Mike Figliuolo

Founder and managing director

Mike Figliuolo is the author of The Elegant Pitch (Weiser, 2016) and One Piece of Paper (Jossey-Bass, 2011), and co-author of Lead Inside the Box (Weiser, 2015). He’s also the managing director of thoughtLEADERS LLC, a leadership development training firm. He regularly writes about leadership in the thoughtLEADERS Brief on LinkedIn.

Wed, 10/15/2025 - 12:01
Yoda’s Three Steps to Achieving Your Goals Advice to help you focus, believe, and act
Thu, 08/31/2023 - 12:03
Life goals. Bucket lists. “One day I’ll ....” We all have dreams and goals. The biggest difference between people who achieve them and those who don’t is the act of actually doing. Do you have goals and things you want to achieve? Professional…
Defining Your Leadership Philosophy on One Piece of Paper As a leader, knowing your own role is a critical skill

Mon, 08/14/2023 - 12:02
We make leadership way too difficult. We write entire books on it. We teach it in universities and MBA programs. We dedicate entire fields of study to it. We create massive corporate programs to foster it. Here’s the thing: It’s really not that hard…
What to Do When You Make a Firing Mistake ‘Not sweating it’ isn’t acceptable
Mon, 07/31/2023 - 12:03
Sometimes you fire someone who doesn’t deserve it. Your job as a leader is to admit the mistake and do your best to rectify it properly as soon as possible. Many of you (likely about 80%) have fired someone at some point. The odds are that some of…
One Question That Keeps You Out of Trouble Not jumping to conclusions can prevent you from being thought a tyrant or fool
Wed, 07/19/2023 - 12:03
You folks know I love asking questions. From this post about forgoing answers in favor of asking questions, to my quote, “Asking the right question about the future is more powerful than having the right answer about the past,” I’ve found questions…
Detail-Oriented vs. Control Freak Where do you draw the line with bosses?
Mon, 06/26/2023 - 12:03
Twice in the last week I’ve heard about “idiot bosses.” Being the inquisitive guy I am, I probed for the root cause of such comments. Rather than simply asking what the cause is, I decided to address the symptoms first. Q: “Tell me more about this…
A Little Spring Cleaning for Your Work Life Steps to decluttering your brain and your office
Thu, 06/22/2023 - 12:02
It’s a great time of year. Beautiful weather, flowers blooming, and 110 bags of mulch to be spread tell you it’s spring. Now is when we traditionally clean our homes and yards. It’s also a great time to clean up your work and professional life.…
How to Identify and Motivate Slackers on Your Team From torpor to torpedo
Thu, 02/16/2023 - 12:03
You put a lot of time and energy into leading slackers, but you don’t get anything back in terms of results. Your job as a leader is to figure out what will motivate them to perform. Slackers are in the lower left corner of the leadership matrix.…
Going from Being a Peer to Being Their Boss Awkward!
Mon, 11/14/2022 - 12:03
One of the most awkward situations you can encounter in business is when someone goes from being a peer to being the boss. If you do a few things well, you can make the transition smoothly. Life is full of awkward moments: the first kiss, an…
How to Prioritize Your Team’s Work and Improve Focus It’s easy for your team to get sidetracked if your strategy has a lot of moving parts
Mon, 04/12/2021 - 12:02
A consistent and regularly scheduled prioritization process helps eliminate distractions and can focus your efforts on the most meaningful projects. Some processes are formal, while others are simply frequent conversations about priorities. Choose a…
SMART Goals, Part 2 How to make your goals achievable, relevant, and time bound
Wed, 03/17/2021 - 12:02
In the first article of this series, we discussed the specific and measurable aspects of SMART goals. Here in part 2, we’re talking about the last three characteristics: achievable, relevant, and time bound. Achievable Another characteristic of a…