Kindness…

Throughout my management career I tried to balance performance aka “results” with encouragement aka “kindness”.  It’s tricky to do – some managers don’t even try.  I bet you’ve worked for one of those.  I know I have.  Still:

Kindness is not an act, it's an attitude.

Robin

It’s challenging for sales managers to have a results-demanding attitude and be kind at the same time.  Salespeople have this inherent sensitivity about fairness.  If managers aren’t careful, their sales team will test them - see if they're soft.  Soft managers and competitive salespeople don’t mix well.

In the sales profession, we’re all competitors.  And, we want a fair opportunity to succeed.  That expectation of “fairness” is a real challenge and not unique to sales:

… the only way to treat someone fairly is to treat them as they deserve to be treated, bearing in mind what they have accomplished.

Marcus Buckingham

This brings to mind my very first day as a sales manager.  It was the beginning of a new fiscal year.  I met with each of my people individually to (A) increase their quota, (B) reduce their territory, and (C) tell them their compensation plan was changing.  It’s that annual ritual in sales called “raising the bar”.  My salespeople didn’t take it well.  I emphasized I believed in their ability to exceed this assignment.  They accused me of being unfair.  The women cried; the men yelled.  They were testing me; seeing if their new manager was soft.

After the 1-on-1s, I pulled everyone together to address their concern.  I told them I heard loud and clear that each of them thought I was being unfair.  Then, perhaps in a moment that lacked kindness, I said:

If everyone on the team feels I’m being unfair, then I’m practicing the principle of equal unfairness – which is fair!

Prior to becoming their manager, I too was an individual quota-carrier.  I understood.  I knew they were watching me; judging me; testing me.  They were listening to how I spoke when making their job harder.  It was that fine line between results and kindness.  Going forward, I continued to choose my words carefully:

Our words can uplift and heal and empower - or not.  Words can inspire, rekindle a sense of wonder, and provide direction, or they can dampen spirits, condemn ideas, and destroy initiative.

Jim Anderson

I kept encouraging.  They decided I wasn’t soft.  We went on to exceed quota and qualify for President’s Club.  The next fiscal year?  Same routine.  I told them I believed they could accomplish another great year.  This time no one complained about unfairness.  Guess I passed the test.

                                                            GAP

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.