Pages: 9

This book has been long in its genesis. The original idea behind it dates from nearly a decade ago when I started working with professionals from large global organizations, but I did not have such a dynamic and motivated group of writers until recently. Transformational Sales Leadership is the product of a writing course I have run for postgraduate alumni called Finding Your Written Voice. The course is a masterclass designed to equip business leaders with the linguistic and rhetorical tools to reconceptualize their professional trajectories and to excel in their line of work. Transformational Sales Leadership presents the work of alumni who have found their written voice. The contributions in this book outline the challenges of conventional sales models and promote visionary ways of thinking about sales specifically and business life in general. But Transformational Sales Leadership is more than a book about professional sales and about the leadership strategies that can transform practices in the industry. Although its 12 contributing authors are sales professionals, they are also postgraduates who are interested in the craft of writing and who want to tell 12 stories that reflect 12 different personal learning journeys. Transformational Sales Leadership transcends the concept of sales by looking at the profession in the embodied and narrated experiences of 12 individuals with a story to tell. These stories bring a range of perspectives to what it means to be a transformational leader and how sales professionals can share their academic learning to improve their organizations.

Pages: 21

This chapter focuses on one of the biggest leadership challenges of today’s time: the unpredictability and uncertainty of the digital future. Digitalization has created ample opportunities for people and businesses, communication and worldwide collaboration. Yet it also brought an unforeseen dynamic of accelerated change which everyone must address. New leaders as well as tenured leaders are struggling to navigate the wave of change. How can they deal with – or even better – prepare for the future? This chapter will focus on trust as the ultimate foundation which will help leaders to guide themselves and others to find their way through the new world.

Pages: 22

Literature has shifted over the writer’s past 40-plus-year career to view emotions as an acceptable topic in the workplace. This evolutionary shift is demonstrated through a market replete with books, social media, podcasts and workshops on the topic of emotions. This chapter endeavours to connect implications of this evolutionary shift to the work of sales professionals. Its content is drawn from an ethnographic study that examined the benefits of DISC, a behavioural styles assessment, used in the workplace. The impact on team effectiveness and relationships was demonstrated. This chapter may assist sales professionals in identifying methods for developing the skills necessary to work effectively with emotions.

Pages: 22

The SCARED SO WHAT model enables individuals to learn how to manage change for themselves, and it is available for sales leaders to use as a coaching mechanism in helping their own salespeople through corporate and personal change brought into the workforce. This chapter explains the personal change model and how it can be used as a tool in coaching sales members through change to achieve the best possible outcome for themselves as well as the organization. It is told through a story example using Willy Loman, a name that is akin to the sales career role of yesteryear. Loman is the leading character in the play Death of a Salesman. As our sales landscape is ever changing, let us see how this model can be a sales leader’s right-hand tool in managing change success for themselves and their team.

Pages: 17

This chapter explores the evolution of emotional intelligence over time. The author explores their own introduction to the concept of emotional intelligence, utilizing academic literature as well as professional experience. The chapter argues that not only is emotional intelligence necessary for success in both leadership and sales but we can, and should, test and hire for it. Finally, the chapter ends by briefly analysing the post-pandemic challenges associated with evaluating and enhancing an emotional intelligence skill set, arguing that in a world in which people are less connected in person, those with strong emotional intelligence skills will be better prepared for success in the future.

Pages: 15

This chapter examines the act of journalling from the perspective of a business coach practitioner who has journalled most of her life. In this chapter, the author presents evidence-based research to answer a key question (why journalling?) and consider it as a leader competency and competitive differentiator for organizations. Like a picture painting a thousand words, a well-executed case study can paint a better picture and add more clarity to a thesis. It is for this reason that the author included a business case study, using the lived experiences of participants to capture different perspectives, add greater depth and knowledge and validate the value of workplace journalling. The chapter concludes with discoveries that have come to light from the author’s research.

Pages: 17

This chapter explores the symbiotic relationship between storytelling and business. Myths are often observed through the lens of antiquity, however, this chapter implores the reader to view myth as a constant and evolving reality in the modern era to enhance an experience. When an interaction triggers a memory or an emotion, it is more likely to be remembered. There are many ways to tell a story, but how these stories are ingrained in our psyche and retold can have an impact on how they are remembered. It could be reasoned that without the foundation of myth, the story told becomes transactional, static and, arguably, holds less value.

Pages: 20

The following chapter tracks the influence of service-minded leadership actions on the author’s professional leadership journey. Driven to consider the needs and emotional well-being of others for as long as they can remember, Powell sees Daniel Goleman’s research on emotional intelligence within leadership styles as a natural platform for reflection. The chapter then examines the six primary leadership styles of Goleman’s research through the lens of the author’s personal experience in leading financial services sales teams, their observations of a monarch’s influence and the leadership demonstrated by a university department head. The author’s conclusion: in a conversation about leadership, service cannot be ignored.

Pages: 19

Waldemar Adams, a Senior VP for Customer Success at a global software company, discusses the shifting demands placed on leaders in modern business. According to Adams, there are various expectations of leaders, which have changed significantly over the past 30 years, influenced by changes in society, values and technology. He emphasizes the importance of storytelling for crafting an impactful message to bridge the communication gap between management and teams. Adams identifies the fundamental components of effective leadership, but he also points out that many people find it difficult to put these qualities into practice. To better comprehend the needs of their team, he advises leaders to engage in open dialogue, offer consistent feedback and enhance the quality and style of their communications. Adams also highlights various sources of research and literature that have helped him continually develop these skills in business.

Pages: 18

In a climate of digital disruption where we are faced with a continual need to adapt and reinvent ourselves, it’s important for us to make a shift away from outdated and stale leadership styles that are sometimes purely results-driven and move towards more modern and value-based leadership models. The idea that there is such a thing as a work/life balance and that the two aspects of life are separate fuels the notion that meaning and purpose is not found in a corporate career. We must attain a certain level of self-awareness and mastery in order to take steps to discover what motivates and drives us in our careers if we are to stay adaptable and passionate in these uncertain times without burning out. In order to do this, we need to examine where we are coming from, where we are going and how to get there. When we focus on why we are doing what we are doing as leaders, not just what and how (or goals and strategies), we begin to unravel a new blueprint that combines meaning and purpose with results and strategy, the only way to sustain career fulfilment while flourishing as company leaders.

Pages: 16

In this chapter, Barbara Crane explores a personal journey through change and the process of growth while experiencing a professional transformation journey. It draws parallels with Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s The Leopard (Il Gattopardo), which details the journey through the change of political circumstances and status in nineteenth-century Sicily: its effect is one that universally humanizes the challenges of change brought on by the evolving circumstances. The feelings and challenges are even more applicable to the professional world today, where blending into the political environment becomes a way to surmount the three main fears which affect professionals. This chapter delves deeply into why these fears exist and what organizations should do to foster transformation (or at least change) and support change agents. It also highlights how organizations “suffocate” innovative individuals by setting transformational expectations but providing only traditional tools and archaic measurement and performance standards. Finally, it looks at how “trial-and-error” and psychologically safe environments are the only conducive environments to foster growth and transformation and how they eliminate personal fears, enabling creativity and collaboration.

Pages: 18

This chapter explores leadership through a range of lenses: professional sports, a classic tale from nineteenth-century American literature, the financial challenges Ernest Shackleton surmounted and the author’s own experience as a leader in the Middle East sector of a global IT company. Based on a detailed journal the author kept during the time his company was moving towards an entirely cloud-based computing system, his case study provides vital lessons to anyone interested in mergers, particularly when they involve a large, multinational company. Utterly rejecting the idea that there was one specific model that translated to leadership success, the author, as he puts it, needed to get down to the “bare bones” of what leadership represented to him. In this case study detailing the highs and lows of managing change in a volatile time, he comes to understand the true meaning of leadership and recognizes that the creation of fellowship is paramount in motivating people.

Pages: 21

This chapter aims to demonstrate the significance of the process leaders ought to follow in acting as role models and being an essential aspect of leadership, focusing on the humanification of leadership. While we are in the midst of the transformation between the pre-digital and post-digital ages, leadership is in a perpetual crisis. The pace of change in our world has never been so fast, and it will disruptively force the business sector, the political sector and leadership in general to adapt in ways we cannot yet imagine. The world demands that humanity constructs new and differentiated knowledge and wisdom in the leadership domain. It is time to change how we think about leadership towards a positive reformation of leadership practice starting with leadership metanoia.