Coaches enhance success appetite of average players
In a highly successful coaching journey, the legendary basketball coach John Wooden had no more than two great players in his team and yet he was the most successful coach in American basketball history with 10 NCAA championships. Mirror this to sales managers like us! We want only “superlative sales performers” in our team, who will always achieve their sales quotas and rise up to our expectations. They would do so with the least guidance and direction. On the contrary, we do not want average — below average performers in our teams and as a result we tend to put immense pressure on them. Though we tend to do our bit in coaching them, the efforts are often inconsistent and do not enhance the individual’s appetite for success.
The choice of players in teams should be based on various important factors and the most important among them would be certain traits like industriousness (hard-working), enthusiasm (will to win), confidence, and the ability to make strong inter-personal relationships. Managers need to double-check on these parameters so that they do not end up with people in their teams, whom they regret having to.
Managers need to know that everyone cannot play like the #1.
Team is always a mix and everyone in the team has a latent potential to do great things. Unfortunately, Managers expect everyone in our team to emulate the #1 person in the team — “to work like the #1 person in the team”, “to contribute like the #1 person in the team”. At no point in time, they extend their support to average performers. Coaches, on the other hand understand the variations in the team’s composition and tend to effectively coach average performers, appreciate their individual talents and work towards achieving greater things in work and life.
Managers should know that everyone has a potential to do more than what he is doing today.
The beauty of Wooden’s style of coaching lay in getting the best out of even “bench players”. Taking cue from this, it is important for us to drive average players to play at their best potential and produce results that propels self and team to greatness. Realizing the true potential of everyone in the team is the key.
It was not only about the starting team, but also about those who were on the bench. Mirror this to sales! Those who achieve sales quotas get all the fame and nourishment by Managers and non-performers are disgraced and removed.
Average players can be convinced that their contribution matters for the success of themselves and their teams. To get this done, mangers should play the role of a coach. No comparisons with the #1! More interactions to understand and build upon potential.
Whatever be the situation, Wooden always stayed composed, thereby guiding his teams to more championships than any other coach in the American basketball history. Managers, as coaches, also tend to approach their situations in the same way. Whatever be the sales objective or whatever be the team’s reputation to win/lose or whatever be the situation, they would always coach their teams to enhance their individual success quotients. They would never behave just like normal sales managers. For example they would not say “Oh, I don’t have the best team!” or “if only everyone in my team performed as good as my #1!” or “My area needs more people like him!” or “If I had a guy like him, he would done wonders!”
Teams will differ in their productivity because they are made of humans and not robots. The difference lies in coaching! Average performers (unless and until there is a mistake in recruitment in the first place) should be coached and not managed to individual greatness. There will be go-getters and fence-sitters. There will be some who run and others who lack aggression and enthusiasm. It is very important that as managers, you get the “right people” in your team, and coach each and everyone to individual greatness. Do not discriminate among them. There lies your success!
