managers – BaylorS3E

The surprisingly simple little secret to landing a leadership position

kirk_wakefield 2014, Careers, Lead, Learn, Personal Development, S3, Sales Management, Tickets October 3, 2014November 1, 2018leadership, leading, managers, mentors, sales management, work ethic 0 Comment

by Kirk Madsen – October 2014

What is leadership?

For everything written about leadership and management (an Amazon.com search yields over 1 million books on the topic!), we sure seem to have a lot of questions about what it is and how to do it. One of the questions people in leadership positions get asked all the time is, “How did you get to where you are now?”

Whatever their answer is, it will probably include a surprisingly simple little secret.

Ready? There is no secret.

There really isn’t much of a mystery. Leaders follow simple, repeatable processes anyone can start immediately!

But, before we talk about these processes, let’s first establish two key ground rules:

[dropshadowbox align=”center” effect=”lifted-both” width=”400px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]

Ground rule #1: Consistency is king.

Ground rule #2: A positive attitude is non-negotiable.[/dropshadowbox]

These two ground rules are the cornerstones or the foundation for all you do. Over the long haul, building success without these cornerstones is impossible. From there, focus on a few key concepts:

Concept #1: Do more, now.

Leaders work harder and generate results more consistently than their peers.

Dionna Widder, the Vice President of Ticket Sales & Service with the Cleveland Cavaliers, sums this point up perfectly: “You do not need a title to be a leader. Set yourself apart with your work ethic and results.” Everyone is capable of having a great week, or even a great month. Leaders have great quarters and great years. Sure, they have their off-days. So did Michael Jordan; his were just better than everyone else’s.

Concept #2: Lead, now.

Take on a leadership role with your current team.

Joe Schiavi, the Director of Inside Sales with the Detroit Pistons, offers some practical advice to practice leadership now: “Teach less experienced reps and give time out of your day to make sure that your teammates have the best possible opportunity for success. Your manager will notice your extra efforts. Your teammates will respect you because you took the time out of your day to help them when they needed assistance.”

Concept #3: Be a student.

Every day.

Consider how much more capable you are of passing a test when you’ve taken the time to study. Widder recommends, “Schedule a meeting with your manager or other leaders in the industry to learn. Seek out resources and dedicate time to be a student.” Books, articles, TED talks, conversations with others – there are countless resources available. Use one of them every day!

Concept #4: Pick your peers.

Immediately find mentors and surround yourself with successful people.

Do you know what I love most about being a leader? Finding others who want to succeed, and empowering them to do it. On a peer-to-peer level, spend your time and energy with people who exhibit the positive personal and professional traits you see (or want to see) in yourself. On an executive level, ask the people you admire to mentor you. The benefits of surrounding yourself with successful people will be real and immediate. “Ask and welcome feedback from your leaders, peers, and friends and develop plans to improve areas that need improving,” Widder says. “Feedback can be both positive and constructive; both are valuable to your growth.”

By applying these concepts, you’ll have a greater impact on your organization. The greater the impact, the greater your chances of breaking into leadership positions.

Cover photo courtesy of MarcMo.

Sales Managers: 6 Keys to Becoming a Great(er) Leader

kirk_wakefield 2014, Lead, Sales Management March 1, 2014November 1, 2018growth, Indiana Fever, leadership, learn, managers, Memphis Grizzlies, NBA, Philadelphia 76ers, sales management, sports, steps, TMBO, Tulsa Shock 0 Comment

by Dionna Widder – March 2014

To be great(er) leaders, we must first master the craft of management, work on building upon our skills and talent, and develop trusting relationships with our employees and your managers.

The Great Blondin became famous for being the first person to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. Not just once, but eight times over two years. He walked blindfolded, on stilts, and even with a wheelbarrow. He failed to build relationships with his audience therefore no one trusted him enough to volunteer to jump in his wheelbarrow to be pushed to cross the falls, except for his manager, who he carried across the falls on his back.

If we want to be better leaders, we must do these six things.

Be self-aware

An easy exercise to evaluate yourself is to write out five things you do well and five things you can do better as a manager. It is also important to draw awareness through feedback from reps. Would this kind of feedback surprise you?

“I want (my manager) to stop only training on how to sell over the phone”
“Start talking to us as professionals, not children”
“Stop canceling one-on-one meetings and not reschedule them”
“Start developing me on how to sell B2B”
“Stop being unapproachable”
“Stop socializing with select people in our department, it make me feel left out”

When areas of improvement are clearly identified, develop solutions. Carrie Kmetzo (Director, Ticket Sales & Service, Tulsa Shock) realized team building and personal connections with managers and reps would improve retention of reps. They created “Bachelor Brackets” on who would win in The Bachelor and hosted paintball games with reps to create fun engagement activities to build the connection.

Use outside resources to gain knowledge

Consider these sources: Books (join or start a book club), blogs, e-newsletters, associations, industry publications, participate in conference calls, webinars, leadership organizations (e.g., Toastmasters), and online search (Don’t know it? Google it. Don’t know how? YouTube it. ).

Mike Fuhrman (Inside Sales Manager, Minnesota Timberwolves) has been proactive at using outside resources and scheduling in time to participate in his company’s book club, being an active member of Toastmasters, and he participates in local chamber events.

Learn from your environment

Learn from others’ experiences. Be a sponge. As Samantha Hicks (Director, Ticket Sales & Service, Indiana Fever) shares, “I learn from the different styles of each of my superiors. I take note of how they communicate with me and with others in the room.”

Brian Norman (Sales Manager, Philadelphia 76ers) suggests having heads of the other departments in your organization be guest speakers periodically to expand the knowledge base of reps outside of sales and to help spur career motivation of sales reps.

Develop relationships & have mentors

Self-development doesn’t have to always be done by yourself. We need to involve others who are willing to provide constructive feedback, give you advice, and share insight from their personal experiences. Find at least one mentor of each of these four types: superior, lateral, internal, and external.

Utilize your manager to learn and grow

If you want training, go to your manager and ask for it and be specific what you want to learn and recommend how they can help you learn it. Michael Brown (Inside Sales Manager, Memphis Grizzlies) visits regularly with his vice-president (for “challenges”), asking what he needs to know to develop his skill set and make a bigger contribution to the department. Michael requests for the opportunity to sit in on upper level sales meetings in the office, and shadow him at games when possible.

Erin Leigh (Manager of Inside Sales, Brooklyn Nets) recommends offering comprehensive solutions when executives present problems faced by the team. Erin provided a solution– when the sales team started to lose their edge–to develop a comprehensive training program that she now leads for all sellers in the department.

Have a plan

Plans have goals, action steps, timeline (frequency), and how you’ll measure success.

List out the five things you want to do better. Define the actions you will take to accomplish each developmental goal. Establish a timeline and frequency in which you will execute each action. Define how you will measure your personal growth.

Ready to get started? Download this planning sheet and get with it. Now.

The Daniel Sport & Entertainment Leadership Summit

kirk_wakefield Careers, Integrity, Lead, Learn, Networking, Personal Development, Work ethic March 8, 2013November 2, 2018conference, executive, faith, father, God, husband, leaders, leading, managers, San Diego 0 Comment

by Kirk Wakefield – March 2013

First Ever

Managers and executives from professional sports met for the inaugural Daniel Sport & Entertainment Leadership Summit the third weekend in February in San Diego. We plan to host this event each year to encourage each other to be leaders in our homes, at work, and in our spheres of influence.[dropshadowbox align=”right” effect=”lifted-both” width=”300px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ][slideshow_deploy id=’1443′][/dropshadowbox]

The summit is named after the Biblical character Daniel, who set himself apart from others in the culture by pursuing excellence, being a disciplined man of character, and being confident that God was with him daily. Ultimately Daniel used the “stage” given to him to have influence on his culture.

The idea for the summit sprung from a discussion among a group of executives led by Jeremy Walls and Jason Howard. ” We all had the same vision of encouraging each other in balancing personal and professional lives,” explained Walls.

The summit included attendees from teams/leagues (New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, Sacramento Rivercats, NBA, Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns) and companies (Sports Sales Consulting, Fan Interactive, Exact Target), as well as faculty from supporting universities (Baylor, Mount Union, and Point Loma). Spouses present participated in a joint Saturday afternoon conference session.

The sessions were led by Mark Foreman, senior pastor at North Coast Calvary Chapel (“Transformed people. Transforming our world.”) and Ryan Pfeiffer, Director, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (San Diego). Some might recognize Mark Foreman as the father of Jon and Tim Foreman, leaders of the band Switchfoot.

Top 10 Takeaways

The week after we asked the executives what stayed top-of-mind. We’ve boiled it down to the Top 10 Takeaways.

[dropshadowbox align=”center” effect=”lifted-both” width=”550px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]Top 10 Takeaways from the Daniel Conference

Success in my personal life can actually make me better in your professional life. I have always thought of that in reverse and realize how wrong I have been.
Change my thinking from ” I will invest into my career so I can provide for my family,” to “I will invest time and energy into my family and God will continue to bless my career.”
Understand what Bob Briner means in his book, Roaring Lambs: Christians can and ought to be the movers and shakers of positive social change — ‘”roaring lambs.'”
Proactively pursue carving out time with family and then apply this to those I lead, making sure they take time to disconnect from work. This may be one of the greatest witnesses of care and compassion to members of my team.
There’s no plan B. God doesn’t have a special ops force he’s sending in. We’re it. We need to lead.
Sabbath: God took a day to rest and reflect, we should too! If the King of the World can take a day off…so can I. I was very convicted regarding how important I think I am sometimes.
The example of Daniel is “excellence in our personal lives bubbles up and carries over into professional lives.”
Like Daniel, God has put you on a stage to change culture and influence lives, even years after you are gone.
Believers should be more “invasive” into the world and less “retreating.” The church is the “locker room” where we prepare; “the game” is the day-to-day living out of our faith.
Realize “you are” the salt and the light of the earth. We should be “shoveling the salt out as fast as we can!”[/dropshadowbox]

Join Us

Are you interested in becoming a better/more intentional father, husband, and executive? Invitations for next year’s summit are open to managers, directors, and executives in professional sports and executives in agencies and companies serving professional sports. We will announce next year’s Daniel Sports & Entertainment Leadership Summit in the S3 Report and also post in the S3 Report LinkedIn group. If you want to make certain you receive a personal invitation, click here to sign-up!