8 Lessons in Building a High Performing Team … With Reluctant Staff.
My manager called me into his office, asking me to close the door!
“So this is how it ends”, I thought.
“I’ll come straight to the point! I need to you take over an underperforming sales region!”
What you will find here:
Some Background
First Impressions
Where to Start — Find the Strengths
Making Ch-Ch-Changes
Focus: Productivity & Development
Sales Growth — Benchmarks and Ladders
Stupid Bureaucracy — is there any other kind?
People are Unique
Some background
I’d had quite a varied career in finance. It wasn’t really finance. It was a financial institution. I started as a teller/cashier but found my groove in Human Resources, Learning and Development, and Executive Development. I’d never led a sales team, especially a lending sales team. I tried lending once, total disaster!
My manager continued, “It’s a totally fractured region and it needs a culture change. It can be doing so much better. I need someone who has that experience.”
The words of another manager from 3 years ago echoed in my head:
“You know a lot of theory but can you do it when it counts, at the “pointy end” (as he called it).
Basically, you’re a good talker, are you a good doer?
This was the challenge I needed to take on. I didn’t want to be one of those “those who can’t do, teach!” types.
I’d trained people in leadership, management, business development, customer service, complaints and having difficult conversations. I’d better know how to do this stuff!
Lesson 1: “If you never go, you’ll never know!” Get out of your comfort zone. It’s time to find out.
First Impressions
I was greeted by a “welcoming committee” that saw me as the “city boy” (I was 34!), trying to tell the country people how to live.
Having been raised in the country myself held no water. Probably worse, my hometown was the archenemy of this town in sports and academia!
A staff member had taken over my office before I arrived. I didn’t want to start with conflict, so I settled into a smaller office. Get the results and all will be well. I didn’t care about hierarchy, position, or ego. (At least, that’s what I told myself.)
There were many sleepless nights during those first few weeks and months. A new town, not knowing anyone and the ones I did know, who were my team, treated me with a continuum from suspicion to hate.
My boss came down soon after I settled in. I was panicking that I hadn’t implemented everything we had agreed. My wife, always the voice of reason, said, “You must be stupid or something! You’ve only been here two weeks!” Or words to that effect.
She was right, and the visit from my boss went well. We talked about things to do, strategies to put in place and actions to take.
With the words “Can you do this at the pointy end?”, still ringing in my ears, I commenced the plan.
Over two hundred people, being the staff of the region, were watching me. Seeing what I would do, how I would play this, and how long I would last. I started to do the things I believed in:
People are critical to success.
Clear goals.
A vision for the future.
Constant communication, even in ambiguous times! (Especially in ambiguous times).
The actions and strategies I had been coaching people in for the past few years now needed to be implemented.
Lesson 2: Believe in yourself and your values, execute and ignore the opinions of others.
Where to Start — Find the Strengths
I visited each of the eight locations in the first fortnight. I listened to the staff and asked how they felt they were doing. How could I help? I asked them what they liked about their roles, and what they disliked. (I found out how much they loved their previous boss — another challenge to overcome.) No one hugged me or labelled me a saviour — not that I expected it. People were polite enough, cool, but polite. Most were pleased to see the back of me at the end of each visit.
I spoke with the managers at each location and worked with them on the plans we’d put in place. Lots of resistance. I had to build relationships with the team. Only one of the managers caught the vision and was on board from the very beginning. This doesn’t mean we always agreed either. Sometimes I had to eat humble pie, as did he.
During this time, I was looking for strengths in the team and where best to use them. I had experience in career counselling, so I had an idea of what to do. What were they good at or wanted to be good at and what did they enjoy doing at work?
There was no need to overturn their world, well, not completely.
Lesson 3: Build relationships, find your strengths and build on them relentlessly. Often they offset any weaknesses you may have.
Making Ch-Ch-Changes!
Things were pretty relaxed in the country. Know your place, I’ll keep to mine. Life is good.
I started to clarify expectations. One thing I taught leaders in workshops was role clarity is a primary source of job satisfaction. And it’s not a one-off activity. You need to clarify and re-clarify.
I looked at our figures and financial ratios. We were at the bottom of the regional results! Cold sweats ensued. What if I couldn’t do this? The biggest change was internal!
We had staff in the wrong roles. They were comfortable, sure, but they weren’t producing results. I explained the targets and we provided coaching and support for the way the world needed to be, not the way it was. We did this for about a month, hoping for the best.
Them: “Oh, if this is sales, it’s not for me!” — music to my ears!
Me: “No problem” — music to their ears!
Others were more in the sales style but were never given the opportunity. They were … disorganised, and that's being polite. But they were great with people. We switched people around to put the right people in the right roles. Sales types into the sales offices, admin support into that area. It took a couple of weeks, but the change was visible.
Lesson 4: Don’t get caught up doing stuff you hate. If it brings experience, take it and move on. Optimise everything!
Focus: Productivity & Development
We took steps to remove distractions. This would be considered normal today. Back then staff decorated their offices with all sorts of paraphernalia. We wanted sales offices to be sales offices with everything at their fingertips. They could be efficient and focus on the customer. They didn’t appreciate clearing out their offices of their trinkets and plush toys.
I wasn’t winning any friends.
One thing in my favour was my Learning & Development background. Helping others is a passion of mine and the team had been crying out for personal development for some time. I called in a couple of favours and brought the trainers to the region. Also a first. Most of the time the country staff must head to the city.
People development isn’t a difficult thing to support. I may have reluctantly won a few points.
Lesson 5: Doing what is right is better than being right.
Sales Growth — Benchmarks and Ladders
We needed to grow sales and not wait for them to happen. The changes we’d made so far were only part of the plan.
We set an amazingly simple and clear benchmark:
“Beat yesterday!”
That was it. I got this from reading the biography of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. Since then, it’s become the catchphrase of Garmin!
At first, people didn’t want to play. They thought it was useless and futile.
“We can’t control the customer traffic!”
“You’re setting us up to fail!”
Then the worst thing in the world happened — they beat yesterday!
“It was a fluke! A Coincidence!”
“Don’t expect that every day!”
And it got worse for them, at the end of the first week we had beaten the previous week! This was going badly. They didn’t want the city boy to win! The team was still on the negative side of attitude. Yet by their professional standards, they couldn’t help but make progress. And I delighted in recognising and congratulating them. Senior Management wanted to know what was going on. It was a disaster!
I couldn’t get the smile off my face! We were now Top 3 of every metric!
Another tool we used was a league ladder. I’m not sure I would use this today, but it worked. Here was the turning point and how the league ladder had its effect.
Two salespeople in one of the surrounding towns seemed to have a view of “out of sight, out of mind.” Don’t make a noise and we won’t be disturbed.
Enter the League Ladder.
This was presented at the sales meeting. It listed the sales results from first to last for the previous month. We put it up on the screen without comment other than, “Here’s how we went last month!”
The two staff saw their names at the bottom and their mouths dropped open … in unison. One was heard to say, “Oh shit!” We didn’t say anything further. From that week on those two staff were always in the top four of twelve salespeople.
Lesson 6: Simple processes and measures manage themselves.
Stupid Bureaucracy: Is There Any Other Kind?
We continued to speak with the staff and get their thoughts and input on how we could improve our results. In the first three months of “Beat Yesterday”, we beat the previous month three out of three. We were on a roll. The staff were still not showing any enthusiasm, but they were keen on keeping the streak going.
Then Head Office stepped in. We needed to do a “staff rotation”. This meant putting processing staff into sales, and sales staff into processing.
To quote Jeremy Clarkson:
“How stupid can you be?”
We had settled into a routine where everyone knew their role and did it well. I argued against it. I was told I needed to be “fair”.
At first, the team enjoyed the change. But the change came with expectations. Sales couldn’t fall, and neither could processing times.
The salespeople started taking an interest in how their colleagues were going with sales results. The processing staff were concerned the admin area would be turned upside down. The streak had to continue. I didn’t have to do a thing.
After just a week and a half of the three-month rotation, staff were clamouring for their usual roles.
If I could find that Sales Chart, you would see 12 months of “month on month” growth. Except for one month, where it dipped during the rotation period.
I got the sense the staff was still not excited with their new leader. But they couldn’t deny the satisfaction they were gaining from achieving these results. I didn’t need to do anything, apart from acknowledging results and applauding the staff. We had turned a corner. We did everything to support them to continue the results they were achieving.
I remembered the conclusion I had come to years before: “I don’t care who gets credit, as long as the team plays their best!”
Lesson 7: If you have a better, proven solution, ignore directions and advice from others.
People are Unique
Not everybody enjoyed the admiration they received from success. Many wanted to do their job, do it well, and be left alone. I get that!
Our region had three salespeople in the top five of the State, including the winner.
She did not want to attend the award ceremony. To her, awards and celebrations aren’t her thing. Could she receive her recognition quietly?
I’m still a little sad that she didn’t celebrate the way we wanted her to. But I recognise people are individuals and we need to allow them to be.
Lesson 8: People are unique. Relax and enjoy people’s diversity! You will both enjoy the journey more!