You coach a team of independent salespeople. Most of your people are not what you would consider top performers and most don't take the initiative to be aggressively seeking growth and improvement. So how can you shine the spotlight on your top people at a team meeting or on a conference call in a way that makes those types of results more contagious for the rest of your team?
All sales managers face this same dilemma constantly. In my almost two decades of experience in sales management and leadership development, learning one phrase made all the difference in the way I recognized people at meetings and on conference calls.
Here it is:
"Recognize the result, but praise the process it took to get there."
Most managers will say something along these lines when recognizing their people: "Congratulations to Jane for being the #1 rep on the team last week and having the biggest sales month of her career. Awesome job Jane!"
Of course, there's nothing wrong with that style of recognition, and I'm sure it makes Jane feel good which is important, but it doesn't really benefit anyone else on the team. and more likely, it creates a situation where the team is giving Jane a disingenuous round of applause while silently hating on her for making them look bad.
Try something like this next time instead: "Hey team I want to recognize Jane for her hard work recently. Most of you probably don't know it because she's so good at remaining positive even when she's facing challenges, but Jane was really struggling a few weeks ago with her closing percentage. Here's what I noticed and love about her... Instead of being complacent about her results, she became really aggressive about learning and leveling up. She went field training twice with some other top reps and observed their presentations, she listened to audios and videos from top performers in her car on her way to appointments, and she came into the office to practice and role play until she felt more confident with certain sections of her demo. That next week she ended up doubling her closing percentage from where it was the previous week. Jane, would you say that field training and listening to those audios made a difference for you this week?"
Think about those two styles of recognition. One is surface level because it's purely to make someone feel good in public. The other makes the result repeatable. "If I do XYZ, I can have similar results to what Jane got."
Whatever you appreciate, appreciates. In that one minute, while making Jane feel great, you used it as a teaching opportunity. You championed her for staying positive when facing challenges, for not being complacent about mediocre results, for seeking knowledge and building skills, etc. If this is what your team sees you value publicly, more team members will start to take the initiative to go field training or start listening to more audios. Your recognition now not only makes people feel good, it produces more results.
As a dad of two young kids who will be entering the ages of organized sports and hobbies in the coming years, I will try to remember in the moment to recognize them not only for their exciting results, but also for the practice habits and learning it took to get them prepared for that game winning shot.
Recognize the result, but praise the process it took to get there, which is repeatable, duplicatable, and can inspire action in others... and by the way, it still makes the person feel just as good.
All the best,
Wes