Polls apart

WITH the local elections at the beginning of this month prompting people to head to the ballot box it is encouraging to report that so many of you have joined in the Naked Leader's very own polls. There have been five placed on the website since the revamped software was introduced and it is worth considering the feedback. Incidentally, they all remain open and feel free to log on and contribute your opinion.

Whether Twitter is a waste of time prompted a wave of voting, with 50% of you saying no, 30% believing it was, and 20% of you hovering in the don't know category. Website user Rohan's comment was: 'I like the internet in general, Twitter is only as wasteful as the person using it. I love updating my status and getting responses from people, often on the other side of the world.'

Another, submitted by Mike, said: 'I have found it a good tool for 'early' communication when things are happening and also have followed some interesting links I wouldn't have found with normal searching. For me it adds value.'

The Naked Leader's view is the jury is still out on this one and it will be interesting to see whether this new phenomenon takes off and the numbers involved increase, or they dwindle. I guess it's a case of watch this space. Now for those other polls.

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Whether happiness is a state of mind, regardless of external factors, was next on the agenda. With 57% of you acknowledging it is, and 29% saying sometimes.

Simon commented: 'You can look at life so many different ways that happiness does come a lot down to perspective. However we must be realistic in our thinking and certain situations can cause huge amounts of sadness. If you are happy during those times then you are seriously misguided, lying to yourself, and almost definitely heading for mental health problems. It is good and okay to be unhappy when it is appropriate.'

Paul added: 'I'm happy all the time. I'm not bothered about external or internal factors. I am always content and make sure I do something every day that makes me feel good.'

The Naked Leader concludes that people are generally influenced by their state of mind and finding that 'feel-good factor' helps our general well-being.

The question of whether people have a mentor is another interesting one, with the statistics saying 26% yes, 33% no, 18% used to have, and 23% indicating they are considering getting one.

Ana said: 'I used to have a mentor and it was great as I learned so much. I would like to find another one.' This general theme hit home with many of you and while the statistics suggest an obvious split in opinion, the Naked Leader advocates them. It doesn't necessarily have to be a single mentor, it can be many people who can help and guide you depending on their field of expertise.

There was an overwhelming no to the question of whether people like receiving friendship chain emails, with a whopping 87% against them. It begs the question, just who is perpetuating them? The Naked Leader would like to issue an impassioned plea to those responsible to stop doing so!

The latest poll is about whether people would like to dress down in the office. This is evenly split between those who say it's not appropriate to dress down in a formal environment (32%), dress down is okay on a certain day, ie Fridays (32%) and dress down should be every day (36%).

Christopher said: 'I talked this over with my son who works for the BBC where they have in his department, a very casual environment. He felt that it really didn't matter what one wears and said his dilemma would be avoiding not dressing smarter than his boss!' 

Simon chipped in with: 'Acting and being professional is far more important than the clothes you wear. The traditional formal work-wear approach is an outdated concept in my opinion. Furthermore, having one day where people are allowed to dress down I think can lower productivity so therefore businesses should use one approach or the other, not both.'

At the Naked Leader we believe there is a time and a place for dressing down. It helps to be 'suited and booted' in a formal environment, whereas in other workplaces a more relaxed attitude can prove equally as beneficial. Clearly, the jury is still deliberating on this one too.

David Taylor, founder of the Naked Leader, added: 'We always wanted the new NL website  to be more interactive, relevant and cutting edge than the old site, which had become rather stale and corporate.

'In other words the site is about you, the leader, rather than about us. We see polls as central to this – not only can we gauge and share opinion about leadership and business issues, we can also invite people to give their thoughts, opinion and guidance. We actively encourage leaders to suggest their own suggestions for future poll topics.' There you have it, so don't forget to have your say on the website and look out for more feedback in future editions of The Leader Board.

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