Quick Win + Pro Tip: Remove Blockers That Hinder Your Team's Success

As a leader, you’re responsible for the performance of your team.

Many leaders believe that means it’s their job to:

• Have all the answers, all the time
  
• Guide exactly how each person on their team does every facet of their job
  
• Manage day-to-day (or even hour-to-hour) activities
  
• Control outcomes
  

If that sounds like an overwhelming ask, it’s because it is. In fact, it’s downright impossible. Not to mention, it’s counterproductive.

As much as managers may wish they could, they can’t actually control the performance of their team. The instinct may actually get in the way of their team’s ability to succeed.

So that begs the question: what is your job as a leader?

Oftentimes, your real role is to remove the roadblocks that are standing in your team’s way.

Think about some of the challenges people on your team may be facing. They could be:

• Lack of clear organizational goals
  
• Insufficient resources
  
• Too much micromanagement
  
• An unclear compensation structure
  
• A lack of clear processes
  
• Poor communication between departments or within the sales team
  
• Lack of autonomy
  

Most salespeople are more effective when they are empowered to take ownership, make decisions, and build relationships in a way that is authentic to them. Oftentimes the biggest hurdle isn’t that they aren’t doing enough; it’s that they don’t have the freedom to take ownership of building their relationships and growing their accounts.

Remember, your sales team wants to be successful. Salespeople are in their field because they like to build connections, they enjoy the competitive aspects of their job, and they like to win. They also have a vested interest in doing well, given that their compensation is tied to their performance. They are staking their livelihood on their abilities to sell to customers and grow your business.

If their performance or results are disappointing you, don’t assume it’s because they aren’t trying or don’t care about their performance. Instead, look deeper into the organization and try to determine if there are any blockers that may be holding them back.

Is there something that could be standing in their way? Is there something leaders or managers aren’t doing that’s making it difficult for them to succeed? Is there information or resources they need access to?

When the team isn’t getting expected results, the instinct is often to start micromanaging and monitoring them more closely, or remove them from the team. Try fighting both of those urges. Instead of trying to control the process, ask yourself (and your employees!) what tools or resources would make them more successful.

It’s very easy to point the finger when you don’t get the results you want as quickly as you want. However, if you don’t identify the root cause, history is bound to repeat itself. Take the time to look deeper into the organization, figure out what could be hindering your team, and determine the best way to remove anything standing in their way.