Attitude originates from our beliefs. Whatever our beliefs are in ourselves, our organization, our team effectiveness and the general market place, ultimately they are reflected in our attitude. Thusly, our attitude determines how we feel. Our overall feelings lead to actions and it is those actions that achieve results.

If you are not achieving the results you want, you need to get the team involved, and deal with the underlying issues surrounding team effectiveness.

Begin by getting your entire team together, give everyone a post-it pad and ask them to write down a percentage, anywhere between 1-100%, which reflects the team effectiveness. Encourage each member of the team to answer honestly and to keep all responses confidential. Once each percentage is recorded on a post-it, fold the paper and place it in the centre of the table.

Next, gather all the papers and post them on a flip chart. Add them up and calculate the average percentage of team effectiveness. This is valuable information as it reflects how your team views their effectiveness in today’s market. If the percentage is below 60%, you have some challenges ahead but allow your team to brainstorm and discover ways to improve.

On a new flip chart page, draw a line down the centre of the page from top to bottom. Draw another line from left to right near the top of the page. On the upper left side above the line, write the average % of team effectiveness (let’s use 65%) and a + sign (which represents all the positive factors of team effectiveness).

On the upper right side above the line, write the difference between the Average % of team effectiveness and 100%. For example: 65% + 35% A (delta) = 100%
Note the delta sign represents the areas of improvement necessary to achieve 100% team effectiveness.

Divide the team into small groups and provide each group with a flip chart page. Each group must list all the positive factors that contribute to their level of team effectiveness. In other words, what exactly have they contributed to justify 65% team effectiveness?

The groups should take approximately ten minutes to list the positive factors; then, each group will share their own list with the others. As a facilitator of team building, encourage frequent applauding. By doing so, the team is demonstrating support and creating an attitude of appreciation; therefore, changing their focus.

Next, have the groups do the same exercise on the right hand side under the delta. What can the team do to improve by 35% in order to strive for 100% team effectiveness?

After approximately ten minutes of listing areas of improvement, each group will read the list to the others, and applaud accordingly.

The next important step is to discuss the factors that are within your control and those that are not. For example, we cannot control the weather, the traffic or what people say about us. However, we can control the manner in which we react, our thoughts, our attitudes and our self talk. Let’s take a look at this list and place brackets around the factors that are not within our control. From that point forward, ignore all uncontrollable factors.

The time has arrived to gather all the categories from the original list and choose only the areas of improvement within our control. You may notice these categories are usually classified under communications, technology, policies, etc. It is the team’s responsibility to identify and then, place each area of improvement under the relevant category.

Your end result will identify three to five categories that require improvement. Without a doubt, one of them will be attitude.

If time allows, have the team identify which category will impact team effectiveness the most. This area of improvement should take priority. Each group must brainstorm and draft a solution. You may allot 20 minutes for this exercise and have a member of each group present back to the rest of the team allowing for general input to the solution.

What you will find is that attitude will rank the highest return in team effectiveness. Save attitude for a final review. I suggest you create a buzz word incorporating your company, department, or team name with the word attitude.

Here is an example: to the outside world we are known as Microsoft, but there is no sense working on the outside until we fix the inside. Why not create MicroTude, and formulate a list of attitudes related to how we treat each other within the team environment. This list will inevitably focus on factors within our control.

Take this exercise one step further. Involve the groups in a discussion on how those positive attitudes will improve team effectiveness if they are implemented by all members of the team.

What is preventing your team from said implementation? Record all findings. Finally, acquire a signed commitment from each member of the team. Their signature assures their determination to implement positive change. A team of volunteers will also ensure the tasks are followed to fruition.

Don’t stop there. Take the category lists from this exercise and have them typed and documented. Then, circulate it throughout the organization along with a request to add new areas of improvement and to include a signature. It is very important to support the implementation team and to keep the buzz word alive.

As a result of the foregoing exercise, dramatic improvements in both morale and team effectiveness will be apparent.

No matter how the economy of buyers is affecting you and your team, it is your job as their manager, coach or leader to help them meet their targets and/or increase sales.

What does it take to lead a sales team toward maximizing their sales results and increasing the velocity of their sales cycle in this new economy of buyers?

You know the answer. Today’s economy demands a disciplined leader who can demonstrate the appropriate behaviours. These are astute behaviours that you intend your sales people to follow by example. A strong leader must now invest more time with his sales team, engage them in keen discussions, ask more questions, coach them enthusiastically and guide them through these changing times.

As a sales team, there is a need to be more proactive; build and maintain strong relationships; work harder and smarter than your competitors; and accomplish all this without increasing your cost of the sale.

Of course this is easier said than done. The ability to get a sales team to be more proactive or to work harder and smarter becomes even more challenging during a changing economy. Sales representatives tend to be easily influenced by external negative factors in the marketplace and these factors are not usually within their control.

It is common knowledge that most people are inclined to buy for emotional reasons and sales people tend to be rather affecting.

Sales people work hard and are justly excited when times are sound and everyone’s buying. Nevertheless, they’re also the ones who tend to be affected detrimentally by any down-turn of change in sales cycles.

As a disciplined sales leader, I have always understood when times get tough, the tough get going. Undoubtedly, this is the time to step up and do more.

Conversely, when markets get tougher most sales people tend to get depressed, work less and become reactive instead of more proactive. In other words, sales people, like anyone else, become a product of their environment.

As a leader, what kind of environment are you providing? What is your mental state and that of your sales team? Is the sales team engaged and proactive? Is everyone working harder and thinking smarter? Are you and your team able to perform better than the current trend?

Your answers to these questions are important as it reflects back to you.

How do you propose to increase your leadership efforts during this changing economy and challenging sales environment? Remember your team will learn by your example and to coin a phrase: “monkey see, monkey do”.

Demonstrate appropriate behaviours and “do what you have to do even when you don’t want to do it.” This is a disciplined leader!

Learn How to Execute the Disciplines of Attracting, Engaging and Empowering the “Buyer Focused” Velocity Selling System, to Up Your Bottom Line

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Sales Velocity. Your Bottom Line. Our Passion

As you know, this is not the case with some team leaders. Many team leaders are not in control of their own lives. They are not motivated or inspiring or more importantly, results oriented. They may not be aware of the importance of said qualities in a leader. It is virtually impossible to give to others, if you don’t have it to give.

If you are this type of team leaders, you must to take an inside-out approach toward self improvement. Begin by taking stock of your personal attributes. Find out what inspires you and use it to motivate yourself in a positive direction. Make every effort to achieve the results you desire.

A leader no longer directs people but develops self-motivated individuals. A leader doesn’t micro manage; instead he/she builds a team that can manage on its own and one that has influential work ethics.

A leader wears many hats. He/she can play an administrative role or function as a part-time psychologist. A leader is the “guardian” of the bottom-line, an enthusiast, a team builder, and a good listener. A leader credits others for a job well done; and offers praise and recognition for outstanding effort and solid results.

An effective team consists of many characteristics. A team must have a purpose and that purpose is defined by the mission. The team mission is a summary of the team’s objectives. It is a statement that serves to direct and motivate the team in pursuit of its goals.

The team’s mission is driven by the organization’s vision. The organization’s vision provides a “big picture” perspective that serves to align people, ideas, and attitudes. It must, however, be communicated to team members in such a way that they are inspired to be part of it. To be successful, the team must align its purpose or mission with the organization’s vision.

Each team member must participate in the development of effective team goals. By doing so, team members will know exactly what is expected of them; and can commit to working closely with one another in pursuit of the team’s overall goals.

Within the team, members must establish a high degree of communication, trust, support and cohesiveness. The team must be flexible and choose effective problem solving methods that will facilitate sound decision-making. It is no longer effective for a team leader to use authority in the decision making process. It has been proven that a consultative or consensus approach to decision making is much more effective and allows for greater freedom for team members.

However, there must be more than just freedom. There should always be an element of fun as part of the team culture. There are many ways to do this. Give your team a name that will echo the team’s mission. The name may also, reflect the characteristics of the members.

Team members must know how to conduct effective meetings by:

• having an agenda
• setting the ground rules
• stipulating the objectives
• following appropriate procedures
• allocating individual roles and responsibilities

Review and establish effective methods for action planning, monitoring, communication, evaluation and follow up. Each member should also demonstrate appropriate personal, interpersonal and group task behaviors.

Team members must be empowered and trusted so they will perform their job to the best of their ability. They will be more action-oriented and committed to implementing the plan. A leader is there to coach the members, not to direct them. There will be failures; however, with each failure one learns a valuable lesson.

A good leader must demonstrate the appropriate behaviors that stimulate team morale, encourage individual participation, and offer a chance to lead. In the end, you will move forward with confidence along side your strong results oriented and self motivated team.