Moving The Rock

Since Jim Collins first presented his concept of Level 5 leaders in his book, Good to Great, companies have been looking for ways to predictably elevate their people to this highest standard of leadership. Can leaders be developed into “... seemingly ordinary people quietly producing extraordinary results?” Can you give leaders the power to operate with a “…level of humility and modesty, while cultivating a ferocious resolve, an almost stoic determination to do whatever needs to be done to make the company great?” Check out this episode and let us know what you think?

In physics as in life, everything that's happening from the perspective of the observer. In other words, reality is subject to the perception of the person involved. One sales or leadership conversation can produce at least three versions of the truth: Your truth, their truth and the truth. As a leader of leaders, do you have the ability and presence of mind to anticipate this challenge and not allow it to cloud or delay the commitment you are looking for? Join us as we solve this important and thought-provoking leadership challenge.

As sales leaders, we are all familiar with the punishing pace of delivering monthly or quarterly numbers. Why is it that some people seem to struggle from period to period through a repetitive cycle of stress, while others achieve a steady state of flow? The answer is in the ability to master your PACE. To rise above reacting to what’s happening to you, like being the pinball, to leading change, like being the manufacturer of the pinball machine.

Monthly and quarterly revenue numbers make it easy to know how well a sales organization is performing. Because sales is a lagging indicator, when numbers grow or shrink it’s always an indicator or symptom of something else, something deeper going on.

In this episode, James is joined by Ed Porter, founder of Bluechip CRO. Together, Ed and James access 50+ years of combined experience working with sales and customer-facing team leaders, to explore the root causes of some of the most common sales challenges faced by scale-up and growth stage companies.

In this episode we extend our conversation from Part 4, where we discussed being prepared by being practiced. Here we address the practices that allow leaders to shift into a state of poise, a state of being that makes you ready for any moment? When the boat rocks as it inevitably will (all boats rock), how can you as a leader access a level of awareness within yourself that will allow you to model the behavior required to permanently elevate your entire team?

Listen in and join the conversation.

How many times have you seen a situation in sales where someone’s performance was stellar, and then all of a sudden it wasn’t? It happens all the time. Were they somehow transformed? Did they become a different person overnight? Or did they benefit from a unique situation they could not replicate? Is it possible they simply don’t know how to replicate that level of success? Why not?

It’s an interesting question. One we explore at a deeper level in this edition of our twelve-part introduction to our advanced self-guided leadership course presented by SightShift and Floriss Group.

To see if you qualify to take part, reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Enjoy the conversation!

As a leader, how often do you evaluate whether the structure around you is supporting or blocking your goals and the goals of your team? Are you paying attention to leading or lagging indicators of success? Are you analyzing the decisions you make or measuring the actions you take? What is required to reach and then redefine your performance?

When you adopt upstream thinking it's natural to explore the leadership structure you have built for yourself … the why behind what you do.

Listen in as we tackle the third of a twelve-part introduction to an advanced self-guided leadership course presented in partnership with SightShift and Floriss Group.

To see if you qualify to take part in this advanced training, reach out to [email protected] for more information.

As a leader, you're never going to reach a level where you move beyond solving problems. Whether you are a CEO, Sales VP or individual contributor, you are paid to identify and solve problems for those you chose to serve. That’s leadership 101. Advancing in your role and in your career, however, will require you to develop upstream thinking. To make sure you are solving the right problems.

Join us as we explore the second of a twelve-part introduction to an advanced self-guided leadership course presented in partnership with SightShift and Floriss Group.

To see if you qualify to take part in this advanced training, reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Whether you are a new sales manager, a veteran manager in a new environment, or an experienced sales VP, you are expected to know how to build and lead a team of sales leaders. Not only does this mean earning each person’s trust and respect, it means finding new ways to elevate the team’s motivation, preparation, and execution. It means finding new ways to coach and hold team members accountable to shared best practices that ensure the team, not just key individuals, will thrive.

Each of these episodes is recorded as an introduction to one of twelve parts of an advanced self-guided leadership course presented in partnership with SightShift and Floriss Group. To see if you qualify to take part in this advanced training, reach out to [email protected] for more information.

After 30 years of building sales teams, I agree with those who believe that promoting a top salesperson to sales manager is NOT a promotion. It is much healthier to look at the move as a career change. Yes, your success in sales will be helpful. But like any transition from player to coach, your success will be built upon a mindset, skillset, and toolset that you have yet to master. Join the conversation! And, if you are looking for the best training to support your transition, request information about our Collecting WINS - Sales Management Essentials course.