Six Things Top Sales Managers Do to Coach Their Reps to Higher Sales

Sales coaching is the most important sales management activity for driving sales performance. Unfortunately, most managers haven’t been taught how to properly coach their staff. If a sales manager could transform into an elite, top-level sales coach overnight, the impact on sales results would be outright amazing! You’d be known as a great sales leader and the envy of colleagues.

The problem is, coaching is a skill that takes time and practice to perfect. Without ongoing sales management training or hiring an executive coach how can you transform yourself into a highly effective sales coach?

Luckily I’ve seen the good, the bad and even the ugly sides of coaching over my many years of working with sales managers. Over that time, I’ve noted what the best coaches do differently. In today's blog I’m going to share the six techniques that the best sales coaches do differently.

Effective Sales Coaches

1. Ask Effective Questions

Most sales managers started out as salespeople and excelled in their jobs before being promoted to management. So when they are faced with problems, the obvious way to think is “what would I do?” This is followed by telling the sales rep what to do and how to do it.

No one wants to be told what to do. Not only that, you want to create a team of self-managers who can think on their own. Just imagine how much you’re going to love dealing with every single issue for every rep on your team! It’s great, right? NOT!

Of course, not. It’s not great, it’s terrible. What we need instead are self-reliant reps who can think on their own to solve their problems or issues. To be an awesome sales manager you should avoid telling your sales team what to do and start asking them questions about what the issue is and to help them develop their own solutions. Prod them to think independently and guide them in the right direction. By doing this, you now have a team of reps who are developing themselves and thinking critically. Your guidance and experience can help to guide them, without them being reliant on you.

2. Spend More Time in the Field

Being pro-active is another key factor for good coaching. Improving team performance is going to have a large impact on sales concerning virtually anything else you need to do.  It is important that you focus your time here instead of on clearing your email inbox or making reports that look nice and pretty.

Get out of your office and start coaching your team.  Observe what they’re doing well and focus on what are their opportunities for improvement. Coach them to become better salespeople and help them get over any hurdles they may encounter. This type of mentoring builds a closer, harder working team while your influence provides the extra edge needed for your team to reach new heights.

3. Focus On One Skill At A Time

In sales, great results come from a combination of different factors. This makes it very tempting to just write them all down on a list and ask your team to work on each one of them. Most people find it challenging to change or improve in multiple areas; it is just too difficult.

Start by having the rep work on one skill at a time. Only once that skill is perfected do they move on to the next skill. Now think about how much attention you can give to helping your salespeople improve in one area at a time?

By focusing on one or two skills, your sales reps won’t be overwhelmed with a massive list of what to work on. A single focus lets them learn quicker, they’ll get a deeper understanding of what you’re teaching, and the result will be far better. As your sales rep sees improvement, this builds trust in your coaching and accelerates the learning curve.

4.Let Their Reps Decide On What They Work On

While it’s true that there’s no “i” in “team,” we all know that a team is made up of individual people. Each one of these people are different, meaning they all possess different strengths and weaknesses.

So what happens if you ask them to all work on improving the same skill? Well, if every rep is not committed to working on that one skill you are not going to get the results you desire.

Keep in mind that it is very challenging to change especially if you are not committed to working on that skill. By having the sales rep decide on their area of focus, they will have a greater sense of ownership for improvement.

Understanding the uniqueness of your team is important as it affects how you coach them. We all respond to different techniques, so be observant and figure out how you can get the best results from your team.

5. Have The Reps Build Their Own Improvement Plan

Once your reps identify what they are committed to working on, it’s time to come up with a game plan to help them reach and achieve their goals. You need to have the reps think through the steps that they are going to take.

The key here is to involve the reps in creating their own plan and identifying the steps needed to take in improving their area of focus. Involving them in these steps gives them an opportunity to voice suggestions or concerns as well as gives them a greater sense of ownership for their skill improvement. There’s a boost in belief and confidence as they understand that by creating their own goals and game plan it is something they are capable of achieving.

All great sales coaches use these techniques to get the best results from their team. For results to keep coming and be consistent there is still one more thing that must be done.

6. They are Big on Accountability

Getting the reps to work on improving their performance and identifying what they want to work on is all well and good, as is creating a game plan. The thing is, though, some people fall off the wagon and forget about what they have committed to work on.

The best way to keep your sales reps on track is to hold them accountable for what they do and track their results and progress. You need to review the commitments they’ve made to monitor how well they are progressing and whether they are on track.

If they go off track, it’s up to you to get them back on track and provide the necessary encouragement, advice or even discipline. Remember it’s still best to keep open communication so you can ask what’s going on as there could be a problem the rep is struggling with and is hesitant to talk to you about it.

Holding your team accountable also means encouraging success and reinforcing it. An awesome sales coach knows how to get a team performing and how to keep them there.

Now that we’ve seen what effective sales coaches do differently, it is time for you to try out these techniques.

Effective sales coaches ask thought provoking questions.  They ask their reps what they want to focus on improving.  Awesome sales coaches have their reps figure out how they can best achieve these improvements. They have them commit and implement a game plan. Lastly and most importantly, great sales coaches hold their team accountable for both success and failure alike!

All the success,

Peter C. Mclees, Principal

email: petercmclees@gmail.com

Mobile: 323-854-1713

We help sales reps and sales organizations accelerate their sales. 

The 12 Traits of Highly Effective Managers (How do you rate?)

It's a fact that finding, keeping and developing great people isn’t easy. However, finding, keeping and developing highly effective managers is even harder. 

What employees and employers expect of managers has changed drastically in recent times. With new styles of management required, we need to revisit what we expect of managers, how we coach them and how we measure the impact of learning and development initiatives

What makes a highly effective manager? 

Google set out to find out with a thorough research process they called Project Oxygen. Back in 2008, an internal team of researchers launched Project Oxygen – an effort to determine what makes a manager great at Google. From this research, they identified eight behaviors that are common among their highest performing managers and incorporated them into our manager development programs. By publicizing and training managers on these eight behaviors, they saw an improvement in management at Google and team outcomes like turnover, satisfaction, and performance over time.

The list of 12 traits includes Google's findings as well as my own informal research based on twenty-years of developing leaders at every level in a variety of organizations and industries.

I'd suggest as you review each trait to give yourself a 1-5 rating as to the degree you exhibit the trait in conversations and actions with your direct reports and peers. 

1=inconsistent and choppy, 5=consistent and flawless. 

If you want even better data ask your direct reports and peers to rate you. Then set up a meeting to discuss their perspective and yours.

The 12 Traits of Highly Effective Managers

Caring  [1. 2. 3. 4. 5.]
Managers who are caring take time to get to know the individuals in their team. They’re genuinely interested in people’s success and personal well-being and show this by regularly checking in with people on how they’re going both at work and outside work.

“I’d consider speaking with my manager if I was thinking about leaving”
 Example employee quote

Results-oriented  [1. 2. 3. 4. 5.]
Managers who are results oriented ensure that performance standards are maintained They work with team members to help remove blockers impeding tasks being completed and help the team get workable outcomes from team meetings.

“My manager helps me remove or work around things stopping me getting work done.”
 Example employee quote

Coaching [1. 2. 3. 4. 5.]
Managers who are good coaches focus on developing the people they work with as well as getting the job done. They ensure they have regular one-on-one meetings with team members and encourage them to present solutions to problems, rather than solving problems for them.

“I regularly get feedback from my manager that I can put to use.”
 Example employee quote

Communicating [1. 2. 3. 4. 5.]
Managers who are great communicators are good listeners. They allow time for others to speak. They have a clear understanding of the organization’s vision and share it with the people in their team in a way that motivates them. They keep their team up-to-date on what’s happening in the organization.

“My manager communicates a vision that motivates me.”
 Example employee quote

Fostering innovation [1. 2. 3. 4. 5.]
Managers who foster innovation empower their teams to make decisions – and learn from failures and achievements. They don’t micromanage people. They encourage innovative ideas and approaches and help people to implement them.

“My manager helps me take my innovative ideas from concept to action.”
 Example employee quote

Vision and goal setting [1. 2. 3. 4. 5.]
A manager ensures the vision and strategy of the organization is translated into an actionable vision and strategy for the team. They help people understand how their role contributes to the organization’s success.

“My manager helps us set a clear strategy for achieving our goals.”
 Example employee quote

Development [1. 2. 3. 4. 5.]
Managers who show a genuine interest in employees’ career development acknowledge improvement (not just deliverables). They take time to discuss people’s long-term career
aspirations and help them understand potential career paths at and outside the organization.

“My manager frequently recognizes progress I make, not just results.”
 Example employee quote

Emotionally resilient [1. 2. 3. 4. 5.]
How a manager behaves in challenging circumstances can have a significant impact on their team. Managers who are emotionally resilient are aware of how their mood affects
others. They remain calm and productive under pressure and cope well with change.

“My manager stays calm when we’re under the gun.”
 Example employee quote

Technical capability [1. 2. 3. 4. 5.]
Managers with the required technical capability add value to their teams. They can roll up their sleeves and work alongside the team when necessary. They empathize with the challenges the team face and have the necessary skills to help devise solutions.

“My manager has the technical know-how to help our team.”
 Example employee quote

Fair treatment [1. 2. 3. 4. 5.]
Managers who value fair treatment will allocate tasks and set schedules keeping in mind people’s capacity and development goals. They acknowledge good work. They build a diverse and inclusive team and encourage diversity of thought.

“My manager makes sure that my ideas and work are attributed to me.”
 Example employee quote

Overall manager effectiveness [1. 2. 3. 4. 5.]
Managers who are effective help people stay motivated to do their best work. They make the people they manage feel valued and supported. They feel they’re successful when the employees they manage are successful. People willingly recommend them as a good manager.

“My manager is effective and motivates me to do my best work.”
 Example employee quote

Humility [1. 2. 3. 4. 5.]
Managers who are humble have an insatiable curiosity about the world and people around them. They have a secure sense of self-their validation doesn't come from something external but is based on their true nature. Managers who are humble are able to shed their ego, because their authentic self is much greater than looking good, needing to have all the answers or being recognized by one's peers.

“My manager is quick to share the credit when things go right and quick to accept the responsibility when things go wrong."
Example employee quote

Personal growth and by extension leadership growth, doesn't happen automatically because people have experiences or work long hours. Leadership development must be planned, deliberate and consistent.

Commit to a three-month personal leadership development plan. Select a different trait to focus on each week. Be intentional about the small daily actions that you can take to exhibit more of each trait.

Small daily actions can work for us, or against us. It’s up to us to choose which. Over time they can have a massive impact.

In the words of Warren Bennis, "leadership doesn't happen in a day, it happens daily."

And former boxer, Joe Frazier remarked, "Champions aren't made champions in the ring, they're merely recognized there. If you cheat in the early morning hours of your road work, you're going to be found out under the bright lights."

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant

SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step... 

Interested in learning how to develop your or your organization's leadership capability? I begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and goals. To request an interview with me please contact: 

Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth. 

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

Why Humility is An Essential Leadership Quality

"Humility isn't thinking less of yourself; it's thinking more of others." 
                                                                                    --C.S. Lewis

When you think about leadership qualities typically what comes to mind are traits like strength, vision, enthusiasm, charisma and courage. Often you’ll overlook an essential leadership trait – humility.

Leaders sometimes get too caught up in their success to a point where they are showboating their accomplishments or trying to convince people of their greatness. The fact is, no one is inspired by showboats. Bragging about your accomplishments and greatness will result in dissociation and disconnect with your team. Instead, leaders with exceptional character earn a lot more respect and admiration. 

Humble leaders will use their skills, experience and knowledge to attract and inspire followers, bring people together and contribute to their community. Such leaders inspire people and align them to their vision. And humility is the core ingredient that every leader should possess and strive for.

Here are five reasons why humility is an essential leadership quality:

1. Promote and Acknowledge Others

Humble leaders acknowledge, listen to and promote their talent. This comes from the understanding that fear and coercion will result in burnout and higher employee turnover. Sure you may achieve your short-term goals this way, but in the long run your company will suffer from a demotivated and untrusting talent pool. Leaders with humility act as a source of encouragement, support and guidance for their team enabling them to tap into their full potential and be more successful. By valuing their team they transfer ownership and share the stakes of the company’s success. 

Humble leaders will give the credit when the team is successful and accept the responsibility when the team fails. Through their humility leaders understand that by grooming and growing their teams the organization's bigger picture can be achieved through their collective brilliance. Simply put, the more successful your team, the more success your company enjoys and the greater your leadership.

2. Collaborative

While healthy competition can create an environment of “pushing the limits to succeed”, it can also work adversely if competitiveness is treated as a ranking methodology. A collaborative leader views the entire team as equals, a group of skilled and talented individuals and each possessing their own set of expertise that they bring to the company. Sure you want some level of competition, however, it could result in chaos, dishonest behavior and even unfair treatment. 

A leader with humility avoids this outcome because they understand the value and strength of cohesive and collaborative teams. Rather than focusing only on your star performers, leaders should act as coaches to every individual in order for them to skill up, help one another, work together, and produce their best output collectively. A collaborative team works smarter, doesn’t step on each other’s toes and isn’t gunning for a position. For the humble leader, achieving success becomes easier because they have a team that wins and loses together.

3. Integrity

People aren’t inspired by boastful talk and flashy egos. They need to see action backing every word uttered and commitment made my leaders. They need to be assured that how you do business and how you treat people is something they believe in and admire. 

Earning respect through humility and integrity has a long impacting effect on your team because they know you’re a person of your word. You don’t need to brag about anything because your actions speak much louder. You’ve earned their credibility by delivering on your promises and making sure you see your plan through. Rather than cramming all the feathers on your hat that flash your greatness, stick to the one feather that really stands out above all – integrity.

4. Appreciative

In a time when consumerism is big, when people’s desire to have more is insatiable and when generally people feel entitled, leaders too are vulnerable to these negative traits. With power and authority you’ll want more control and make things more about yourself. A leader is highly susceptible to power-trips and this is when the leadership trait of humility is lost. Probably the most impactful way to lead people is by being mindful of inclusion. 

Humble leaders welcome diversity in people and value each and every one in their teams. They appreciate the opportunities they have and are grateful to be supported by talented individuals who elevate their greatness. And when it comes to accomplishments and success, a leader with humility will always be grateful rather than prideful.

5. Humanity

Leaders who present themselves as everyone else, i.e. as humans, are often more looked up to and admired. And with humility you’ll exhibit the traits that’s common with your entire team – you’re vulnerable to mistakes, are flawed in some ways and are constantly learning. People can relate to leaders who seem more “human” because they see the struggles they face in you and believe they too can be successful. If you’re posing yourself as “perfect” people won’t be drawn to follow you because they’ll feel inadequate, flawed and nearly never acceptable to someone who’s in such a high status. 

To really connect with your team, show them your true, human side. They’ll believe you more when they understand you and can relate to you.

We all are quite repulsed by loud, egotistical and boastful people and so are your teams and the talented group of people who work with you. Be mindful of how you present yourself as a leader and how you want your legacy to be remembered. With humility as your core leadership trait, you can build a leadership legacy that’ll attract many followers and win countless successes.

In the book, Good to Great, Jim Collins described the five levels of leadership. Collins defines the "Level 5" leader as someone who combines deep humility with fierce resolve. Click here to read about how to become a "Level 5" leader.

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant

SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step... 

Interested in learning how leadership coaching and training can benefit your organization? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please contact: 

Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth.

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

Five Classic Management Mistakes (And how to avoid them)

There are some classic mistakes business owners and managers make on a regular basis. Mistakes that mean they are not getting the results they want and need from their people. 

Mistake 1: Only clarifying, and managing, ‘the numbers’

Leaders often tell us that they focus most of their attention on the ‘numbers’ part of their employee’s performance. They set objectives for producing the right amount of work on time, meeting a deadline, achieving the % increase in sales or the $ of savings. They monitor the numbers and, sometimes, they give feedback to their staff about their performance against those numbers. It makes good sense.

But what about the behaviors? What about; the way the employee manages their time, the way they build and maintain customer relationships, their ability to be solution focused, their ability to work in a team and so on? The difficulty is that managers often see these behaviors as subjective and unquantifiable meaning that they cannot be measured and managed.

But here’s the thing; Why manage behaviors? Behaviors are crucial to the success of your business. Can you be successful without your employees demonstrating the ability to manage their time, build and maintain effective relationships, develop practical solutions and so on?

Because managers also tell us they regularly judge their employees on their ‘attributes’ without being able to clearly define those attributes as behaviors. They say “he’s just not committed enough”’ or “she’s not a team player” or “he lacks creativity”. Without being able to define what ‘being an effective team player’ looks like in practice how can you help your employee improve in this area?

Identifying the Crucial Behaviors

The key questions to ask are:

What are the behaviors that differentiate us from our competitors?
What are the behaviors that contribute most to our success?
What behaviors must a person demonstrate to be successful in this job?

What do I want from the people I manage?

Of course you then need to share your descriptions of the behaviors you want and need with your employees – without making the next mistake.

Mistake 2: not helping employees to understand the bigger picture

We know from the research that employees want to ‘connect their efforts to the mission and purpose of the business’. In short, they want an answer to the question – ‘why am I doing this?’ The mistake owners and managers making is assuming that the answer to that question is obvious. Well maybe it should be, but often it isn’t.

Let’s take a look at how you can communicate objectives in a way that helps your employees understand their importance to the business. Let’s begin with the objectives that relate to the quantifiable parts of the job – the numbers element. There’s a simple process you can use to frame the conversation.

Communicating quantifiable objectives:

·        WHAT – the objective is

·        WHY – it’s important

Communicating behavioral objectives.

When you are communicating behavioral objectives it’s always a good idea to explain the ‘Why’ and ‘How’ and to associate the ‘why and how’ with a business imperative. This is because most people can relate to doing something new or differently when they can see it’s to meet a business need. It just makes more sense to them.

So it’s about explaining WHY – why we need the new behaviors and HOW the new behaviors are going to meet the business imperatives.

Here’s an example of how these principles could apply to behavioral objective for

‘Teamwork’

Example of a performance objective for ‘Team Player’

I will consider you to be an effective team player when you;

·  Explain the team objectives and your role in meeting those objectives

·  Identify when your team members need help or assistance and offer that help

·  Fully participate in team meetings and events

·  Identify ways the team can work together more effectively

·  Gain feedback that you are an effective team worker

Example of how to communicate the ‘Team Player’ objective

WHY it's important

·  Major challenges facing the business - in the current economic climate we’ve got to retain more customers.

·  Challenge to us – to improve our efficiency in servicing our customer so they stay with us and refer their friends and family.

·  Challenge for us as individuals – to maintain or improve our job satisfaction during these challenging times.

HOW the new behaviors are going to meet the business needs.

·   If we work better as team we’ll improve our efficiency and customer experience

·   Working better as a team should improve our job satisfaction

In short, if we work better as a team we’ll keep more customers and enjoy work more!

It’s all about helping the employee see the importance of their work to the success of the business.

Mistake 3: giving meaningless praise

The research shows that ‘receiving positive feedback and recognition for work well done’ consistently ranks highly as a motivator in employee surveys. Yet research also shows that most people don’t feel they get enough praise. So what’s going on?

Putting aside the fact that it’s likely that some of our survey participants feel they should be praised for just turning up every morning, my view is that business owners and managers are sometimes reluctant to give praise because they’ve had experiences of being praised themselves in ways that, frankly, haven’t motivated them at all. And, of course, they’re not over keen on having the same effect on their employees. It’s actually quite easy to deliver praise badly - praise that is seen as patronizing or manipulative by the employee. But done well, its dynamite.

Here are five ways to do it well:

1. Prepare the praise

It’s interesting that many managers will spend some time preparing to give criticism, but only a matter of seconds (if at all) preparing to give praise. The result? A passing comment (literally) on the lines of ‘nice job Doug, keep it up’ Say what? Which job? The whole job? Keep what up? Not only is this type of praise confusing but, by and large, it’s not wildly motivating.

2. Be specific

Describe exactly what you are praising and why. Try the following method:

When you....

What happened was...

And the result is....

E.g. When I showed the client the research you had done on their business she said she was really impressed by the insights you had provided. The result is she wants us to make a proposal for a further piece of business. That’s a really good outcome for us so thank you and well done.

3. Show genuine interest

Ask questions to better understand what the employee did, for example, what preparation they did for a successful presentation, how they managed to design such effective presentation slides etc. Describe how you feel about what they’ve done e.g. pleased, impressed, excited (the hug and kiss might be slightly over doing it)

4. Let the praise stand alone

Don’t be tempted to mix the praise with criticism e.g. That was a great presentation. If only your written work was as good. Deal with the written work issue at a different time.

5. Do it quickly and time it well

Give your praise as soon after the event as possible – it has far more impact. Be careful not to give the praise at a time when it will appear conditional or a ‘softening up’ process e.g. just before you delegate a task or ask for the person to work late

Public or Private?

There’s an old saying ‘praise in public, criticize in private’. Though we wholeheartedly agree with the latter we’re not totally convinced by the former. Of course the principle is sound. We want other employees to hear the praise and understand what we are praising because we hope that they will want to copy those behaviors or achievements. But not everyone is comfortable being singled out in this way and some people find accepting praise in front of their coworker embarrassing.

Try delivering the praise in private. You can then ask the employee if they are happy for you to share the praise with their coworkers – say in the next team meeting - and take it from there.

What if there’s no praise to give?

Of course employees find praise motivational, who wouldn’t? A challenge is when there is no praise to give because the employee is not performing effectively. The answer is to give regular feedback rather than praise.

The best way to motivate employees to improve their under performance is to give them what we call ‘positive criticism’ – criticism that’s easy to understand and easy to accept because it’s clear, objective and fair.

Mistake 4: avoiding talking to your employees about their job satisfaction

We know that showing a high level of interest and concern for our employees results in higher levels of motivation and performance. One of the most powerful ways to do this is to have a conversation specifically about how to maintain or improve their current level of job satisfaction/engagement.

After all, who wouldn’t feel motivated by having a supervisor who cares about our satisfaction at work and who is happy to spend the time talking to us about this subject which is so close to our hearts? Some managers, though, are reluctant to hold these conversations in case they result in ‘opening a can of worms’ – more specifically in case the employee comes to them with a list of wants and needs they cannot meet.

Good point.

Mistake 5: Neglecting to set high standards and hold others accountable

This denies employees the chance to learn and excel. Employees do not want to be told, “Let me make your life easier by enabling you not to learn and not to achieve anything new.  A balanced combination of uncompromising standards and confidence-building reassurances sends a very clear and consistent message to your team: “I believe in you and I want you to win as much as I want to win.”

There are two strategies for dealing with poor performance: One-minute coaching-corrections and redirection. A coaching-correction works best with people who have “won’t do” or attitudinal problems. These people are winners and they know how to do it but for some reason they are not doing it. Redirection is appropriate for people with “can’t so” or experience problems.  There will be more need for redirection because things are changing so fast now in most fields that competencies to do a job is often short-lived.

Redirection

1.  Make sure they know that a problem exists. Be specific. Share what happened clearly and without blame

2.  The person being redirected needs to know the negative impact that the error caused

3.  If appropriate, the manager should accept responsibility for not making the task clear

4.  Go over the task in detail and make sure it is clearly understood

5.  Express your continuing trust and confidence in the person

Bottom line: Hold people accountable to high standards while allowing them to hold onto their dignity as human beings.

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant

SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step... 

Interested in learning how Smart Development can help your company create a coaching culture of high performance, accountability and trust? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please contact: 

Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, nonprofits, government agencies and other organizations create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth. 

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

Companies & Leaders Who Practice Empathy Get Better Results

Empathy is not just about feelings, emotions and connecting more effectively with others, although that would be reason enough to take it more seriously. Empathy delivers real-world benefits to organizations and is related directly to societal and organizational success in measurable ways.

Sadly, some of the meaning and value of empathy has declined over the last several decades. According to research, people are becoming less concerned about the lives of others and are challenged to understand perspectives that are different from their own.

Alongside the decline for empathy in our culture and in our workplaces, however, is a desire for change. People are waking up to the fact that compassion is fading as a cultural value, and there is a great craving for a more empathetic approach from people in leadership positions.

People feel it in their hearts. Their intuition tells them that understanding is what is needed to make their experiences more meaningful, yet making the changes that would bring increased empathy to our culture and workplaces is not easy.

I believe one of the ways to address this issue is to describe the positive benefits that organizations can experience by instituting more empathetic cultures. Compassion brings clear, distinct improvements for individuals and organizations. When you can begin to see the connections between empathy and organizational success, you can begin to implement them effectively in your world.

What are some of these real, measurable business results? Let’s take a look!

Empathy Improves Productivity

Employees perform better when they can empathize with the people on the other end of their work. Humans beings have a tendency to work harder when they are made aware of the positive impact their labor has on others.

Studies have revealed this to be true in a number of cases. For example, when radiologists are presented with photos of their patients, they are much more likely to interpret test results with greater clarity and detail. Empathy researchers have also found that cooks are more likely to create tastier meals when they have seen the faces of their customers.

Connecting with other human beings brings out the best in everyone, so it should be no surprise that productivity improves when empathy becomes an essential part of organizational culture.

Empathy Boosts Organizational Growth

You and I know that business is all about people and relationships. Healthy organizations are those that are staffed with talented, hardworking, open-minded and positive individuals, and those people are not always easy to find.

When leaders create cultures of empathy, it makes organizations more attractive to the best prospects and the brightest minds. People want to work in places where they feel appreciated. A workplace culture built on compassion ensures that the finest employees are retained and that the best possible candidates for employment are interested in working there.

Leaders who institute this type of culture see the benefit in their engagement scores and in their bottom-line results. Great people do great work, and talented, driven people are attracted to organizations built on a foundation of empathy.

Empathy Makes Collaboration Easier

“Project Aristotle” was Google’s endeavor to learn what makes great teams within organizations. What the project found was that successful teams are not necessarily made up of the smartest, most brilliant people. Instead, Google discovered that empathy makes teams more collaborative and successful.

When employees are skilled at reading nonverbal cues and detecting emotional states of others, they are more likely to address issues that may be impacting their teammates. This type of communication is rooted in empathy, and it has been shown to strengthen teamwork, morale and engagement.

Additionally, when people practice compassion through the act of listening – rather than feeling the need to speak more – the intelligence level of the whole group rises, aiding collaboration and boosting productivity.

Empathy Brings out the Best Within Diverse Workforces

One of the great aspects of modern organizations is the way workforces have become more diverse. When different perspectives are brought together under the same organizational roof, everyone benefits. Unfortunately, unproductive conflicts sometimes surface, making it difficult for members of diverse teams to work together.

Empathy is one of the keys to unlocking the power of diversity. Using tools like the DiSC and the StrengthsFinder help employees to understand the different ways their colleagues prefer to think and behave – and appreciate it!

When an organizational culture values compassion and understanding, employees are more likely to embrace one another in more meaningful ways. They are more willing to find common points of interest that bind them together as individuals who are striving to achieve the same end goal. They are also more willing to value their differences and see them as sources of strength.

Empathy Improves Reputations

How is your organization’s reputation built? Most likely, it is constructed through human interactions. When your organization’s customer-facing personnel treat people with empathy, it has an amazingly positive effect on the public’s perception.

Take Ryanair, for example. In 2014, the airline instituted its “Always Getting Better” program, in which it strived to improve its public reputation. The company removed restrictions and made life easier for passengers. Essentially, they tuned in to the wants and needs of their customers on emotional, financial and practical levels. As a result, the company improved its reputation and also increased profits by more than 30 percent!

According to the candid words of Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary, “If I’d only known being nice to customers was going to work so well, I’d have started many years ago.” The lesson? Don’t wait to make your organization more empathetic!

You Can Be the Driving Force of Empathy Within Your Organization

As you read through the above examples of how compassion benefits organizations, you probably began to wonder if you have what it takes to drive a rise in empathy within your professional world. Here’s the truth: you do have what it takes to be a more effective, empathetic leader and to build employees and teams that value understanding and compassion!

Check out these posts for tips on how to practice empathy: 

Empathy: An Essential Leadership Skill

How Mindful Listening Can Expand Your Influence as a Leader


If you’re wondering how you can begin to create a more empathetic culture within your organization, I would love to talk with you!

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant

SMART DEVELOPMENT

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