On Bosses

Unfortunately, we rarely give thanks -much less publicly- to those that have helped us in our careers and wanted to do so in this space.

It is said that after pay, the most cited reason for someone leaving a job is their boss. It’s hard to assess this key element during an interview when everyone is in their best behavior and unfortunately, it’s only when one is in the mix that we know whether things are going to work out or not.

I’ve been extremely lucky with having many great managers during my medtech sales career. Even when things haven’t worked out in some companies, I’ve learned from those managers what not to do, and from all I’ve learned how to become a better salesperson and sales leader myself. I’ve also learned that managing up is as important as managing down.

Christopher von Jako, PhD : Has taught me many things in the three companies we worked together and has been a steady mentor. It can get lonely at the top and it’s important to be able to speak to leadership in a way that can be constructive to the manager, but also for the betterment of the entire organization. He’s a leader without ego who accepts and takes initiative on your input and always finding ways to guide you to become better.

Providing critical feedback to leadership is vital for an organization to grow, and having a strong leader that allows for this to happen is vital.

David Webster : Instilled the importance of having precision in language. He’s a great public speaker and he exemplifies the need to properly prepare for any presentation and anticipate any issue or question that may come up.

Being concise and focusing on key points when presenting to senior leadership is a skill vastly needed, and with increased responsibilities this comes up more often when having to present to investors and company boards.

Learning how to manage up is as important as managing down.

A couple of months ago, I was lucky to see again previous managers in person, including two that have helped and supported me along the way:

John Kowal : Gave me my first introduction to radiation therapy on a piece of napkin. Instilled a need to really know my stuff, especially in complex technical matters and this eventually led me to successfully present to a medical physicist in a proton facility, and sell a system in probably the most complex sale I’ve ever been involved in.

He also taught me that one can have fun while also doing good and helping customers. He taught me that one can be very close to a boss and still respect traditional expectations from a manager/subordinate relationship.

Rob Smith : Has always had my back and one will always go above and beyond for someone like that. He even covered for me during a week-long demo of a system when I had to be out of the country for personal reasons, including doing the midnight shift in a neuro ICU helping scan patients with the portable CT we were selling at the time.

One will always go above and beyond for a boss that has your back

My most recent boss also taught me a few things:

Jay Trautman : Staying calm when riding the good and bad is vital, especially with all the uncertainties of a startup. Equanimity is very hard to achieve, but great at balancing emotions especially when opposing views are in the mix.

Focusing on data, gathering more information from multiple points is also important, as objective information can help reduce some of the emotional components that may cloud and bias our judgement.

When you hear stories like the one a friend recently told me her boss sent a message to her sales team on a Sunday night calling them losers, one is extra appreciative of having a good boss. We shouldn’t have to wait for National Boss Day (Oct. 16), to say thank you to our bosses.

To all of you, I thank you for what you’ve done for me and many others that have worked for you. One only hopes that all these lessons can help make one a better sales manager and leader, and truly hope that I’ve been able to guide and help others in their path as much as I’ve gotten help from these great managers that I’m lucky now to count as friends and mentors.

Comment or tag someone that’s been a good boss to you. Any lessons learned from them are also welcome.

#mentors #medtechsales #salesmanager #salesleadership