Training – Page 3 – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

How to Build Team Chemistry

June 23, 2021/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Strategy, Training /by Trevor Jones

Building chemistry between the members of your team is all about personalities, shared beliefs, and trust.

It’s great to have a clear vision, a mission, a nice set of prioritized initiatives, and all the right people. But what starts differentiating a team from a high-performing team is chemistry and trust. These intangibles are some of the most critical elements of building a high-performing team, but they’re also some of the most elusive ones to build and capture.

Personalities and Shared Beliefs

Building chemistry between the members of your team is all about personalities and shared beliefs. Make sure everyone on your team is involved in the interview process because candidates will show different sides of themselves to different people. And sometimes, those sides can be unattractive detractors from what you’re trying to build. Read more

Recruiting the Right People

June 16, 2021/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Strategy, Training /by Trevor Jones

Recruiting the right people involves creating appropriate role descriptions and knowing where to look.

One of the most exciting aspects of building a high-performing team is recruiting people to be members of that team. There’s nothing better than finding that really talented person who wants to come work with you. So as you think about doing this recruiting and finding the right people, you need to understand how to create role descriptions based on the team’s skill needs. Read more

How to Build Teams With the Right Mix of Skills

June 2, 2021/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Leadership, Strategy, Training /by Trevor Jones

Building a high-performing team involves hiring people with technical, functional, and cultural skills.

As the leader of a high-performing team, you’re personally responsible for making sure your team has the required set of skills to succeed and execute against all the initiatives that you have on your prioritization list. You need to evaluate your team’s mission. You need to look at the key initiatives. And then, you need to map out the skills and capabilities required to succeed. Read more

When It Comes to Change, Are You a Cuddly Curmudgeon or Early Adopter?

May 17, 2021/0 Comments/in Books, Communications, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Training /by Trevor Jones

Individuals will always have different levels of hesitancy when it comes to change. Learn how to address skepticism in a way that makes change easier for everyone at your organization.

Today’s post is by Dr. Sarah Stebbins, author of From Fire to Water: Moving Through Change: Six Elements for Personal Resiliency (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

A silly question, perhaps, but an important one to answer when experiencing or initiating a change. Let me explain.

In over 25 years of experience coaching individuals and providing change management consultation to diverse organizations, I have discovered that any change event can trigger three general responses in us and in those we lead. It is important for us to identify them in ourselves and in others. Read more

Timeless Advice for Beginner Entrepreneurs

January 13, 2021/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Strategy, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Starting a business? Don’t know where to start? Avoid beginner mistakes and make the most of your time by taking advice from someone who’s been there before.

Today’s post is by Mike Figliuolo, Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS.

In 2012, I gave an interview to The Metropreneur in which I shared my answers to the five most common questions I’m asked about entrepreneurship and thoughtLEADERS LLC.

Although this interview took place eight years ago, I believe all the guidance is just as relevant today as it was when I first said it:

When do I talk to the venture capitalists?

Five years from now. Seriously, entrepreneurs need Read more

You Don’t Always Need to Speak, Here’s Why

December 14, 2020/6 Comments/in Communications, Leadership, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Finding the balance between speaking and letting your team speak for themselves is the self-awareness challenge of all leaders, and can be the different maker between good and great.

Today’s post is by Mike Figliuolo, Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS.

To help you be a better team member, colleague and boss, I’m bringing you a pointed lesson in the art of being quiet. Today I’m conjuring up the spirit of Run DMC. To quote the immortal Rev Run:

You talk too much! You never shut up!

Run DMC nailed the heart of the issue with this verse:

You’re the instigator,
the orator of the town.
You’re the worst when you converse,
just a big mouth clown.
You talk when you’re awake,
I heard you talk when you sleep
Has anyone ever told you,
that talk is cheap?

Now let’s take DMC to the workplace. You know the person they’re singing about. It’s that guy on the team who can’t shut up about anything. Hopefully he simply blathers on about his antique smurf collection (and boy was he jazzed about the live-action movie). More likely though, he’s the guy who is talking about everyone and everything going on in the office.

But guess what? YOU might be that person. If you are, you’ve got a big problem. First let’s discuss your symptoms then some ways to fix it.

Leading in Crisis: Four Leaders Who Did It Right

December 6, 2020/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Communications, Leadership, Project Management, Training /by Ryan Shaw

Join our free webinar about how to continue to learn and evolve and lead your organization through crisis.

As the Coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic slowdown continue, leaders need to become more deliberate students of how to lead in a prolonged crisis.

To help with that, thoughtLEADERS will be offering a free webinar called Leading in Crisis: Four Leaders Who Did It Right. We’ll be sharing case studies of four exceptional leaders as they faced significant crises and the perhaps unconventional wisdom they gained from those experiences.

The webinar is a one-hour session you can attend live or on-demand, free of charge, and will be taught by Paul Smith and Gary Ross, the thoughtLEADERS principals who developed the firm’s courses Storytelling for Leaders and Leading Through Change.

How much of a difference do you see between the roles of being a manager and being a director?

October 22, 2020/2 Comments/in Communications, Leadership, Poll, Strategy, Training /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How much of a difference do you see between the roles of being a manager and being a director?

There’s a world of difference. They’re completely separate types of roles. 48.84%
There’s some difference between them, but not a lot. 36.45%
Pretty much no difference — a director is a glorified manager. 14.71%

The role is what you make it. If you’re not seeing a big difference between managers and directors, someone is falling short of making that director role everything it could be. Moving to director is where you make the shift to getting things done through others. The other big shift is moving from having the right answers to asking the right questions. Directors need to see beyond the horizon and ask about the things no one (including themselves) is thinking about yet. Pushing the thinking beyond today’s pressing needs is how new opportunities and threats are identified.

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

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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When you’re angry with a team member, how do you approach it?

October 8, 2020/0 Comments/in Communications, Leadership, Poll, Strategy, Training /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: When you’re angry with a team member, how do you approach it?

I cool off and don’t show any emotion when I speak with them. 45%
I wait a bit to talk to them but show them some of my anger. 51%
I pause first but let them see a lot of my anger. 3%
I unload my anger toward them immediately so they can see it. 1%

Pause and compose. The vast majority of you (96%) pause for some period of time before confronting a colleague who has made you mad. Cooler heads can have more rational discussions. The groups seems evenly split, though, on whether to show some of the anger when the conversation does happen. The pro of showing that anger is the person really gets a sense for how much they’ve upset you, but the con is it could inflame the situation. Conversely, not showing your anger and simply expressing concerns could cause them to misread how much their actions upset you, which might lead to repeat behavior. In any case, deliberately choose which approach you’ll take (whether or not to show some anger) and have a deliberate reason for doing so. Also, have a contingent strategy if your choice goes wrong. If you’re showing anger and it makes things worse, hit pause and cool off. If they seem to be ignoring your concern, perhaps let some of the anger show.

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

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

What’s the best part of being in a leadership role?

September 17, 2020/0 Comments/in Communications, Leadership, Poll, Strategy, Training /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: What’s the best part of being in a leadership role?

Helping my team members develop, grow and succeed: 52%
Having control over the way things run: 4%
Being able to set direction, take risks and make things happen: 34%
Being visible and valued in the organization: 6%
Overcoming the challenges leaders face every day: 3%
Something else: 2%

Making stuff happen and developing others. The two clear winners in this poll are how much you enjoy making things happen and developing your team members. Both are great rewards for any leader. The interesting thing is they’re both outward-facing in that the impact is about the environment around you versus the impact of the role on you. While I recognize these polls are simple and these are complex topics, there are clear patterns. If you happen to be inward-facing in your leadership, I encourage you to take a moment to look at the broader impact you’re having. The things you’re getting done and your impact on helping people grow may be much larger than you expect. You will likely also find the rewards of that impact far exceed the inward-facing rewards of how your role makes you feel.

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

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

How do you react when your work is unfairly criticized by someone?

September 10, 2020/0 Comments/in Communications, Leadership, Poll, Training /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How do you react when your work is unfairly criticized by someone?

I ignore it. Haters gonna hate. 10%
I take it too personally but don’t react. 29%
I rebut their position gently, then move on. 54%
I vigorously defend my work until they recant their words. 7%

Split reactions on reacting. Unfair criticism is frustrating and sometimes painful. About 40% of you let it go, while 60% rebut it with varying levels of vigor. For those who let it go, your restraint is commended. Just be aware of the risk that the criticism could spread and become “fact” to others so if it’s not something you want associated with you, consider a rebuttal. For those who do say something about it, moderation is the key. Attack the criticism to vigorously and you’ll escalate the conflict. Do too little, and your rebuttal will be brushed off and ignored. Paramount in all of this is to remember to confront the problem and/or the comments versus attacking the person. The instant you make it personal, the higher the risk you face of an escalated response. Make it about the facts of the matter and the comments at hand, and you have a much better chance of resolving things peacefully.

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

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

How do you allocate your time spent with your direct reports?

September 3, 2020/0 Comments/in Communications, Leadership, Poll, Training /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How do you allocate your time spent with your direct reports?

I spend most of my time with my high performers. 17%
I spend an equal amount of time with everyone. 62%
I spend most of my time with my low performers. 22%

Spend time where it’s needed. While it may seem “fair” to give everyone on your team the same amount of your time, you’re doing them (and yourself) a disservice. Your high performers likely need less of your time. By giving them more than they need, you’re wasting their time – and yours. You’re also not being fair to low performers who need more of your time but aren’t getting it. While it’s easy to just schedule everyone for an hour a week (or whatever the timeframe is), be more deliberate about giving people the time they actually need. In total, you might even end up spending less time with them but that frees you up to do other things and it helps them be more productive because they’re not wasting time sitting with you when they could be getting more work done. In some cases, you’ll give them more time than you currently are and that’s good too because then they’re getting the attention they really need. Don’t be lazy with your time allocation. It’s the most precious resource you (and they) have. Treat it accordingly.

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

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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