Answer these two important questions on a scale of 1-10.
Q1: Are you aware of and addressing your sales leadership blind spots?
My, oh my, it’s tough to have the leadership bravery necessary to actually look for blind spots. By their nature, you can’t see them yourself, so you’ll want to invite people around you to give you serious feedback. Tricky little blind spots will likely develop into unparalleled problems if you don’t discover and “check” them.
Why? It’s simple: what you don’t see you can’t correct. The effects can be enormously harmful to sales teams, sales managers, and the bottom-line results.
Of course, once you’ve seen what you weren’t seeing, there’s the next step: developing the right plan to address your sales leadership blind spots and committing to staying that course.
Imagine how remarkable it could be to see clearly what’s working and what’s getting in the way. I challenge you to suspend your resistance to looking into the “sales management mirror” long and often enough to see the truth of the situation as it really is, not as you want it to be. Why? Because with this clarity you have an amazing opportunity to, as my dad used to say, “make sure you are working on the right end of the problem.”
Q2: How committed are you to do the work to find new solutions to your blind spots?
Blind spots can be the Achilles heel of leadership, especially during possible times of economic uncertainty and rapid marketplace disruption and change. You’ll need to have a steely resolve to flush them out, and once concealed issues emerge, you’ll need to take responsibility for the challenges and havoc they wrecked. But the good news is, once you can see the elephant in the room, you can take steps to send it on its way.
Here are a few tips to help you gain clarity on why you need to commit to strengthening your own leadership performance:
- Examine your past challenges to identify habitual problematic patterns.
- Solicit feedback from all who matter to the success of your sales team.
- Identify personal “triggers” and master your responses.
- Surround yourself with diverse thinkers. Commit to learning from them.
- Seek out a blind-spot buddy. Someone you trust to hold you accountable.
Staying focused and committed during uncertain times helps your sales team continue to grow and succeed. Now is the time to own the leadership role you’ve chosen and let the uncertainty help you focus in on your blind spots – before they add more complications to already complicated times
Last year I chose to take a stance of “being open” – it’s tough, but truly rewarding and enlightening. I hope you’ll join me. May the stance be with you!
Ready to delve into how to up your sales leadership game? Do you have questions on how to motivate your team? Maybe you have feedback for us? Write to us. What sets us apart? We specialize in creating leadership solutions that help our clients realize and produce real improvements and bottom-line results. Ready to realize your team’s potential growth? Let’s schedule time to talk.
