Leadership & Having Influence
Great leaders can be life changing. We’ve all had bosses that were fantastic. Whenever they got in front of the team they inspired tremendous results. You felt like the company’s problems were yours to fix AND you felt empowered to do so. We all want to be like this as a leader.
Finding these great leaders is hard. Learning to become one is even harder. As you are looking at your style for leadership here are some guiding principles that I found useful:
You can articulate your vision
You communicate how to execute it
When a decision is needed, you can be decisive
Motivate your team
Make everyone better
Keep everyone focused
Embrace change
When you are rising up the ranks you are focusing on what skills you need to prove that you can do the job. I wrote about this at length in this old blog post if you are looking for a refresher. What you learn on the job is what needs to be done and how do I get everyone to do it.
I had a very sobering experience on day 1 when a rep of mine asked me a question about a contract structure. Now I don’t remember the specific question but I do remember the feeling. It was at that moment that I realized that I had to have an answer. I couldn’t turn around and ask anyone else… I was in charge and needed to provide guidance.
Leaders get measured on how you perform through uncertainty. It’s your job to move the ball forward based on your abilities. Now, you got this job because you were good at your IC job. You demonstrated that you can handle more revenue responsibility and you have mastery over your craft. Passing that knowledge is hard.
Articulate Your Vision
Bob Igor has a great quote that goes something like, “great leaders are great communicators who articulate their priorities clearly.” Can you do this? When you meet with your team on a weekly/monthly/quarterly basis how simple and effective is your message? Leaders that can look at their KPIs and articulate a vision of what needs to be done are rare. The ones that can move up - fast.
You Can Communicate how to Execute it
Anyone can spot a problem, “sales are down… we need to close more.” Great. Good work. But how? Sellers have heard everything under the sun on how they need to be better. Do more with less. But can you provide a vision then the steps needed to execute it? It’s hard, very hard.
Sales are down because our pipeline creation is lagging. We need to ramp up our activity volume to drive more top of the funnel.
Simple, easy to the point and concise. Everyone can understand the ask and get behind it.
When a Decision is Needed - MAKE IT
I have watched so many leaders, old bosses and ones that I coach now, who labor on making a tough choice. Or they get into endless debates on some small element of a GTM strategy. They fill their week with meetings that I call “drum circle jam sessions.” Meaning, everyone is having a great time making noise but no songs are being made AKA great discussion but no action.
Taking a stance on a decision is more important than not making one (even if you are wrong). When there is an obvious problem and you don’t do anything then your team gets anxious. They can start to question your judgement and whether or no they should follow you. That’s the worst case scenario for a leader… you lose the room.
If you make a wrong call then own it and fix it. People want direction, they want leadership. Don’t worry about mistakes.. They happen.
Motivating Your Team
If your team believes in you and you have proved that your guidance is valuable then this is easy. The challenge is getting there. How can you spot things that need to be improved and communicate that?
Joining people on the front lines is the best way to prove yourself. Sales people love to learn (especially when it means they can make more money). If you lead by example, take charge and deliver great results then you’ve earned the right to motivate folks. Get everyone to believe something bigger than themselves. Nothing beats being part of a great team and company.
Make Everyone Better
Strengthening all the people around you as well as yourself delivers results. It’s a really straightforward thought process here…I’m not broaching anything new. What I did to make it happen in practice was challenging.
What I ultimately settled on was to elevate folks by giving them a preview of what their next job would hold. For SDRs it was giving them access to demo to prospects on a first call. For AEs it was having them be part of the process for delivering initiatives. Also, learning how to forecast, interview panels, etc. All the things needed to prepare for leadership. For frontline leaders it was bringing them in on the Board Deck process as well as budget process.
Elevating everyone’s game only made them better. It also pushed me to be better because the folks that I worked with were highly skilled at their roles.
Keep Everyone Focused
This is really important. There are a ton of distractions when it comes to GTM. You can get pulled into a million different directions. Being purposeful in our intentions and agendas helps deliver outcomes. If we are in a meeting to discuss how to do X initiative then let’s discuss that and only that.
Don’t get sidetracked or off topic. Anyone who has taken a Sales Methodology class understands the importance of the “up-front contract.” We are here to discuss these items, in this amount of time… are we all in an agreement? Great, let’s move forward.
It also comes into play during the peaks and valleys of any fiscal year. You have to keep everyone on an even keel. Never get too high and don’t get too low. Focus on the task at hand, recognize where the business is at, but let’s execute. Manage the emotion of the sales floor.
Embrace Change
It’s going to happen. It’s the only constant in sales. In a blink of an eye everything can get turned upside down. Rather than waste cycles complaining about it, realize where you are and what needs to be done.
Silicon Valley roads are paved with “That’s Unfair” excuses. Everyone deals with it and so do you. Be the person that is the granite mountain. Waves of drama crash against you but you remain unchanged. Remember, we don’t live in a just world and as a result fairness is not guaranteed. Know it’s going to happen and play the cards available to you.
Closing Thoughts
Leadership is one of the hardest professional challenges you can face. It’s also one of the most rewarding. Establishing some guiding principles only helps you navigate the treacherous roads ahead.
