Mike Figliuolo's Blog, page 68

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

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...



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How to Improve Your Annual Review Process

The end of year performance review process is broken but leaders can take 6 steps to change their performance culture and become better leaders in the process. Today’s post is by Mike Figliuolo, Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS and author of One Piece of Paper(CLICK HERE to get your copy). Whether you’ve just finished your end-of-year review process or it’s still finishing up, you can resolve to do things better this year in terms of managing performance. This post is probably even more relevant if you’ve recently been through the pain of a grueling review process because I’m sharing some tips on what you can do this year to make next year’s process less painful and more effective. There’s nothing like returning to work after post-holiday food...



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Leading in Crisis: Four Leaders Who Did It Right

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...



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Navigating The Choppy Waters Of Disagreements

The how-to’s and don’t-do’s of disagreement, at work, but also in life. Today’s post is by thoughtLEADERS principal Maureen Metcalf. As leaders, we continue to face an increasing level of complexity. With political shifts happening across the globe, we are finding more than ever before that we are working with people who have dramatically different views than we have. Many are even violating the time-held rule not to discuss politics or religion at work. For many, these discussions, along with a barrage of political demonstrations and news coverage, have left us feeling overwhelmed and often concerned about our immediate and long-term future. Many people appear more agitated, and agitated people are less effective employees, family members and friends. An emerging leader...



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Crises Need Leaders, Not Superheroes

Navigating crisis is not for the faint of heart, but what it takes to see your team through crisis is true, authentic leadership. Today’s post is by Joseph Michelli, author of Stronger Through Adversity (CLICK HERE to get your copy). Crises are humbling. They unmask imposters and reveal dormant strengths. During COVID-19, many leaders navigated unrelenting and unchartered territory from their bedrooms, not their boardrooms. Some found themselves uttering previously unspoken words like “I don’t know,” “unprecedented,” “new normal,” or “pivot.” I was fortunate to have a front-row seat on leadership behavior during the pandemic while serving on crisis task forces for my clients (C-suite leadership teams at globally recognized brands)....



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How willing is your organization to walk away from low-margin business?

Our reader poll today asks: How willing is your organization to walk away from low-margin business? Very — we do it all the time: 29.06% Somewhat — it has to be really low margin before we consider walking: 41.89% Rarely — we only walk away in extreme situations: 21.13% Never — if they’re buying, we’re selling! 7.92% Is the work worth it? There’s no shortage of “opportunities” to do work at low margins. Unfortunately all too many of you take on work that’s likely not worth it. Even if something is marginal in terms of value, you’re likely losing money on it. The hidden costs of administration, contracting, selling and servicing are rarely factored into the value you’re delivering and how much you’re getting paid...



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Saying Thank You to Your Employees

Dr. Cindy McGovern offers five meaningful ways employers can say “thank you” to their staffs during the holidays and throughout the year. Today’s post is by Dr. Cindy McGovern, author of Every Job is a Sales Job (CLICK HERE to get your copy). A holiday party for employees is a nice touch as the year winds down, and nobody ever turned down a big bonus as a reward for doing a good job month after month. But the best way a business leader can say “thank you” to valuable employees might not have anything to do with parties, money, or gifts. The most meaningful way to show a hard-working, loyal staff that you truly value and appreciate them is to listen to them and respond when they have ideas, complaints, and personal struggles. Here are five ways to show your gratitude to...



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How willing are you to ask for help when you need it?

Our reader poll today asks: How willing are you to ask for help when you need it? Extremely: I ask for help all the time without hesitation: 15.21% Very: I’ll ask for help when the need gets pressing: 35.71% Somewhat: I have a hard time with it unless the situation is extreme: 35.87% Not very: It’s pretty rare that I ask no matter how much I need it: 10.74% Not at all: I always go it alone even though I know I should ask: 2.47% Ask for help when needed. You’re not alone. While 50% of you seem to freely ask for help as needed, the other half of you struggle with doing so. Ask yourself why. Is it a pride thing? Or is it that you don’t want to inconvenience others? Maybe you believe it’s a display of weakness? Whatever the reason, get to the root of it and ask...



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The 4 Need to Know Approaches to Growth

Knowing your growth strategy and understanding four key growth approaches – organic, acquisition, new products, and geographic expansion – will help you be more successful in achieving the growth you desire. You have to ask yourself – how does your business grow? Is it geographic expansion? Are you selling new products? Are you selling the same products to new customers? Are you growing by acquisition and buying other businesses? What’s your overall growth strategy? You need to be able to answer this question. Look at your historical growth and where it came from. That’s usually a pretty good indicator of how your organization is going to continue to grow from here. Pull out your strategic plan and look at your marketing plan to see where the future growth is...



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Veterans: Please Don’t Leave Your Military Values Behind

The military focuses on a unique set of standards and values. Transitioning military personnel advice are advised to focus on values for a successful military-to-civilian transition and career, and personal success in the civilian sector. Today’s post is by Lida Citroën, author of Your Next Mission (CLICK HERE to get your copy). In the 10 years I’ve been working with transitioning military service members and veterans, I’ve learned a great deal about the differing cultures between the civilian sector (where I come from) and The United States Armed Forces. The differences make for wonderful conversation and opportunities to learn and grow. Most civilians grow up in households, communities, regions and areas where, as young adults, we’re encouraged to think independently, to serve ourselves...



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