I would bet that most of us have encountered more bad sales leadership than good sales leadership in our careers. This is so for a few reasons; 1) leadership, especially sales leadership, is hard, 2) we have high expectations of our leaders and 3) sale management requires the mastery of several competencies – and very few people have ever been trained in the basics of how to be an effective sales manager.

New sales managers can dig themselves into a hole very quickly. Many fall back to the actions and beliefs that made them a top salesperson, unaware that this strategy can be counter-productive.  Instead of relying on self, sales managers must get things done through others.

Learning to lead takes time. In fact, leadership development is a lifelong process. Unfortunately, sales managers don’t have a lifetime to show results.

Positive momentum is a critical success factor for a sales team, especially for a new manager.  When coaching new sales managers, STM360 has learned that focusing on four leadership fundamentals helps build leadership momentum:

1. Communicate Clear Expectations – You can’t expect a team / person to be where you want them to be if you have not clearly communicated; what the goals are, how to achieve those goals, expected behavior, and where people stand.
   

2. Create a Learning Environment – Make people development a top priority and create a development plan for each person. Don’t fall into the trap of doing a salesperson’s job – this is the quickest way to flame out.
   

3. Remove Barriers and Distractions – Identify and remove whatever is preventing your team from being more successful. Step up to and resolve conflict in an expedient manner.
   

4. Model the Way – Be clear on your philosophy of leadership. Always follow through on your commitments and promises. Set the example of what is expected in terms of attitude, work ethic, competence, etc.
   

Of course, there is a lot more to leadership and sales management than these four leadership fundamentals.  STM360 has created an e-learning tutorial and self-assessment that provides a deeper dive into sales leadership fundamentals. For access to the e-learning tutorial and self-assessment, click on the link below…. 

http://www.stm360.com/leadership-fundamentals-for-sales-managers/

Each week, Jack and his wife Suzy contribute an opinion column to Business Week. This week, they discuss three current events and the impact of these events to America's competitiveness.

Two of the events concern unions and their increasing influence over our economic policy makers. The third event concerns shareholders and how they can force out senior executives even if the move is detrimental to the company.

Jack and Suzy argue that unions and shareholders can promote obsolete agendas that don't take into consideration global market forces. By failing to consider such forces, decision are being made that put American companies at a disadvantage - at a time when we need to be at our most competitive.

Jack is afraid America is heading down a path of mediocrity. We could be using this turmoil to make tough choices and re-invent our economic future. Instead we are choosing strategies that not only have failed in the past, but are completely inappropriate for these economic times.

For those of you who would like to read the article, I have attached the link below.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_20/b4131072211068.htm

Many of you have read Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers". For those who have not, I highly recommend it.

In Part One of the book, Gladwell analyzes people at the top of their professions (i.e. outliers) to see what makes them different from the masses. His research identified three common traits;

1) Outliers are not necessarily the smartest people (measured by IQ) but are "smart enough" to become experts in their field

2) Outliers take advantage of opportunities such as welcoming the mentorship of an expert

3) Outliers have high work ethic and continuously work at their craft

The work ethic trait really hit home with me. Gladwell determined that it takes about 10,000 hours of practice to master a craft. So if you want to be great at something (golf, computer programming, playing the guitar, etc.) it takes FIVE YEARS of full time work. The reason there are so few outliers is that most people are unwilling to make the investment needed to become great.

I thought about the top five percent of sales reps and sales managers I know. Each one is "smart enough" and has capitalized on opportunities. All are off the charts on work ethic. Not only did they "put in the time" early in their careers, but they work every day to get better, evolve, and stay relevant.

Many people today (young and old) expect success to come quickly. How can you determine if someone is willing to "pay the price" to become great?

A customer of mine recently sent me this. Some good words of wisdom. Enjoy....

Mike – Below are excerpts from a speaking engagement at Babson College and his books Winning and Jack, Straight from the Gut. We may not agree with everything Jack says, but at least we know where he stands on some important leadership issues.  I thought you might be interested in taking a look at some of his thoughts:

Jack Welch on Leadership

    • “Your job is to turn people on. Your job is to excite people.”

    • “Set a vision and a target – and constantly communicate them. Energize your people to reach that target.”

    • “Celebrate every inch your team moves forward.”

    • “Inspire people. Don’t be a bore. You want people to want to be around you.”

    • “I had three priorities: first, make sure that we really focused on what became our core competency: people development. Second, allocate dollars to projects. Third, transfer ideas from business to business within GE.”

    • “Remember – it’s all about THEM – building great teams.”

    • “Win – and remember what you did right so you can keep winning.”

    • “Have self confidence and show it. Encourage it throughout the organization.”

    • “Try things. You’ll see what works and what doesn’t work.”

    • “Surround yourself with great people. Where you have intellect and brains, you’ll find the right answers.”

Jack Welch on Ambition

    • “Ambition is good. But, don’t wear it on your sleeve. Hide it in your pocket.”

Jack Welch Being Yourself

    • “Find a company where you can be with your people – where you can be yourself.”

    • “Go to where it feels good. The truth is, you can’t change an organization from the bowels of the organization.”

Jack Welch on Candor

    • “I believe the kindest managers tell people where they stand – good or bad.”

Jack Welch on Climbing the Corporate Ladder

    • “Face it. A lot of it is luck. You need to make people above you look smarter. Hire great people. Ask people to move on if they’re not doing a good job. Building great teams is a big deal.”

    • “If you get a kick out of seeing your people succeed, it will help you. Don’t protect your best people – share them with others in your organization. When you let others take your good people, they’ll spread your ideas throughout the organization – kind of like prophets.”

Jack Welch on Customers

    • “Companies can’t just give out jobs. Only satisfied customers give jobs. Companies don’t guarantee jobs. So over-deliver to the customer.”

Jack Welch on Not Being a Victim

    • “Whatever you do, don’t be a victim. If you’re in a bad situation, try to fix it. If you can’t fix it, move on. Don’t whine.”

    • “Make a deal with yourself about what you want and go out and do it.”

    • “If you work for a jerk, don’t get trapped or be a victim. Move on.”

Jack Welch on Getting the Best Talent

    • “You want to get people who are better and smarter than you.”

Jack Welch on Having Fun

    • “Leaders don’t celebrate enough. You should celebrate every win.”

    • “You’ve got to have fun at work. Make it fun for your people. Rent a keg. Send 2 people to a ball game or out to dinner. If you’re the leader, remember, it’s not a reward when you ask someone to go out for dinner with YOU. Give them what they want. You job is to motivate your people.”

Jack Welch on Innovation

    • “Look for best practices. Foster a culture that is constantly on the lookout for great ideas. Search everywhere for best practices.”

    • “Find the big ‘ahah!’. Don’t play it safe. Let it rip.”

Jack Welch on Learning

    • “I love to learn. It’s an enormous kick for me.”

    • “You’ve got to instill learning in your organization. Be a role model. Devour everything you can. Read the language of business. Read the Wall Street Journal. Be informed. Go to visit organizations where they are doing things right.”

Jack Welch on Merit

    • “I like merit. I like taking care of the best and weeding out the weakest.”

Jack Welch on Over-Delivering

    • “You want to be successful? Over-deliver. Work harder than the other guy. Make your boss look good. Make your company look good.”

    • “Real life is like a chit system. If you make your boss look good, he’ll give you all the flexibility you need. That’s the way it works – but it will hurt if you don’t over-deliver.”

Jack Welch on Values and Ethics

    • “Enron and Arthur Andersen are two companies that lost their way. They lost sight of their values, if they had ever had any, and they lacked a system for confronting people who weren’t living by the right values.”

    • “The same guys who wrecked the economy – the accountants – are now making money trying to fix it.”

Jack Welch on Winning

    • “I love to win. Find people who love to win. Make winning fun.”

Jack Welch on Work/Life Balance

    • “Do you think the people in Shanghai and Bangladore are discussing balance right now?  No way. They want your job. They are well educated. They are working hard. They are doing everything they can, every day, to take your job away from you.”

    • “Again, over-deliver. If you over-deliver, you will have choices in your life. If you over-deliver and want, or need, to work from home every Friday, a good leader will let you do that. If you don’t over-deliver, a good leader will tell you that you aren’t delivering in the office Monday through Friday, so how can you imagine working out of your home every Friday. Over-delivery simply gives you options.”

    • “If you’re a star, you’ll find perfect work/life balance. Stars dictate the terms. Trust me. Look at me. I love my life.”