The Best Christmas Present You Can Give Your Sales Team

by Chris Young - The Rainmaker

Is radical candor.

Right now you may be thinking, "Chris... How do "candor" and "Christmas present" fit together?"

Radical_Candor_-_The_best_Christmas_present_you_can_give_your_sales_team.jpgAside from the obvious spiritual meaning, I like to believe the spirit of Christmas is caring about others. You care about the people who count on you, right?

Of course you do.

If you truly care about your colleagues - particularly your subordinates, you will maximize use of candor. It is your moral obligation to tell your colleagues the truth about their performance and how they can improve. 

I have written about the importance of candor previously - "How To Turbo-Charge Your Sales Coaching With Candor".  The best ideas are borrowed from past bosses and excellent books written by visionaries like Jack Welch. I read Welch's powerful book, Winning and it accelerated my thinking.

Recently my thought process about candor was profoundly-accelerated by Kim Scott. Her approach is one that anyone can immediately implement.

 

Kim Scott's concept of Radical Candor must be immediately implemented into your sales culture.

FastCompany's article, Former Googler Lets Us In On The Surprising Secret To Being a Good Boss shares an incredibly powerful and easy way to create what Kim Scott (@kimballscott) calls "bullshit-free zones" using Radical Candor. FastCompany's article is reprinted with permission from First Round.

Following is a Scott's 21-minute presentation from First Round's CEO Summit. Like you, I cringe when I see a video clip requiring more than 3-4 minutes of my attention. Well...  If there is a good scotch or bourbon showcased, I can hang in there.

Make the time right now. If you do not watch this right now, you may fail to do so in the future and then you and your sales team would miss out. 

 

Ignition requires both spark and fuel. 

Radical candor is the "fuel" and your mindset and willpower are your "spark". Millions of management and self help books are published and unread or worse yet - read and ignored due to lack of willpower.

Scott suggests that feedback can have a negative connotation. Guidance is something most of us long for. Summon your willpower. 

Use the gift of radical candor to accelerate 2016 to be your team's best year ever.