Mike Figliuolo's Blog, page 70

Self-Control: A Crucial Skill for Good Leadership

Self-control is not a born trait, it is learned and developed and can be a difference maker as a leader. Today’s post is by Jill Ratliff, author of Leadership Through Trust & Collaboration (CLICK HERE to get your copy). Do you think you have good self-control? Most of us think we do—but often suddenly find we don’t. Yet self-control is one of the most important skills a leader can develop to engender trust and support collaboration. Nothing fractures trust and discourages open collaboration like the fear of an uncontrolled negative reaction in times of stress. Team members who fear their leader’s response to stress or errors are not likely to think and act creatively, and innovatively.    And make no mistake: self-control is a skill, not a character trait. You aren’t born with...



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Boosting Sales Is About Simplicity

Sales are the lifeblood of any company. No sales, no company. The good news is there’s an incredibly simple technique that you can do right now to help boost your numbers. Today’s post is by Mike Figliuolo, Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS. Strap yourself in. You’re about to have your mind blown. Ever since grade school when I sold anything that wasn’t nailed down, I’ve been drawn to sales. It started with pencils I painted with custom designs and people’s names on them. I then graduated to selling comic books. Then I sold table space at comic book conventions I put on myself (at age 14). Over the years I’ve migrated to other sales roles and, in the day to day running of thoughtLEADERS, I’m the head of sales. I won’t lie – sales can be a grind especially when facing competitive...



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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. Trying to balance the shiny components of the offer, maintain a level head, remember to negotiate, and keep every other generic piece of career advice front of mind. Cue confusion, anxiety, doubt, and fear. But what if there was a way to ensure that every decision you made in your career was in your best, long-term interest? What if you...



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Protecting Yourself When You Make a Tough Call

I can guarantee you’ll face a major moral/ethical dilemma situation at least once in your career. Even if you make the right decision, you’re still at risk for bad things happening. Here are some tips on navigating those sticky situations. Today’s post is by Mike Figliuolo, Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS. When I was a cadet at West Point, we learned the Cadet Prayer. We didn’t learn it as part of some religious education but rather because there were points in it about ethics. The one line that stood out for all of us was “Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong.” Sounds awesome in theory, much tougher in practice. There have been times I’ve lived up to that and others I’ve fallen miserably short. I’ve had...



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Using Stretch and Commit Goals to Drive Performance

Goal setting is tricky business. You’ll get much better performance if you set two goals for your team. Once you’ve done so, paying for performance is more of a math equation than it is black magic. Incentives can, and have been, a topic of great discussion but one thing that is hard to argue is this: you want to complete a goal, incentives work. Sometimes incentives are money. Incentives can be salary increases or bonuses. You may offer stock or options. Other incentives can be awards, time off, or promotions. Incentives need to be something that’s meaningful and exciting to your team, collectively. When you set the incentives, make a direct linkage between the goal and the reward. I’ve always liked setting “commit” and “stretch” goals. The commit goal is something...



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

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...



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Developing Stronger Executive Communication Skills

Mike Figliuolo, thoughtLEADERS Managing Director, sat down with Adam Torres of The Money Matters Top Tips Podcast to talk about executive communication. In this podcast interview, Mike reunites with Adam Torres of The Money Matters Top Tips Podcast to delve deeper into his personal thoughts and tips on executive communication. Mike breaks down executive presence and what exactly it is, and then points out a few of the standard shortcomings that people point out with regards to executive presence and how finding a few small fixes really can move the needle in interacting with others. As the discussion continues, Mike gives his top tips for improving this executive communication, starting with knowing your audience, something people have heard many times before, and how finding and knowing...



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

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...



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Work Isn’t an Excuse for Lack of Self Care

Work is a convenient excuse for not taking care of yourself. Not exercising, poor diet, and stress are a bad combination. You’ve got to make time for you. Work will always be there when you get back. Today’s post is by Mike Figliuolo, Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS. Back in 2015, I had a heart attack. A second heart attack. Yep. Two. The first one sucked but it was my fault. Crappy diet. Poor exercise habits. Not managing stress well. I lost a lot of weight. Dropped my cholesterol. Modified stress responses. I was feeling great. I had conquered the cardiac event. Wrong. Heart attack #2 was a nasty little bugger. Hit me on a flight to Salt Lake City. I was headed out to teach my Leadership Maxims class. It ended up being the first class I’ve missed teaching in 12 years of running this...



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Work Isn’t an Excuse For Lack of Self Care

Work is a convenient excuse for not taking care of yourself. Not exercising, poor diet, and stress are a bad combination. You’ve got to make time for you. Work will always be there when you get back. Today’s post is by Mike Figliuolo, Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS. Back in 2015, I had a heart attack. A second heart attack. Yep. Two. The first one sucked but it was my fault. Crappy diet. Poor exercise habits. Not managing stress well. I lost a lot of weight. Dropped my cholesterol. Modified stress responses. I was feeling great. I had conquered the cardiac event. Wrong. Heart attack #2 was a nasty little bugger. Hit me on a flight to Salt Lake City. I was headed out to teach my Leadership Maxims class. It ended up being the first class I’ve missed teaching in 12 years of running this...



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