures take place after the completion of major deliverables if possible. It might not prevent them leaving but they might stick around long enough to make sure they don’t leave you in a bad position.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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When someone on your team is over-eager about a project, how do you react?

June 19, 2025/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: When someone on your team is over-eager about a project, how do you react?

I get out of their way and let their enthusiasm drive 65.48%
I try to temper their enthusiasm a bit so they don’t upset others 29.76%
I pull them back and tell them to slow down 4.76%

Unbridled enthusiasm. Two thirds of you report you let someone on your team take a project and run with it if they’re eager to do so. While taking advantage of this enthusiasm can make the project move more quickly and have big impacts, if the person isn’t fully prepared or supported in their efforts, it may lead to a glorious failure. If you’re planning on letting them drive, be sure you’re checking in at appropriate intervals to make sure their enthusiasm isn’t causing issues with colleagues or introducing unnecessary risks into the project. That’s always the tradeoff you’re managing – speed versus risk versus quality of results. Once you’re confident in their ability to drive the project to completion with minimal issues, it’s appropriate to step out of their way. But until you have that confidence, be wary of just turning over the controls without monitoring their performance.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How well do your team members pick up on the social cues around them?

June 12, 2025/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How well do your team members pick up on the social cues around them?

Extremely well – they’re very attuned to their social surroundings 2.83%
Very well – they pick up on most cues but might miss subtle ones 27.12%
Well – they’re generally aware of the social environment most times 46.90%
Not well – they often miss social cues that should be obvious 20.33%
Not at all – they’re oblivious to the social context they’re in 2.82%

Clue them in. While 77% of you report your team members are generally attuned to social cues around them, 23% are challenged by it. Picking up on social cues in a business environment is a learned skill. Help your team members learn it – it’s a critical element of their advancement, effectiveness, and career success. After a meeting, explain the social cues they should have picked up on. When they miss cues, provide them actionable feedback by explaining what the cue was, how they could have recognized it, and how they should have reacted to it. The better clued in your team is to social cues around them, the less likely they are to commit a faux pas and instead can become more effective at influencing others.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How willing are you to give someone a second chance after they’ve betrayed your trust?

May 29, 2025/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How willing are you to give someone a second chance after they’ve betrayed your trust?

Very: We all make mistakes and deserve second chances 17.92%
Somewhat: I’m hesitant to expose myself like that again 41.62%
Not very: It takes a lot to get a second chance from me 32.08%
Not at all: Once you’ve betrayed me, it’s over 8.38%

Trust is Hard to Regain. 82% of you report you’re hesitant to extend trust again if it’s broken (if you’re willing to extend it again at all). To mitigate issues like this from occurring, make it clear to team members what your expectations are relative to the trust environment on your team. Let them know that it’s expected and will be given but if broken, it will be extremely difficult to repair. It’s then on you to live up to those standards and enforce them as well. Trust is precious and fragile. A team with a strong trust environment can do great things. Without that trust, it’s extremely challenging to be a successful team.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How strong are your team’s problem-solving skills?

May 15, 2025/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Poll /by Trevor Jones

Our reader poll today asks: How strong are your team’s problem-solving skills?

Extremely: they can crack any problem they face 24.62%
Very: they can solve all but the most difficult problems 32.83%
Somewhat: they can solve easy problems but struggle beyond that 18.71%
Not very: they require a lot of help solving problems 15.38%
Not at all: I end up solving all the problems 8.46%

Building Problem Solving Skills. A whopping 43% of you report your team members need to improve their problem-solving skills. That’s a scary number. It’s probably driven by one of three things – they don’t have the skills to do it, they’re letting you do the problem solving for them, or they don’t feel empowered to solve problems on their own. If they lack the skills, explore ways to build those problem-solving muscles like training or mentoring. If you’re solving things for them, step back and ask them “what do you think we should do?” instead of immediately giving answers when they ask for help. If they don’t feel empowered, set guardrails for what kinds of problems they have the authority to solve then get out of their way. If you’re the one managing the problem-solving process all the time, they’ll never build the skills to do it on their own.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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