Mike Figliuolo's Blog, page 36
March 2, 2023
When you have to deliver a tough message, what best describes your approach?

Our reader poll today asks: When you have to deliver a tough message, what best describes your approach?
I deliver it directly and without apology or cushioning: 32.15%I strike a balance between tough news and positive news: 62.15%I soft-pedal the message and risk it not being received: 4.28%I avoid delivering the message and hope they’ll figure it out on their own: 1.42%Beware the “But” Sandwich.
Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.
March 1, 2023
Do You Set Supporting Goals?

Setting goals for supporting functions helps link people’s roles and the work they do every day to your department’s larger goals.
It’s easy to focus on big departmental goals, but not everyone on the team can directly affect those numbers. Setting goals for supporting functions helps link people’s roles and the work they do every day to that broader departmental goal.
To do this, it requires you to break those big goals down into component parts.
Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.
February 28, 2023
Recession Readiness for Small Businesses

Jay Jung explains how small businesses can prepare for a recession by investing in finance and creating a restructuring plan.
Today’s guest post is by Jay Jung, Founder and Managing Partner at Embarc Advisors.
While Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has recently dismissed fears of a recession, other economists disagree. Whether or not the US is on the verge of a recession today, wise business leaders are always prepared for one.
Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.
February 23, 2023
How willing are you to change your decisions when presented information that could be counter to the original decision you made?

Our reader poll today asks: How willing are you to change your decisions when presented information that could be counter to the original decision you made?
Very willing: new information means new decisions even after I’ve made them: 59.24%Somewhat willing: I have strong beliefs and it takes concrete new information to get me to change: 35.54%Not very willing: I have a hard time changing direction even in the face of new information: 3.48%Not at all willing: I want to see my decisions through and not be seen as being “wrong”: 1.74%New information, new decision.
Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.
February 20, 2023
How to Deal with Imposter Syndrome at Work

Imposter Syndrome is the belief that we don’t believe we deserve the job we’re in or the success we achieve. To overcome it, become aware of what’s letting you down and allowing these intrusive thoughts into your mind. That awareness enables you to shift your perspective and start being kinder to, and more patient with, yourself.
Today’s post is by Ethan Lee of Inspiring Interns.
Imposter Syndrome is a term that was coined in the late 1970’s from research carried out by Pauline R.
Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.
February 16, 2023
What kind of challenge do you find the most interesting or exciting?

Our reader poll today asks: What kind of challenge do you find the most interesting or exciting?
Taking something that’s been successful and building on that success 9.10%Taking something that’s failing and turning it around 49.67% Building something new that no one has ever built before 41.23%Give me a challenge!
Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.
February 15, 2023
Setting Different Types of Goals

There are two major types of goals you can set for your business unit: quantitative and qualitative goals.
When you set goals, there are commonly two types: quantitative and qualitative.
Quantitative Goals
When you set goals that are quantitative, they’re going to focus on things like financial results, operational metrics, customer dynamics, or quality. You can typically track these types of goals pretty easily.
Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.
February 13, 2023
How to Make “Easy Button” Career Decisions

Finding your core values isn’t just good for guiding your life, its good for guiding your career too.
Today’s post is by Tracy Timm, author of Unstoppable (CLICK HERE to get your copy).
When it comes to making career decisions, we’ve all been to “the dark side.”
Endless pro-con lists. Sleepless nights. Emotional rollercoasters. Circular conversations. Worrying if this is our “one shot” while simultaneously wondering if we’re settling or worth more.
Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.
February 9, 2023
How robust are the employee mental health resources in your organization?

Our reader poll today asks: How robust are the employee mental health resources in your organization?
Very: We have a significant number of high-quality resources available to our associates 33.34%Kind of: We have some key resources available but we could do better 27.17%Not very: We have a couple of critical mental health resources but that’s it 18.51%Not at all: We have no mental health resources available whatsoever 20.98%An absence of resources.
Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.
February 8, 2023
How to Set Business Unit Goals

When you go to set your business unit goals, there are a few principles you should follow. Any goals you set should be SMART—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
Performance expectations in your organization are probably pretty high. A key to hitting those expectations is a solid goal-setting process. Setting department and business unit goals requires leaders to translate higher-level corporate goals down to the business unit and then break them down further into team and individual goals.
Read the rest of this post at thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World.