Courage:
Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at its testing point.
– C.S. Lewis
My last 5 years leading sales teams I noticed a shift in our corporate culture. Because of increased regulations corporate compliance became a mantra throughout the organization.
Playing within the rules is a given in business. But, the increased communication around compliance had a negative side effect. Compliance became a goal in and of itself. The implication was that if I had a compliant team, I was a successful leader.
All leaders would love to have a low maintenance team (LMT). A LMT allows a leader to focus on the big things and avoid the day to day hassles that could and should be handled at lower levels. When a leader does that, the leader and the team are more engaged and burnout and turnover for both are lower.
But, while most leaders believe they want to lead a LMT, many are not ready to give up what they need to surrender in order to lead the team they desire.
If I want to be a leader of a LMT I must surrender SELF. I must:
I am one of those guys who does not always get to control the TV remote in my house. Because of this dynamic, my desire to watch Deadliest Catch or SportsCenter is put on hold so my wife can watch one of her cooking shows.
One thing I often hear on these shows is to always start with the best ingredients: really good vanilla, fresh vegetables or premium meats. I see this as an essential for Building A Low Maintenance Team (LMT) as well. To truly develop a LMT, I must start with great ingredients. In this case, that means hiring the right people.
I must hire people of character. That sounds logical but Hiring Character is not simple.
Continue Reading…
Lead, Follow AND Get Out of The Way! The famous bumper sticker actually reads Lead, Follow OR Get Out of The Way. But, for leaders the proper statement needs the AND instead of the OR.
For most people placed into leadership the call to lead is obvious. This is a no-brainer. A teacher’s job is to teach. A saleperson’s job is to sell. Also no-brainers.
But, what about following or even more confusing…getting out of the way? Continue Reading…
Have you ever returned from vacation and not felt rested? Is it the activities? The travel involved? The people you are vacationing with? Or perhaps it is how many days you take off from vacation.
That was my problem. I discovered a way to ensure I got real rest on vacation. Here is my thought process on vacation. Try it and see if you don’t come back more rested.
“We won!!!!” The text message came through as Tim was laying out his guidance to the night shift supervisors. He sent a quick smiley face to his daughter and kept talking.
As he pulled into the garage, he knew his wife would not be happy that he was home again after 7:30 PM. He missed the soccer game, dinner and the baby’s bath time. She wouldn’t understand why he was late, and he still had more work to do tonight. Continue Reading…
When I use the phrase Low Maintenance Team, the most common response is, “I wish I had one of those.” The more I hear that phrase the more I realize Low Maintenance Teams (LMTs) are not common.
There is a path I developed that allowed me to build my Low Maintenance Teams. I know I was not the brightest of my peers, but my teams were not the norm. In fact, no matter whom I talk to about LMT’s, I realize many leaders are not sure where to start. Continue Reading…
A team is a living organism. Just like a tree, the team and the individual team members need to grow in order to stay healthy and thrive.
Too often, leadership is so focused on meeting the immediate deadlines or quotas of the business, personal growth becomes an afterthought. The only growth considered is financial or some other business metric. Leaders beware of this trap! Continue Reading…
When I relocated to Texas after 5 years managing in Buffalo, NY, I took over a team where one of the representatives had gone through initial training with me. Lori and I had known each other for 10 years.
Two months into being her boss, Lori asked me point blank, “What is your problem? This is not the Dave Anderson I expected.”
My response was: “Lori. If I don’t roar now, I will never be able to roar later.” Continue Reading…
My last 5 years leading sales teams I noticed a shift in our corporate culture. Because of increased regulations corporate compliance became a mantra throughout the organization.
Playing within the rules is a given in business. But, the increased communication around compliance had a negative side effect. Compliance became a goal in and of itself. The implication was that if I had a compliant team, I was a successful leader.
Truly great teams are not built around compliance. To me, that means I have a team who follows the rules out of fear of punishment. I want a team that is committed not just compliant. Continue Reading…
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