Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Top 5 Leadership Issues


Recently, a CEBI member suggested they would be interested to hear what's happening with the other members.  So, as I traveled around to facilitate the latest local board meetings I took note of all the issues surfaced by the participants to see if there were any common themes.  While there was significant variation in the items brought to the table for discussion, I noticed there were certain issues that seemed to be common among many of the participants.  I'd never taken notice of this before but I'm glad that I've started the process as it seems to signify sort of a general feeling or experience in the business community.  So what were these issues?  Well, in no particular order, here are the top 5 that seemed to be on the minds of the CEBI community.

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  1.  Lack of Sleep and Anxiety - this appeared to be related to a general lack of double digit growth during the first two quarters that was thoroughly enjoyed the previous year.  Most indicated they were having a flat year so far even though they may have been experiencing single digit growth.  Relatively speaking, the fear of the unknown seemed to be the root cause of this issue.
  2. Lack of Sales Management Leadership - some had indicated a lack of leadership by their sales managers because they weren't experiencing the same growth pattern as last year and they didn't have the skill set to coach and drive expectations.
  3. Family, Friends and Partners Causing Problems - many who have family, friends or business partners experienced frustrations regarding expectations and being on the same page.  Apparently, people change and sometimes we grow in different directions and there's more emotion involved when dealing with these individuals.
  4. Sales Training for Reps that Don't Know How to Sell - while there are various selling methodologies, it appears there could be some improvement in the skillset ranging from identifying an opportunity all the way through deal closure and getting paid.
  5. Time Management and Being Productive - many felt as though they were walking uphill in sand throughout the day, dealing with problems, getting into the weeds and not being able to focus on being a leader.  Whether the cause related to a lack of human resources or simply not knowing how to set priorities each day and sticking to them in order to move the needle, the tone of not feeling like a productive leader surfaced on several occasions.
 It was interesting to hear how these were discussed and resolved during the meetings.  Even though these were common general issues, the resolutions for each were quite different for each specific problem. 

Well, that's a flavor for what's on the minds of many in the leadership community.  I'm curious to see if some of these same issues continue to surface in future meetings or if there will be a change of tone.

Other CEBI Blog Articles... 


Kevin Minton
CEO
Chief Executive Boards International
KevinMinton@ChiefExecutiveBoards.com

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