Rule #4: Become a servant leader. Put the needs of your team first. In today's world, often times we've got to make sure that with all the things going on we're ultimately judged based on is our team producing? You're the leader. Senior Execs aren't looking around saying; "Hey, person number one, person number three." No. They look at you and say; "Is your team producing?"
Servant leadership is what I call you focused management. What I mean by that it's that servant leaders know ... By the way, servant leaders are the most successful sales leaders that I know because they focus on their people. They realize that as leaders they're successful if their team is successful. They're tied into their team's success. They constantly ask their team, "What can I do to help you? Where are you stuck?" That could be in your skill development; it could be in a particular account. They roll up their sleeves and say, "What can I do to help? Hey, what's this?"
Listen, yesterday myself, someone said, "I've got so much stuff that I need to get done tomorrow there's no way I can get it done." I pulled up a chair, got my laptop and I'm banging out stuff right next to them. People are in shock. Oh my gosh, are they in trouble? Everybody knows me; I'm a servant leader. I'm not judging them whether they got their job done on time. No, I'm there to help them get it done. Do they want me sitting next to them with my laptop helping them out every day? No. Are they thankful that I did it? Yes. Did I give them a verbal beat down on why they waited? No. They know. I don't have to tell them that.
The message that I sent was I'm here to help you. I'm not here to judge; I'm not here to say, "Hey, what's going on?" There are a time and place for that, but servant leadership is focusing on my team members. Figuring out what they need to succeed. Because if they succeed I succeed. Too many times leaders are me, me, me, me leaders. I've got the business card do what I say. You've got to follow the rules. When you're in charge, you can do it too. That's also a small thing about ego. If you realize that ego has no place in leadership, then you will become a better servant leader. The bottom line is if you want your team to be the best that they can be you need to become a servant leader.
David is the author of the Wall Street Journal bestsellers, The Sandler Rules: 49 Timeless Selling Principles and How to Apply Them and Sandler Success Principles: 11 Insights that will change the way you think and sell. He regularly authors articles for business publications and continues to be involved in the ongoing creation and development of new Sandler training products and programs.
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