In organizations, sales teams are special. They have a sense of drive, an entrepreneurial spirit and a way of thinking that sets them apart from others. Talking to a Sales Manager recently about how he would describe his team, he grinned and said, “it’s like leading a group of ADHD teenagers with the attention spans of gnats”.
There seems to be a parallel between sales teams and families. Leading these employees can be like parenting young children. We need to respect each individual’s needs. They need enough boundaries and structure without cramping their style. To keep the team performing at their best need constant motivation, reassessment and reorganization.
Parents look forward to the seemingly self-indulgent psychological benefits of increasing the longevity of their gene pool, the possible immortality of self through offspring, experiencing the world through fresh and magical eyes of the innocent child. In sales teams, managers aspire to lead their teams as a privilege and a responsibility to make a difference in the topline of the organization, perhaps leaving a legacy, transforming themsleves through developing others.
Managers however have been doing it tough. Having to deliver ever more with dwindling resources through budget and workforce cutbacks, attempting to re-engage workforce with low morale through constant restructuring in our rapidly changing world ….. they don’t seem to be getting too many breaks! In global research by consulting firm BlessingWhite, where more than 7,500 survey responses were studied and interviews were cnducted with HR and line managers - fewer than 1 in three workers are fully engaged. There is a strong correlation between engagement and retention. 85% of engaged employees plan to stay with their company compared with 27% disengaged ones. Engaged employees appear to stay for what they give (they like the work they do), while disengaged employees stay for what they get (favourable job conditions, advancement, growth, or job security). That’s hardly a winning business relationship, is it?
Parents are also not being portrayed in best light by the media. It is cool to be carefree singles like Carrie and her unattached friends from Sex and the City and those friends from Friends and Seinfeld. On the contrary, The Simpsons, Everybody Loves Raymond and the Married with Children paint a darker picture of what it is like to be tied down in a family way.
Sales teams also fight a battle being stereotyped as greedy individuals with little to no team spirit and only motivated by monetary bonuses, who play outside rules ‘normal’ to you and me …. this image has also not been helped by the fall of Wall Street giants.
Society’s unflattering picture of children today is formed by the media’s images, founded in the marketplace and fostered by fear. We may accept our toddler with all the charms and challenges of that age group but other shoppers in the supermarket will only see the tantrum-throwing purple rage of a spoilt tot (the kind we see on SuperNanny regularly) and the ineffectual discipline of a flustered parent caught between the lollie counter and a quick exit.
Childhood today is institutionalized and managerialized around our image of the workplace: Hours are precisely timetabled, outcomes (health, literacy, crime) are benchmarked and measured, costs are privatized and care (nappy services, childcare, tutoring, entertaining) has been outsourced. Sounds familiar for employees being pigeon-holed into systems that may not be useful to enhance performance?
Consequently, BlessingWhite’s www.blessingwhite.com employee engagement research validates the engagement model which focuses on individual employees’:
- Contribution to the company’s success
- Personal satisfaction in the role.
Aligning employees’ values, goals, and aspirations with those of the organization is the
best method for achieving the sustainable employee engagement required for an organization to reach its goals. Full engagement represents an alignment of maximum job satisfaction(“I like my work and do it well”) with maximum job contribution(“I help achieve the goals of my organization”).
Engaged employees are not just committed. They are not just passionate or proud. They have a line-of- sight on their own future and on the organization’s mission and goals. They are enthused and in gear, using their talents and discretionary effort to make a difference in their employer’s quest for sustainable business success.
A few questions come to mind for our managers/parents.
Have we lost the natural instinct to lead/parent?
Are there models of effective leadership/parenting ?
Why do we want to be leaders/parents?
March 3rd, 2010
Once again, I was twittered this insightful and heartwarming article that I would like to share with you. Please feel free to add your comments here or send a note to the author - Erin Schreyer - with your thoughts.
Have you hugged a leader today?
This past Mother’s Day weekend, I thought a lot about the joy I have with my children, as well as the blessings I have received from my own mother. Mothers have a deep sense of pride in what we do. We want to do it well because we sense that the impact our efforts will shape the lives of our children forever.
When I think about the responsibilities of being a mother, they are great. Often, they are synonymous with the characteristics of outstanding leadership. Think of the parallels:
Mothers and leaders must be inspirational and visionary.
They can’t waste energy on obstacles, difficult situations and “I can’t.” Instead, they must forge ahead – goal-oriented – breaking barriers with optimism and encouragement, showing their family that creative solutions can bring success. Moms are problem-solvers, out-of-the-box thinkers who want to push the limits and provide for their children. In a sense, weren’t Moms the first entrepreneurs?
Remember the inspiration she gave you, so that you had the belief you could do anything? Even before the words “entrepreneur” or “inspiration” existed, mothers had paved the way by bringing us into this world and providing a vision of how great our lives can be! Likewise, leaders should inspire to bring out the best in their teams. They should encourage and support fresh, new ideas, be ready to take some calculated risks and celebrate the rewards of taking their organizations to new and exciting places.
Mothers and leaders add value by serving others.
As stated by John Maxwell in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership… “the bottom line in leadership isn’t how far we advance ourselves but how far we advance others.”
From the day you were born, you mother nurtured you, supported you and sacrificed for your well being. Yes, mothers often put the needs of their children ahead of their own….and they do so to build into them and give them the greatest tools, abilities and methods to achieve success. “What can I do for you?” is a commonly used phrase. That’s leadership at its finest!! An organizational leader should be sure they are empowering their team, giving credit where credit is due and being generous by sharing his/her time, knowledge and resources.
Mothers and leaders must be able to connect emotionally to others.
Primal Leadership: “Even if they get everything else just right, if a leader fails in this primal task of driving emotions in the right direction, nothing they do will work as well as it could or should.”
Think of a time in your life when you felt emotionally hurt and you shared that with your mom. She made you feel better, didn’t she? Moms are not only good listeners, but they have a way of knowing just the right thing to say to help you move forward in a better direction. Moms acknowledge their children, express empathy and connection, and then they leave you with a sense that you can do better next time. Leaders should also realize that their emotions are contagious. If they resonate positive energy and enthusiasm, it will likely rub off on their teams. That emotional connection may take everything else to the next level.
Mothers and leaders must know when to lead and when to let go.
John Maxwell writes “Good leaders recognize that when to lead is as important as what to do and where to go. Timing is often the difference between success and failure in an endeavor.”
The greatest responsibility of parenting is raising our children to be the best they can be…out on their own. It’s years of building into them to let them go and flourish. Throughout their childhood they need their mom’s guidance, love, and support. We must lead them….and we must let go – just like that spectacular moment when you let go for your child’s first two-wheeled bicycle ride. Moms must lead when needed and let go when needed. The same is true for great leadership. There are times to step up and lead, and there are times to allow others to do the work. There are times when decisive actions need be taken, and a good leader knows how to identify these and make them happen.
There are many likenesses, indeed, between mothers and leaders. And in fact, yes, mothers ARE leaders in many respects. The biggest differentiating factor, however, is that a mother’s love is deeper, more passionate, protective and joyful than any business can bring. While we can enjoy our careers and business leadership, the fact remains that no earthly act is more gratifying than being a mother and being loved in return by your children. That unconditional emotioncan inspire even the greatest of all leaders.
Have you experienced a leader who possessed the attributes of a great mother? How did it impact your performance? How have you taken the example provided by a great mom and demonstrated that to your team? If you have, how did they react? I would love to hear an example of maternal leadership that has paid off in real results with your team! Please share.
——————————————————————— Erin Schreyer is the Owner and Managing Partner of Sagestone Partners, LLC. She can be reached at eschreyer@sagestone-partners.com.
Image Source: wahmbreakcafe.com
May 13th, 2009
