When you become a sales leader, you will probably have had considerable experience and success as a sales person. This gives you lots of confidence in leading yourself.
In the early days of your sales leadership, you are thrown out of your comfort zone until you develop your skills and grow your confidence in this new role.
That’s when you can potentially fall into the trap of thinking you have it all worked out and know the best way for most leadership situations.
No discomfort = no growth
When was the last time you felt uncomfortable, uncertain or out of your depth with your sales team? If you can’t remember that’s a red flag that you’re sticking with what you know…the habits that may or may not be serving you.
Don’t mistake feelings of uncertainty or discomfort that you experience when communicating with the people you report to as evidence of growth because this is a completely different situation.
You can only develop and grow as a sales leader if you go beyond your current comfort zone with your team.
How do you do that?
- STOP automatically going for a solution that you have previously used
- Embrace uncertainty and see every situation through fresh eyes
- Look for the hidden opportunities in new ways of responding to a situation
- Identify what’s in your comfort zone…and put it to one side whilst you reflect on other options
- Identify what’s outside your comfort zone…and reflect on whether this has a better chance of achieving the desired outcome
- Have a plan to go beyond your comfort zone as often as you can…daily if possible
This GROWTH MINDSET approach makes you a better leader!
Your comfort zone…
…is not your friend. It’s a reflection of what you have learned so far. It’s not even a guaranteed route to success because what you have learned and used successfully in the past may no longer be appropriate or successful today.
Look to nature for your evidence…if something isn’t growing, it’s dying. Even hardy plants need chopping back every year to grow and thrive for the next season.
So, chop back on your old ways of doing things to make room for new ways and even greater success.
Until next time,
