Become obsessed with their goals.
If you want to lead a high-performing team, you have to stop pushing people for your reasons. Instead, you must inspire them by helping them get what they want. For their reasons. Not yours.
I see it constantly in the sales world: leaders focused entirely on their own agenda, trying to “motivate” people to accomplish a quota that only benefits the manager
Stop it. There is a better way.
The Moses Principle: Drawing Out Greatness
Real leadership starts with getting crystal clear on what your people actually want. My core principle is this: Before I say follow me, I find you.
This is the true purpose of your one-on-ones. You need to get to know them, what drives them, what makes them tick, and why they are getting out of bed to show up on your team every morning.
If they don’t know what they want? That’s okay. In fact, that becomes your most critical role as a leader, to draw it out of them.
I call this the Moses Principle. The name Moses literally means to “Draw Out.” Just as Moses drew the children of Israel out of Egypt to lead them to the promised land, your role is to “draw out” your team’s desires and lead them to their promised land.
The Mind, Heart, and Feet Framework
You don’t know enough about the people you lead unless you can answer these three questions about them:
- Mind: What is their specific, tangible goal this year?
- Heart: Why do they want that goal? What is the emotional driver?
- Feet: What are they actually doing right now to get it? T
The mind and heart control the feet. If the “feet” aren’t moving, you haven’t reached the heart yet. As the saying goes, “The hand will not reach for what the heart does not long for.”
Serve with Boldness
When you become obsessed with what they are obsessed with, your sales leadership influence will skyrocket. Serve them by challenging them boldly, not for your paycheck, but for their reasons.
Stop hacking at the branches of motivation by cramming your agenda down their throats. Start at the root. Do you know what they really want?
Become the guide that helps them get there. Watch what happens to your culture, your retention, and your results when you stop managing and start leading.
Make it a great day
