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High Performance Sales Leadership

Written by: Harry Hayden

Article Overview: In sales, whether to lead or not to lead that is the question (all apologies to Shakespeare here). Or to put it another way, whether to lead or to manage in order to drive the required business results. There is no simple right answer to this apparently simple question.

High Performance Sales Leadership

At the extremes we have a warm fluffy “anything goes but I’d really like you to follow me” excuse for leadership and a control freak micro managing excuse for management. Somewhere between these two extremes lies an effective high performance approach.

Striking a Balance.
However just finding a mid-point between leading and managing is not the answer either - if only life were that simple! The right approach in any specific situation with any specific individual will often prove to be the wrong approach in another situation or with another individual.

Some situations with particular individuals will be best suited to a 100% leadership oriented approach and others will be best suited to a 100% managing approach. Most will probably be best suited to a mix between both, with one almost always being more dominant than the other.

Consider the Extremes.
Leadership in the extreme allows everyone to head off in their own direction in order to meet the goals that will deliver the leaders vision. Whilst perhaps creating a free & happy environment in the short term, this is unlikely to deliver the results that will keep the business in business.

Management in the extreme clips everybody’s wings, restraining them from ever reaching their potential in the organisation. Whilst perhaps forcing a short term results driven environment, stronger people leave and weaker people stay - not so sustainable in the mid to long term.

Lead by Preference.
Effective leadership is about driving the behaviours that will deliver the results required to meet the goals that enable the business vision. Sounds simple and logical? The primary key to effective leadership can be encapsulated as “Lead by preference, Manage by necessity.

High performance leaders know that an adaptive leadership approach is the most powerful tool they have for driving future success. However the vast majority of today’s business managers have somehow missed this trick much to the detriment of their business, their team and themselves.

Leadership Compromise.
There are some people that you will always be able to lead (hands off) and others that you will always have to manage (hands on). The question in the latter case is whether the hands on investment you have to make is justified by the high maintenance required by the individual in question.

A decision to manage, rather than lead an individual will always be a leadership compromise and is not a decision to be taken lightly. Effective leaders are best surrounded by those that they can empower and trust to deliver, rather than those that need constant directing and monitoring.

High performing sales teams tend to share the following primary characteristics:

• A strong leader that empowers & motivates them.
• A common and clearly communicated mission.
• Respect and support for the leader and each other.

Team chemistry is critical to success and “bad apple” attitudes or skills deficits must be addressed to pave the way for sustained team performance. Such is the lot of the high performance sales leader!

For more information please visit the Perform website

Related Articles
  How to Avoid Business Failure
  Managing and Maintaining Performance
  What Kind of Sales Manager Are You?
  Set a Standard of High Expectations With Accountability
  Achieve Sales Leadership Mastery and Grow Sales Revenue

Article Tags: behaviours, business management, business managers, business vision, control freak, detriment, effective leadership, extremes, high performance, mid point, oriented approach, performance leaders, preference, primary key, wings



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