Lenin said "There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen"
We are in uncharted waters, Covid19 has thrown us off course, where once we could follow, now we have to lead.
As leaders we have done the basics. We have got the cash flow statements in and we know how much cash we have. We have the new pipeline sorted, worked out who we are keeping, who we are laying off and who we are furloughing. All tough decisions. People decisions are always hard. Many a good person we will have had to have difficult conversations with.
All that stuff will keep the lights on. Many of you will have been through recessions before and we know making those hard decisions early, will enable us to weather the storm.
Now is the time for leadership.
We are in a new era.
Business has changed. The way we sold and marketed has changed.
Your team(s) are looking you to be decisive. To show the lead. We get salesperson after salesperson coming to us and telling us that their leadership don't have a clue and what should they do?
It's not good enough to tell people to make more calls, send more emails and post something on Linkedin. There has to be a strategy. And may I say a strategy for the time. Not the same strategy you've done for the last 30 years, but done faster.
I see sales teams thrashing around like a drowning person, where the only direction is to "do something".
At my last company, due to competitive pressure (we were an on premise company and we had pressure from SaaS companies). We decided to change the way the sales people sold. We called a meeting and agreed a plan. We then needed to communicate this to the sales team. I assumed it would be me that would do this. When I asked the meeting who would communicate this to the salesforce (and what transpired was the whole of Europe). It was the sales VP, who said, without hesitation, he would.
He had no idea, how he would do it, but he knew the leadership had to come from him.
We coached him and he presented flawlessly to the sales team. We (well I) also coached him as to what he needed to do on social to take the lead.
Let's not remember as leaders, there is no shame in no knowing. In fact, good leaders, admit what they don't know and get people into the team to support their weaknesses.
Let's not forget, that help, may be outside of the business.
If, as a leader, you want any help or advice, confidential, of course, then we are always here to help.
Contact me here
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