Southwestern Sales Talk

A few weeks ago, I dealt a glancing blow to the topic of how to teach people how to treat you.  In other words, we discussed expectations in a Southwestern Advantage recruiting context.  In other other words, we discussed unwritten rules people make up in their heads. 

Let’s go a bit deeper and explore how laying ground rules in advance can really enhance a working relationship. As a young student manager in the Southwestern Advantage program, I learned what worked and didn’t work when managing people mostly by trial and error.  Mostly from mistakes.  

Students have asked me, “How do you develop judgment?”

I say, “From experience.”

They ask, “And where do you get this experience?”

My reply, “From poor judgment.” 

After a series of badly-handled interpersonal encounters, opaque communications and poor working relationships with fellow students, I found it was 1) best to lay the ground rules first and 2) discover what made my recruit/friend/team member tick & ticked.  By the way, all of this applies also to parenting, coaching, managing and dealing with people in general.

 So, in a Southwestern Advantage team building scenario, I would have a meeting with my team member and discuss our preferences (ground rules) for how we should work together going forward.  It might sound like: 

“So Stephen, would it be OK if we talked about how we should work together this summer?  I was curious about how you like to be worked with and coached? In other words, what makes you tick? What are your preferences? 

“The flip side is I’m also curious about what you find irritating or frustrating about work relationships—maybe in the past.  In other words, what made you ticked?  What drove you crazy about a manager or coach in the past? 

“The reason I’m bringing this up is the better we understand each other on the front end, the fewer the frustrations later on. So maybe we can come up with a list of do’s and don’ts for working together.  Does that make sense?” 

Then I would literally get out paper, share preferences, and make a list.  Writing it down is always more powerful and lasting than just lightly discussing a topic once and dropping it. 

Whether you’re teaching a class, coaching a team, running an office, or parenting a child, figuring out what makes them tick or ticked is helpful.  Feel free to share your ideas or anecdotes. Certainly, in the context of building a team with Southwestern Advantage, laying the ground work first saves a lot of emotional upset later on and ensures a solid working relationship.

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