Yesterday I ran a virtual session on the inner game of selling and managing sales teams. As a coach I'm often asked to help individuals who have burnt out. Now there are many reasons for this, but the endless cycle of external targets and pressures to hit deadlines can lead to a near constant cycle of the body producing cortisol and adrenaline, which in the end can leave a person in a near constant state of stress which can manifest itself in many ways including anxiety or a total lack of motivation.
This can be solved but it's not simply a matter of "pulling yourself together" or "getting a grip".
What confuses people, especially high performers, is that they used external targets (known in coaching psychology as 'extrinsic motivation') very successfully in the past and they can't understand why they aren't working anymore?
The simple truth is:
Extrinsic motivation (external targets) only work for a percentage of people for a percentage of time.
Now don't get me wrong short term, external, stretching targets can work, but only for so long.
When I coach sales people we often do an exercise asking them about who is on their team, who is helping them to hit their goals, who is providing them with good advice, who is looking out for them?
It's often no surprise that when we list their team - family, friends, and colleagues their boss is nowhere to be seen...
If you're a manager or boss, do you know what that means?
You are on the opposing team.
If you would like help, Marc provides individual and team coaching that delivers tangible results.