“The Power Of Different Perspectives ”

-The Ramblings of a Sales Leader

What does your pipeline look like? How did that interview go? Where have you referenced that candidate? What other opportunities does that candidate have? When is that candidate starting? Have we done our weekly candidate catch ups?

These are just a few of the questions that I caught myself asking my team all the time…But last year I started questioning myself. Mainly about my ability as a leader but also the value I was adding as a Leader. It felt like we were just chasing “a deal” all the time, we weren’t quite clicking as a team and we definitely weren’t growing together.

So I talked it through with the usual suspects, those in my life who can put me back on track. Now, my wife is an art teacher, she spends all day teaching kids aged 11-18, you should hear the conversations we have comparing our day. She always manages to give me a different perspective on things and helps me to think outside my usual trail of thought.

After speaking things through with her, talking about my concerns I had, and asking her if she had noticed any changes in me. I put pen to paper. I sat, thought hard, and wrote down 4 things that were and always have been incredibly important to me:

1. Being inspired
2. Influencing success.
3. Adding value
4. Creating unforgettable positive experiences

This was a simple task, these 4 things have been a major part of the way I go about life. But the difficult thing I had was how can I use these values to lead a high performing team?

My default style of being “fluffy” didn’t work, neither did being more direct. Naturally I started trying to merge the two together, hoping to find the best of both worlds - but I became almost robotic and very unnatural.

Then on the way home from work one evening… The light bulb moment... Stop trying to be a “Textbook” Style.

I was trying to be a sponge and take on so much great advice and suggestions from my directors and the support team at Austin Fraser but I was drowning in it. I wasn’t being me and I wasn’t realising what I could really give the team.

The follow up from this moment then became really simple. I started being me again, not looking at the latest management trends or what worked for someone else.

I jotted down two questions that I now think about every day on my way into work:

1. How am I going inspire somebody today?
2. Where can I add value?

Two simple questions that have allowed me to be more fluid in my approach to leading a team. I have been myself and I am now leaving the office each day knowing that I have been the best that I can possibly be. I’m not faking trying to be somebody else and I can see my team appreciate the ‘personal touch’.

Understanding “who you are” as a leader is a funny thing and I am sure I will go through this process again, as I grow and change and develop as a person. But the things I need to remember are:

1. Stick to my core values
2. Enhance not Change yourself
3. Listen to my wife!!

As the title goes… These are my personal Ramblings…An insight in to the journey I am on...A journey that I am loving and something I want to share more of…