Poll – Page 50 – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

What do you do when you know an initiative is doomed?

March 20, 2014/1 Comment/in Leadership, Poll, Project Management /by Mike Figliuolo

Our reader poll today asks: When you know an initiative is doomed regardless of what you do, how does your organization respond?

– We immediately cut our losses, learn from it, and move on: 38%
– We keep trying to make it work through heroic efforts: 24%
– We stop working on it and let it wither without explicitly killing it: 19%
– We make some effort to make it work but eventually declare defeat: 19%

Losses are painful to take. I applaud the 38% of you who see the lost cause and act decisively. Throwing good money (and time and effort) after bad only compounds the problem. Try to look at the problem objectively and realize it is a sunk cost. Ask yourself: “Knowing what I know today, is it a good investment to put another dollar or hour into this project?” If the answer is no, step up as a leader and stop the bleeding. Go invest your resources in other more promising ventures. Your organization will be better off when you do.

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

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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How do you deal with disruptive colleagues?

March 13, 2014/3 Comments/in Communications, Poll /by Mike Figliuolo

Our reader poll today asks: How do you deal with colleagues who are disruptive in meetings?

– I don’t say anything in the meeting but do provide feedback afterward: 49%
– I call them out and confront them directly in the meeting: 35%
– I don’t say anything but I let their managers know about the problem: 12%
– I don’t do anything and figure someone else will fix the problem: 5%

It’s a good thing the vast majority of you are nipping a problem early. Not only do disruptive colleagues get your meeting off track, they can poison your culture. It’s one thing to dissent and problem solve productively in a meeting and another thing entirely to be rude. Direct feedback that is timely is the most powerful tool you have. For the 12% of you passing it on to the person’s manager, I suggest when you do so you ask that manager to give you an update after the feedback has been delivered because in many cases, that manager will not provide the feedback to your colleague since they weren’t in the meeting and they’re likely “busier with other things” (translation: avoiding giving the feedback).

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 charitable is your organization?

March 6, 2014/0 Comments/in Poll /by Mike Figliuolo

Our reader poll today asks: What is the most common way your organization supports charitable causes?

– We donate cash and our time: 76%
– We give them cash only: 12%
– We don’t give to charity as a company: 8%
– We donate our time only: 3%

It’s encouraging to see 92% of you are helping make your community a better place. For those giving only cash, I encourage you to identify ways to enable your associates to personally get involved and give the gift of their time. It will strengthen your organization’s connection with your community, as well as help your associates feel like they’re making a bigger contribution. Cash is wonderful, but relationships can generate tremendous benefits as well.

During times when we’re all feeling the stress of the recession, catastrophes and being disconnected from the people around us, a little personal involvement can go a long way.

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 closely will you follow your strategic plan this year?

February 27, 2014/0 Comments/in Leadership, Poll, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

Our reader poll today asks: How closely do you think you will follow your strategic plan this year?

– We’ll generally follow the plan but expect a few major deviations: 76%
– We’ll follow it to the letter: 12%
– We may do a few things in the plan but generally ignore it: 10%
– We don’t follow it at all: 3%

Planning matters. When you do face a major deviation from the plan, however, be deliberate and explicit about the choice you are making. Seek to over-communicate that change to your teams. You might completely understand the rationale for the shift, but to your teams it might seem like you are aimless. If you can explain the deviation in terms of the strategic plan and why you need to make the move, you can get the team better engaged rather than leaving them scratching their head. For the 13% of you who ignore the plan I suggest one of two things — either get focused and start following it or stop wasting your time writing it in the first place. Your current approach is wasting energy and effort so at least cut down on those inefficiencies.

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 well do you nurture your network?

February 20, 2014/1 Comment/in Career, Poll /by Mike Figliuolo

Our reader poll today asks: How well do you cultivate and maintain the relationships in your professional network?

– I respond to check-ins from others but don’t reach out much on my own: 46%
– I regularly reach out to people to check in and see what they’re up to: 44%
– I reach out only when I’m looking for a job: 6%
– I reach out when I can connect two of my connections: 4%

One of the greatest assets you have is your network. In a world where job change is more frequent, business partnerships are more distributed and communication tools are ubiquitous, there’s no excuse not to actively manage your network.

For the 6% of you who only reach out when you’re looking for a job, realize that it comes across poorly that the only time you’re interested in connecting with someone is when you need something. For the 44% who are actively managing the network, you know it doesn’t take much effort to stay connected with people, and I’ll venture to guess you’ve seen some great relationships grow and opportunities arise as a direct result of those connections.

Start connecting today, folks. You’ll be glad you did.

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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Is your organization wasting its money?

February 13, 2014/4 Comments/in Poll /by Mike Figliuolo

Our reader poll today asks: How strongly do your organization’s leaders support training for their teams?

– We mandate training, attend it ourselves and support it afterward: 39%
– We send people and sometimes expect them to use what they learn: 27%
– People have to fight to get trained and they get little support: 20%
– We don’t send people to any sort of training: 7%
– We send people but model the exact opposite behaviors we expect: 6%

Sending someone to training but not attending yourself or expecting your people to use the tools they’re trained on is a waste of time. It sends the wrong message. If you truly believe “people are our most important resource,” then when you invest in them you need to demonstrate that you’re serious about the investment. If you’re going to invest in your people, cultivate that investment with the support of your time, attention, and encouragement.

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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Are you willing to do favors at work?

February 6, 2014/3 Comments/in Poll /by Mike Figliuolo

Our reader poll today asks: What’s your approach to doing favors for others in the workplace?

– I help out everyone who asks whether I know they’ll reciprocate or not: 82%
– I’ll help anyone once but if they never reciprocate I won’t help them again: 14%
– I’ll help only people who are likely to help me in the future: 2%
– I’ll do favors only for those who can influence my career positively/negatively: 1%
– I’m too busy to do favors for other folks: 1%

It’s an encouraging sign to see a workforce willing to lend a helping hand. A favor is a favor, and there should be no expectation of reciprocity. Hopefully once you say “yes” to helping you maintain this perspective. The cautionary note on your generosity is be careful of becoming an enabler of procrastination or lazy work. If you’re always around to help out in a pinch, you might find yourself getting taken advantage of and regularly cleaning up other peoples’ messes.

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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