Jerry Busone

There was a high-producing sales leader who shot out of bed every day, performed at a high level, and always achieved all of his goals. This leader was a model of passion, compassion, and enthusiasm. He worked effortlessly, seamlessly, and received high praise as an example for what people should aspire to in their role.

The field loved this leader and associates from other teams reached out frequently for advice. Then one day someone noticed that the leader wasn’t as present as before. He took more time off than normal and passion waned for his role and team. This was odd and everyone tried to diagnose what went wrong. They couldn’t come up with a solution. A short while later this high producer who loved his job left the role and went to do something else.

What do you think happened? How could this organization let this person out of a role that was perfect for him and in which he was thriving?

Well, this person caught a dose of bad leadership— he got a new leader.

Where this person’s former leaders matched their leadership style to this leader’s talent, the new leader only managed one way—directive…treated everyone like they were new to their role with little recognition.

The new leader focused on the negative and the team soon saw this—even calling their boss dumb behind the boss’s back in front of their team.

This new leader put his peers down and was hung up on his title. He treated those “below him”—like admins and wait staff—poorly. It’s no wonder the team’s productivity slowed down.

It is surprising how much the relationship between a manager and a worker affects the worker’s job performance. Bad management practices deflate employee morale, cause stress that sometimes results in serious health issues, and costs the company more than just the cost of high turnover.

Disgruntled and mishandled employees stop caring about how well they perform in their jobs. Studies show bad leaders create confusion, stress, high turn over, and ultimately cost the organization money.

So this holiday season, are you naughty or nice? Are acting like a good leader or bad?

Check in with your people, thank them for the job they do, and lead them differently. One size doesn’t fit all. Coach them that way. People wake up every day with the intent to be successful. Don’t kick that backwards with your leadership.

The fantastic article “Impact of Positive Leadership,” by Tom Rath in the Gallop Business Journal discusses a study that showed that teams with a positive-to-negative ratio greater than three to one were significantly more productive than workgroups that did not reach this ratio. In other words, people need to have at least three positive interactions for every interaction that has negative emotions attached to it.

Tom Rath states in this article,

Positive leaders deliberately increase the flow of positive emotions within their organization. They choose to do this not just because it is a “nice” thing to do for the sake of improving morale, but because it leads to a measurable increase in performance.

Take Rath’s advice this holiday season and “search for opportunities to invest in everyone who works for [you and] … view each interaction with another person as an opportunity to increase his or her positive emotions.”

This is the kind of cheer that your employees need and appreciate all year long.

Question: What do you do as a leader to increase positive emotions around you? Leave your comment below.

First teams shape the you who you are today. My first team was a young, mostly first-job group of professionals that defined talent and had no fear. They wrote the rulebook for how you sell in an area that no one had very much success.

It’s your first team that allows you to make all the rookie mistakes, and if you hired right, they cover your back and allow you to learn from them. My first sales team went on a mission to prove a point. They took an us-and-the-world mindset and mowed everyone down. They also remember a lot about how you treated them, what you said, and all of your nuances.

My first sales team taught me how to be transformational and less transactional as a former coach now a sales leader. They all have stories to tell. One of the finest people I ever managed said:

You were my first sales coach! I was on that first team you managed. You were the one who taught me that I’m not only selling externally but internally. You were the one who told me that I am living in California, but selling like New York. You really helped hoan my skills for bigger and better things. —Carolyn Vineyard Shneider.

Carolyn had the toughest assignment and loved feedback and coaching. We spent many hours in the field. I give her all the credit. She had perseverance, was determined, and never took no for an answer. She’s a top salesperson today and her will to succeed made me a better leader.

It’s much like my first ODU (Old Dominion University) team. When everyone called us “OD Who” this team never had any doubts they would beat he odds and win it all. Coach Marianne Stanley developed a culture and high bar of success of capturing the gold. The team was talented too…we just assembled and gave the players a strong buffet of skills and drills that they would eat from. They then took it to championship levels.

This was the group that took extra shots after practice, came to practice early asking for coaching. We only lost six games in my first three years with this group. I joke today that if we had more experience as coaches, we might have won those six. We made mistakes, learned, coached, and developed talent to better levels than they dreamed possible. That was our style. The team’s culture.

Years later when you talk to people you led or coached, they don’t remember the awards or scores, but what you said at a point in time, how you treated them, your actions and nuances. Be very intentional about the you…the you you want to give to others.

First teams are special. All of your teams are special, so treat them right and they will make you better at what you do.

Question: What is your favorite memory or lesson from your first team? Leave your comment below.