EMPATHY... CONTINUED

I have been receiving very interesting feedback on my article regarding Empathy. Really?!!! that was the first question from my friends in sales. Few of my friends have been skeptical,even disappointed with my observation.

Sales require a ball busting attitude; everything else is secondary.Many of my manager friends believe that's the only quality required for a successful sales manager. I wonder if some of them would have reached senior management roles in sales if their bosses had behaved with them in the same way. Maybe that's the reason that the companies they work for call them "competent ". Agreed, I said. Maybe that's why none of their team members,peers or seniors don't call them good leaders. There is an age old debate about a " LEADER VS MANAGER". I apologize to many of my friends who disagree with me, but it's really a no contest. Good leaders are good managers, Good managers may not be good leaders" . Whats the difference? Good leaders motivate , inspire, lead by example and work very hard . Good managers may necessarily not do that. "Competent Managers" get the job done,their means and and ways do not concern the Organization. This is specially true in small and medium sized company and family run set ups in the brick and mortar businesses True Leaders create a seamless and a smooth environment for work to be done. The achievement of sales targets is the result of a well drawn process by the Leader. Its not the Ends but the means to achieve and run a great organization as maximum sales generate maximum revenues which in turn,can lead to more income to invested parties in the organization, many of whom are employees.

The process of getting the job done is never questioned by the organisation run by "competent managers". A bad leader( who is a competent manager) may intimidate,threaten, use verbal abuse ,shout and scream to get the job done by his juniors. Such managers limit their climb in the corporate ladder. And they are left wondering as to why they never scale the top of the corporate mountain.

So, what is empathy? Its the ability to see things from the eyes of an another person. From a sales point of view, the first step to empathy is to understand why a team member is in the organisation. What was the intent of that employee joining your organization.

Empathy makes me a good priest, how does that make me a good manager.The ability to Empathize enables a Leader handle team members very well. To understand better, let me explain the type of employees in an organisation.

An organisation usually has the following types of employees:

1. A fresher, for whom its his/her first job. After completing his/her, education, the employee wants to join the rat race. (S)he was fortunate enough to get a job based on the assumption(read judgement of the recruiters in the organization) about the person's skills and the attitude portrayed.
2. A fresher, for whom your organization is a "dream company"; here the employee dreams of spending their entire working life in the same organization.
3. Bit of experience, who has come to your organization by getting a decent jump in salary from the previous one.
4. Very experienced, but left the previous organisation due to lack of growth opportunities.
5. A wash out, who by some miracle,was able to get a job in your company.
6. An ambitious, overzealous subordinate who wants your seat.

Now each of these employees, have to be handled differently by their leader to get the best out of them. The leader needs empathy to understand his team, understand why they are there and how to get the best out of them. I will try my best to illustrate Empathy, based on my experience in sales:

1. The first category of team members leave you mentally exhausted, intellectually frustrated. They don't know what they are there to do, they don't know how to do it. Its like taking care of a new born baby. I call it " Corporate Parenting". As a leader, you teach them from scratch. They will have a million questions!! Patience,is the biggest virtue for a leader here. You are also their teacher and guide. If you have few employees in this category, you will probably see a few of them leave in a few weeks. An Empathetic leader will understand the insecurities and try and mold his team accordingly. If handled correctly, a good leader will be able to get the best of them, but the roles given to such employees should initially be much smaller than their experienced counter parts.They require training, they require repeated follow ups to ensure they understand the work process. They require a lot of attention to ensure they are following the defined time lines.They require constant checks to ensure they follow protocol.An empathetic leader will find it extremely time consuming vis-a vis the content/volume of work completed. What does he get from all this besides doing his job? (S)He will be a able to build a loyal team base who in all likelihood will move with him into an another organisation as and when the leader decides to do so.
2. This category of employees are easy to handle. The are willing to do almost anything to ensure their place in their dream company. They will grind, serve, break their backs to please their boss. An Empathetic leader will be able to achieve phenomenal response to the work assigned to such members. Work achievements are generally high with such team members. The leader has to ensure that the team is constantly challenged in a manner that is exciting, visualize a growth path to ensure that the team remains with him long term( or atleast as long as the leader is in the organization). The challenge with such team members is that the idea of a "dream company" does not last long. Many members lose the initial zeal and settle in with moderate and watered-down ambitions. An empathetic leader will always keep the team challenged in a positive way.
3. This category of team members do their best to justify the monetary/hierarchy growth given to them. Leaders need to keep an sharp look out, many of these employees tend to be overzealous and drive their down line to the point of exhaustion. People leave. This is also true when a leader moves up after a promotion and a new member comes in as replacement. People are unable to adjust to a new boss who is only there to prove his worth rather than focus on building the career of his team members. People feel let down by the leader,as they feel that his/her choice of a replacement was a bad judgement when one of them could have been the choice. An organisation's idea of "seeing things from a fresh pair of eyes" is not always helpful.The comparisons are constant. an empathetic leader would look to groom a team member to avoid such a "culture clash".Even if there is a need to bring a member from outside, the leader has to ensure that their competencies match in terms of team handling abilities. Only then do things work out.
4. This category of an employee will be the better choice of an empathetic leader. Such a member is already ready to take up the role for which (s)he has been brought into the organisation. But the leader has to keep a sharp eye on the growth path planned by the new comer for the down line members. Is the new comer only interested in getting the job done or does he give two cents about the growth path of those working for him(her)?

5. These employees can be a curse or a boon. the "wash -out" has a chance to redeem his(her) life. (S)he puts everything in the job. This is the golden chance to rectify past career mistakes. On the other hand, this employee can turn out to be a "dead-wood". A liability. Empathy allows for making a sound judgement about such people.

6. Yes, you get to see a few of them . If they are in the same age group/older than their reporting manager or have similar number of work years experience or have been in the organisation for more number of years than the Leader, they have a false sense of entitlement; they deserved the manager's post. They promoted the wrong man. Such attitudes /emotions are difficult to manage,specially if they are deeply repressed. There will be absolutely no cohesiveness at work. No bonding. No semblance of a team. One up-manship becomes the norm. People are busy looking for mistakes within the team rather than focusing on actual work. Sometimes,the down line members get caught in the cross fire of the immediate and super boss. A leader with Empathy can gauge such challenges immediately and take corrective steps. One of the best ways to do that is to sit across employees disheartened by your promotion and have a clear-cut chat. Share their disappointments. Explain why they did not make the cut. Be frank and straight forward. Then give a career plan . Chalk out a growth path which takes them to their desired path in a defined time period. Tell them of their shortcomings and how to improve on them. Explain the skills required that will help them scale the grade. Last but not the least, tell them that you can be in their reference list anytime they decide to take up a job in an another organisation. This will be a phenomenal confidence booster. And contrary to popular and dumb suppositions, such employees will respect you and work with you to the best of their abilities.

EMPATHY works. Do try, my friends.