If someone were to compare your management style, who would they choose? The compassion of Gandhi…dictatorial power of Hitler…hyper-kinetic energy of the road runner? From visiting with leaders recognized for developing teams that retain exceptional talent, one trait that led to their success was their ability to sell. Some reading this may not picture themselves as a sales person due to a trite or archaic image of the peddler working door to door. As leaders (as well as in our roles as parents) we sell nearly every minute of the day. Belief in our ability to sell ideas and convictions correlates directly to the management style we portray.
In a blog post that I read from Curt Tueffert, vice president of sales for DXP Enterprises and motivational speaker it dawned on me that the same approach to winning and retaining customers should be part of our tool box as a leader. I have always been amazed by Curt, not for his tremendous tactical sales approach but rather his view of the psyche of selling. Curt described one of the challenges of the sales process is our decision to React or Respond. He cited one definition of React as to act in opposition to a force or influence. So in sales and especially as leaders, when we face objections we move, in error, many times into objection rebuttal instead of problem resolution.
We fail to realize that our greatest tool is not to talk our way out of a problem, but rather listen our way to the solution we need. I have fought this tendency since my early childhood. My parents have shared too many stories over the years of my attempts to talk my way out of holes I dug, trying to dislodge blame and place it on my brothers (sorry Wendell and Blaine). My natural tendency is to react by talking instead of responding by listening.
Stay on board for the next three days as we discuss a series on using the Triple AAA approach to resolving problems and conflicts on our teams:
Acknowledge
Ask questions
Alternative solutions
Gandhi, Hitler, Road Runner…your choice.
