Preparing for a Manager Role Before You Have It

I often get asked: "What can I do to prepare for a career as a sales manager?"

The question often comes from an individual contributor who, outside of mentorship and training contributions, does not have many specific opportunities to build a manager tool belt.

The advice I often see in these cases focuses on practical applications of the manager role - reps are given opportunities to lead team meetings, come up with training material, and take a junior employee under their wing. While these chances are certainly helpful, it is extremely difficult to capture the challenges of a manager role with this approach. If I had the chance to go back to my AE role and spend time best preparing for the manager role, I would focus on strengthening my Emotional Intelligence first.

Why the focus on emotional intelligence?

• Even if you don't end up as a manager, it helps you as a coworker, parent, spouse, and friend
• EQ is key when trying to lead, motivate, and coach a diverse team of unique individuals
• Many managerial skills come with time in the role, but you can focus on EQ in your current position
• Building EQ takes time, patience, and focus - the earlier you start intentionally working on it, the better

tl;dr: While focusing on developing practical management tools, place equal attention on strengthening your EQ

So how do you put the second part into action?

1. Seek more feedback. You probably have a current review set up with your manager that focuses on your sales activity and achievements. Figuring out your triggers, motivations, and blind spots requires a much more honest conversation. Have an open conversation with your manager about your aspirations and what you are hoping to learn. Find a close knit circle of friends, family or coworkers that you can rely on for candid and open conversations as you progress.
2. Develop an internal understanding. Combine your feedback with an ongoing self-assessment. What kind of situations lead to gut reactions you regret? Where do you find the most stress/happiness at work? What communication skills are you looking to develop or habits that you want to break/double down on? Having both external and internal view will help you catch any blind spots.
3. Keep a work journal and find incremental improvement areas. For most of the pandemic I kept a management journal. For 10-15 minutes at the end of each day, I reflected on my various focus areas and moments that I felt went better or worse than expected. Aside from keeping a valuable scorecard, I felt myself become more aware in these moments as they were happening during the day.
4. Shift your focus externally. We all work closely with several colleagues (not to mention our family and friends!) that we can practice this with. And it's about more than just listening. Demonstrating genuine interest in someone else creates trust, broadens your understanding of your coworkers, and helps you to build a stronger working relationship.
5. Practice empathy. Related to the above. The more you can put yourself in someone else's shoes and try and understand their perspective, the better prepared you will be to effectively coach and lead down the road.

Everyone goes about this challenge in their own way, so seek advice and input from leaders and mentors in your network on how they meet this challenge!