Igniting Sales Leadership - A Series for First Time Leaders

Congratulations on your recent promotion to Sales Leadership!!! Or maybe you're thinking about going down this path. This is a significant milestone in your career, and you deserve recognition for earning this opportunity.? Becoming a leader offers a chance to develop new skills and face new challenges.

You’re about to embark on one of the most demanding yet rewarding roles in any organization.? Many people transition to leadership after excelling as a top Account Executive for years, but you’ll quickly realize that the skills that brought you here, won’t always apply as a leader.

Unlike the Account Executive role, a first-line leader typically receives little to no coaching and enablement when stepping into the role.? Often, you’re thrown right into the fire, transitioning from a peer to a manager almost overnight.? Your role shifts from controlling your own destiny to relying on a team of 6-8 individuals with varying levels of experience, motivation, and personality.

However, don’t worry - you’ll quickly learn what works and what doesn’t.? The beauty of leadership is the constant feedback.? Once you accept that you will make mistakes, it relives some pressure off and you’ll understand that true growth comes from these learnings.

I decided to create this series, “Igniting Sales Leadership,” because, even after nearly 10 years into my leadership journey, I see a lack of resources for the newly promoted front and second line leader.? It’s an incredibly important position, yet most companies still approach it with little to no guidance.

I’m still learning every day, and although I’ve been a first and second-line leader at three different companies, I won’t claim to have it all figured out.? If I can help you avoid some of the mistakes I made, I consider that to be a win!

Here’s what you can expect from this series:

• First Timers - You’ve been promoted, now what?? I’ll share some mistakes I made in my first year and what I would have done differently.
• Leadership Style - What type of leader do you want to become?
• Vision/Strategy - How to build your vision for the team, guiding principles, and how to execute your vision/strategy.
• Building Community - How to build your team’s culture, with a focus on recognizing performance and celebrating wins.
• Coaching/Feedback - How to establish a consistent and predictable feedback loop on what’s working and what’s not.? Ideas and methodologyies for effective on weekly one-on-ones.
• Transparency - How to approach being open and honest while balancing that not everything can be shared with everyone.

There may be other topics, depending on time, interest and expertise.? What do you think I’m missing?

I hope this gives you a good overview of what’s to come with this series.

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