Q: Is it ok to "lose it" with my sales team every once in a while?
A: Depends what you mean by losing it! Many years ago, I saw legendary Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight "lose it" in a major way. He threw a chair clear across the court before he was asked to watch the rest of the game from the locker room.
Yes, you can let lose, but how you do so makes a huge difference.
Let’s examine this question a bit further.
One of my tenets of management is that anything you can say in a negative manner, you can also say in a positive manner. When I share this philosophy with my managers, inevitably, one will ask, "Can I lose it once in a while to show that I’m serious or that I’m pissed off?" It’s a good question.
Let me say that I’m opposed to negativity in the workplace. I believe that negativity rarely helps and that negative reinforcement doesn’t change behavior. In fact, at one of my distributors, the lowest performer is pointed out at every sales meeting. This behavior only cause the sales professional to feel worse – not better. And it doesn’t improve his performance. Not by a long shot.
With this in mind, let’s examine the differences between the following statements.
1) "You guys are killing me! What will it take to get you to execute?"
2) "I know you guys are better than this. What do we have to do differently to execute at the level that I know we’re capable?"
Here’s the problem with statement #1. Not only is it potentially destructive, but it also puts all the responsibility for improvement on the sales professional. What’s even more detrimental about this statement is that it’s physiologically counterproductive. To understand, we need to invoke a feeling commonly known as the Runner’s High. The Runner’s High is a term used for that euphoric state which is experienced by many runners during a prolonged run. It’s a positive chemical reaction in the brain and the main reason many runners claim that they can think more clearly while running.
Negativity (or yelling at the troops) brings out the exact opposite. Many managers let loose on their people and then ask for a creativity and problem solving. Unlike the runner’s high, after such negative reinforcement, the brain isn’t able (at that moment) to think clearly and creatively. Yelling and negativity reduces (eliminates) the good chemicals and it usually takes at least an hour for any possibility of creativity.
Statement #2 is much more effective. For starters, it involves the manager in the process by saying – "What do we have to do?" The statement is also pays a compliment and sets up a more conducive environment for problem solving and creativity.
Is it advisable to raise your voice?
Not really. Yelling and being emotional are two different animals. Emotion is good. Show some emotion to highlight the importance and create a sense of urgency. Your people will be much more willing to participate in a productive conversation.
That’s just the way it works!