『Why Your Sales Team is Underperforming — Patrick Lencioni on Working Genius』のカバーアート

Why Your Sales Team is Underperforming — Patrick Lencioni on Working Genius

Why Your Sales Team is Underperforming — Patrick Lencioni on Working Genius

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概要

“You know, at the core of Working Genius, what it does is it allows us to avoid guilt and judgment—guilt about ourselves and judgment of others.” That’s Patrick Lencioni, bestselling author and organizational health expert, talking about his breakthrough Working Genius productivity framework on the Sales Gravy podcast. If you’re leading a sales team, this explains why high performers thrive in some roles and burn out in others. Right now, you probably have high performers who are miserable, rockstars who’ve lost their spark, and top reps who suddenly can’t hit quota. And you’re wondering—did you hire wrong, did someone lose their edge, or do you need to have “the conversation”? What if the problem isn’t the person at all? The Real Reason Your Best People Are Struggling Not all work is created equal, and your sales reps aren’t wired to do all of it. Lencioni stumbled on this insight while reflecting on himself. He’d show up to work loving his job and the people he worked with, yet swing from energized to frustrated without understanding why. His colleague asked, “Why are you like that?” Over a few hours, Lencioni and his team pinpointed six distinct types of work. Depending on which type you’re doing, you’re either energized or drained. Five years later, over 1.5 million people have taken the Working Genius assessment. Why? Most organizations force talented people into work that drains them, then blame them when they struggle. Most sales leaders hire a closer for their ability to seal deals, then wonder why they can’t prospect. They promote a quota-crusher into management, then watch them implode under administrative responsibilities. Or move an account manager into new business development and act shocked when performance tanks. The talent was there all along, but their positioning was wrong. Six Types of Work—and Why Most People Only Excel at Two Patrick Lencioni identified six distinct types of work that exist in every organization: Wonder (W): Spotting opportunities, asking big-picture questionsInvention (I): Creating new solutions, processes, or systemsDiscernment (D): Evaluating ideas, figuring out what will workGalvanizing (G): Rallying the team, getting people movingEnablement (E): Supporting others, clearing obstacles, making things happenTenacity (T): Following through, finishing tasks, closing deals Here’s what matters: most people are strong in two, competent in two, and are drained by the remaining two. And there are no good or bad geniuses. Your closer with natural Tenacity isn’t more valuable than your strategic thinker with Wonder and Discernment. Your rep who rallies the team (Galvanizing) isn’t better than the one who quietly enables everyone behind the scenes. Different geniuses are valuable in different ways. The goal is to build a team where all six are represented, and people work in their areas of strength. Force someone into work that drains them, and sales team performance tanks. Leave them in their genius zones, and energy and results skyrocket. Stop Judging Your People (And Yourself) You’ve probably got a rep right now who frustrates you. Maybe they’re brilliant in client meetings but terrible at following up. Maybe they generate incredible account strategies, but can’t stand the daily grind of outbound prospecting. Maybe they close deals but never update the CRM. Your first instinct is to judge them. “They’re not coachable.” “They don’t care about the details.” “They’re lazy.” Working Genius removes that judgment. It shows you that their struggle isn’t about character—it’s about wiring. A rep isn’t bad at follow-up because they don’t care. They’re bad at it because Tenacity isn’t their genius. A rep isn’t a bad team player because they don’t remove obstacles for others. Enablement isn’t their strength. And here’s the part most sales leaders miss: you need to stop judging yourself, too. You feel guilty that you hate certain parts of your job. You think you should be better at forecasting, or administrative work, or whatever drains you. But guilt about your own limitations makes you harder on your team. When you accept that you’re not built to excel at everything, you can extend that same grace to others. You stop punishing people for being human and start positioning them for success. Start With Self-Reflection Which activities give you energy? Which leave you drained? I’ll be honest about my own wake-up call. I travel over 300 nights a year, giving keynotes and working with clients. Last summer, I got to the point where I thought I was going to have a mental breakdown. Days stacked with short calls, client check-ins, alignment meetings, and podcasts. I was furious when I got to the office, and furious when I left because those days completely destroy my brain. I’m a wonderer and a thinker. I need space to ideate. Without that time, I can’t function. So I implemented a new ...
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