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4/1/1: 4 Random Thoughts from me, 1 tools to help Sales Engineers, 1 quote for motivation
4/1/1 Great Leaders Lead From the Middle
By Ramzi Marjaba
4/1/1 Weekly
4 Random Thoughts, 1 Tool, and 1 Quote
Over the 3 years I’ve been running We the SEs, I’ve talked to many managers and leaders. Most recently I talked to Julie Mall, who is a Director of Sales Engineering in the US.
Check out the conversation here.
Part of this discussion was around leadership, leading from the front and still being able to do the Sales Engineering things that SEs do, and running air cover. This got me thinking about several things, so here is the 4/1/1.
So let’s talk about leadership in this 4/1/1!
4 Random Thoughts From Me:
1- Leaders that are too far forward and into the weeds tend to miss what’s going on around them. They would have to step back and take a look around them to be able to understand what is going on and why things are happening
2- Leaders that are too far removed from the field don’t understand what’s going on in the field. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard a leader say “Sell on value” but then are not able to articulate a value that matters to the customers. The “So What” test is usually enough to stump them.
3- Not all SEs need the same air cover. Some SEs have tough skin and they are ok to hear blunt feedback, some are more sensitive and need a bit more loving. One of my former bosses felt my frustrations with management and what was going on around me. During one of my conversations, I mentioned how come up you come up to Canada once every six months? 3 months later, he was at my doorstep with a box of chocolate and some flowers!
4- There are so many different ways to do leadership, the same way there are too many ways to do Sales Engineering. For those who are not official leaders, you can lead up the chain. You can lead by example. If you want to implement a program, start working on it. Implement it with those you have a good relationship with. Get better and what you do, then show your colleagues how they can get better. You don’t always have to have a title to be a leader.
1 Tool:
Yes, you already know about this, which is why you are here. But for me to provide the most value for you, I need to know what you need. So if you have a topic, a question, concern, or a thought that you’d like to share, please hit the reply button. I can either answer your questions through a youtube video, a podcast episode or jump on a call with you and have a discussion
1 Quote:
“the most fundamental and important truths at the heart of Extreme Ownership: there are no bad teams, only bad leaders.”
― Jocko Willink
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