Fixed!
Creating Leaders from the Top Down
Tom went from being a supervisor to being promoted into a managerial role. Tom didn’t have the confidence in his new role to make the decisions necessary to perform his new job. Tom kept calling his bosses to ask if he was making the right decisions. It is this type of situation that I am often called into.
This type of situation can and does exist in any industry, for profit, non-profit or sized company. What we usually tell the bosses that call us in to help Tom, is that they actually might be part of the problem. In order for “Tom” to succeed, the bosses must create an environment where it is acceptable for him to fail. Yes, you read that correctly. In order for someone to be able to make and trust in the decisions that they need to make in the course of their job, they need to trust that if they make the wrong decision, their job is not on the line. And this is the responsibility of their bosses. It is up to the boss to create an environment where the management team is not fearful of losing their job is a wrong decision is made. It is the responsibility of the boss to create the boundaries for the decision making capabilities. In the event a poor decision is made it is up to leadership to make the occurrence a learning experience rather than a dressing down. Once these parameters and guidelines are in place, then the individual can be worked with to grow into their new role in a more productive and meaningful way.
Leadership is not only about decision-making. It’s also about communication, and by that we mean the words we use. Often what happens when someone is promoted from within an organization is that “Tom” is now managing his peers, which often creates a tricky dynamic in and of itself. But even if “Tom” isn’t managing his peers, he may not have the necessary language to properly manage his new staff and underlings. Managing gossip, lack of co-operation and interdepartmental conflicts often can defeat a new manager. This is another area, we are often called in to assist with.
Whatcha Selling?
Selling is an art. Whether you are an individual or part of a team there is definite skill to selling. It’s a dance if you will, there is an introduction, a mutual sizing up, a slow beginning held at arms-length, and if we have skill the pace picks up and we come a bit closer and before you know it we are dancing cheek to cheek and the deal is signed.
We have worked with individuals and we have worked with teams. We have worked in just about any industry you can name and it all comes down to this: you have something that you want someone to buy. Now that being the case, there are definite tools that can help to improve your chances at closing more deals than you previously have been.
Betty Business-owner was so loved by her clients they only wanted to deal with her, which was wonderful, except it made her business a bit stagnant. Betty recognized the problem and hired us to help her train a new sales team to bring in new business and help her to let go of the tight hold she had on her older accounts so she could welcome new accounts into the fold. Now Betty’s business is booming, bigger than she thought possible and her sales team is growing. Betty still provides the personal touch to each of her clients, however, it is a much smaller and more infrequent touch. But that is the compromise that Betty had to make in order to grow her business to the next level and beyond. Once you identify what compromises you are willing to make and what compromises you are not willing to make, the path of your business growth becomes much clearer.
The Second Act
Client John came in after being down-sized as part of a reduction in force from a manufacturing company. He had been VP of Sales. He had been in Manufacturing and sales for the better part of two decades, or in other words, all of his adult career. When faced with the prospect of having to find a senior level job placement in an industry that had been devastated by the economy, he came to us in order to explore what his options were and how to look at his skillset in a different way. After multiple discussions and assessments we developed a plan of action, and John began to take the necessary steps to reshape his thinking and get the required credentials to begin a second career in a completely different industry. It took a lot of hard work and a mental dedication to make a change, John was able to successful make the transition from one industry to a completely different industry. As with most of our clients we touch base periodical with John, and we are happy to report that he is once again successfully preforming at a high level in his new field.
It’s all about Communication
Susan had been a Director with a PE (Private Equity) firm for 10 years and although her work and her work ethic were exemplary, her communication skills left something to be desired. Her superiors avoided talking to her whenever possible, her underlings, dreaded having to talk to her. What Susan’s core issue was, was that she was a brilliant introvert who would happily talk for hours about the minutia of a project but wasn’t able to carry on a social conversation. Her bosses wanted quick fast answers, which she seemed incapable of giving them, and her co-workers wanted to connect on a more friendly level which she also seemed unable to do. Her presentations were an exercise in patience for even the most robust geek. Social cues and subtleties were a mystery to Susan. As part of her annual review, Susan’s boss required her to find someone to help her with her communication issues, as the firm most definitely did not want to lose her.
This is where we came in. After meeting with Susan and administering some assessments we were able to quickly identify the issues and develop some exercises to help Susan to be able to come out of her shell a bit with her bosses and her co-workers. Most importantly we worked with Susan on being able to identify the various personality types that she worked with and how those personality types like to be communicated with. This gave her a solid foundation with which to work from in her interaction with her superiors and her co-workers. And Susan was then able to make conscientious improvements in her interactions with both her bosses and her co-workers.
Next we tackled her presentation skills. While applauding Susan’s diligence in her level of detail in her work, we explained that in most presentations the audience is generally looking for more of a bullet point presentation than the in-depth analysis she had been providing. So by breaking down her data and re-compiling it into manageable-sized bytes, we were able to convey the overall core information without overwhelming her audience. By working on her actual presenting style we were able to loosen –up her presentation to make it more free-flowing and less of a recitation of the slides, and more interactive with the audience.
Within 9 months of Susan and me beginning our work together, Susan made partner.