What makes a leader truly exceptional across various capabilities? Drawing from extensive experience, work by consultants, and the latest insights, let’s explore the characteristics that elevate leaders beyond adequacy.

 People Leadership

Goal-Setting and Performance Management

Exceptional leaders set clear, high-performance expectations and communicate these consistently. They don't just monitor performance; they actively challenge and support their team, transforming "good" reps into "great" ones. They are proactive in helping reps develop action plans to meet goals and regularly check in to ensure progress.

Coaching and Development

An outstanding leader invests time in regular one-on-one and informal coaching. They use interactive methods like role-plays and ride-alongs, leveraging high performers to model skills for others. They maintain robust development plans with concrete actions and follow-ups, and they consistently seek and provide honest feedback to foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Talent Management

Top-tier leaders recognize the detrimental effects of poor performance and act swiftly to address it. They use creative methods to find high-quality talent that aligns with specific business needs and inspire the best external talent to join their team. Their decisiveness and ability to excite and engage new hires set them apart.

Culture Leadership

Exceptional leaders foster a "customer-first" culture, coaching their teams to be partners in growth for their clients. They create an environment where issues are openly discussed, and solutions are collaboratively found. They empower their reps, avoid micromanagement, and consistently recognize and reward outstanding performance, reinforcing positive behaviors and achievements.

Sales leaders, especially front-line sales leaders, should spend 50%+ of time on people leadership. The capabilities above are especially easy to demonstrate while executing the methods below:

1. 1v1s

2. Team meetings

3. Hiring

4. Informal interactions

Sales Leadership

Relationship and Network Building

Using personal experience and proven techniques, these leaders regularly coach their teams on building strong relationships with C-level executives. They systematically cultivate key internal and external relationships crucial for growth and frequently represent the company at industry events, enhancing the company’s network and influence.

Resource Allocation

These leaders balance time effectively between coaching, development, and administrative tasks. They develop processes that help reps prioritize high-impact opportunities and proactively share resources and best practices across teams. Their focus ensures that reps spend most of their time on high-value selling activities.

Product Architecture and Industry Expertise

Exceptional leaders educate themselves on all solutions in the portfolio and shape deals to meet client needs effectively. They keep the team informed about industry trends and product innovations, steering sales priorities towards strategic initiatives. They actively share insights and guidance, ensuring the team remains competitive and knowledgeable.

Account Planning and Strategy

These leaders balance short-term goals with long-term growth strategies. They tailor their coaching to individual needs, conduct sample sessions, and enforce the use of standardized planning tools. Their strategic vision and personalized coaching drive consistent performance and goal achievement.

 Super-Selling

Exceptional leaders take initiative to ensure positive negotiation outcomes and coach reps using personalized strategies. They spot bad deals quickly and guide reps on maintaining deal quality throughout the negotiation process, ensuring high standards and successful outcomes.

Often sales leaders that come from a background as an individual contributor have greater credibility and performance in the area of sales leadership capabilities. However, these leaders must be careful to avoid selling for their reps. A leader should instill a sense of ownership over selling and result in their people. The capabilities above are especially easy to demonstrate while executing the methods below:

1. Sales call ride-alongs

2. Internal interactions

3. External networking events and learning opportunities

4. Account plan reviews

Pipeline Management and Forecasting

Pipeline Management and Forecasting

These leaders proactively build and manage the pipeline, generating insights from performance data. They coach reps on the importance of data organization and meet regularly to review pipeline progress. Their accurate and reliable forecasting helps maintain a steady flow of opportunities and growth.

Once a team has a great product to sell and has hired the best people the next remaining determiner of success is pipeline. At times sales leaders might spend a large amount of time focused on pipeline and pipeline creation. This focus should reduce to become more balanced with sales leadership once the business reaches a business-as-usual state. The capabilities above are especially easy to demonstrate while executing the methods below:

1. Forecasting calls

2. Pipeline reviews

3. Pipeline creation

4. Metric reviews

A version of this content in deck form with some additional insights and a rubric for rating leadership is available here: Leadership Capabilities and Methods - George Ferko - June 15 2024.pdf. By mastering these capabilities and methods, leaders not only excel themselves but also elevate their entire team's performance, creating a thriving and successful organization.