Are You Trying To Get Your Inside Sales Reps To Be A Clone Of You?
As I’ve mentioned on many occasions, I’ve never been much of a fan of micromanagement. Whether I’m the micromanagee or micromanager - it never really made sense to me. The best managers I’ve worked with over the years made me feel as if they never managed me at all. That may seem like an odd statement since it would seem pretty obvious to me that you look to your boss for direction, but there is an art to coaching your inside sales reps with the goal of making them feel truly empowered.
I’ve always wondered why so many of my previous managers felt compelled to always look over my shoulder. Everyone seems to have at a least a few experiences with a boss who always seemed to be up in our grill. They may have good intentions, but more often than not they can get in the way of our progress rather than adding any measurable value to our day.
Don’t get me wrong, there are times they can help to provide us some great insight on how to handle specific situations. The problem is micromanagers tend to expect us to do things exactly the same way as they would, but what works for them doesn’t necessarily mean it will always work for you. One of my sales managers came across a great article from Halogen Software that illustrates some of the pitfalls of trying to clone employees in our image.
Since we’re all wired a bit differently there never seems to be one common road map that works for everyone. The best leaders I’ve been around aren’t afraid to free up the reigns a bit to encourage everyone’s unique approach.
So how would you describe yourself as a manager? Are you truly encouraging your team’s creativity or are you looking to develop a replica of you?
