Self Reflection

While I was laying on the floor in yoga this morning, a thought crossed my mind regarding my current client makeup. I trust my intuition more and more as I have gotten older so I felt it was important to take a few minutes after I left the class to reflect a bit on this message.

My current practice includes working with several sales managers and leaders and their staff in the non-profit world. To many people these two "categories of personality types" would clash with each other as there is a general perception that sales people are focused only on "getting the deal, closing the sale, it's all about me, I bring the most value to the company because if it weren't for me, we wouldn't keep growing, etc", completely opposite of charities. In the nonprofit world, the people who work in this field are passionate about helping others - selfless, giving, being, compassionate, etc.and would struggle in many parts of a sales environment given how they operate.

 I lived in the world of business development/sales for about 16 years. These assumptions were not how I operated as a successful sales person. I built long-lasting relationships with my clients and it was always all about them, including the in-house clients (employees).  I was trained and practiced never to be pushy, slick, close the deal at all costs or be self-centered. Sales people are typically extroverts and we like being with people so we typically build relationships with others easily. Our self-confidence and self-motivated styles can sometimes be perceived as selfish or self-serving but in many cases this is not true. Because I lived and breathed sales for so long and was well trained as well, I really enjoy coaching sales professionals and their staff. Our energies match very easily; I love pushing them to think outside of the box and have them dig deeply to think about what's really important in what they are doing and how they are perceived as a leader and success.

Since I was very young, giving back in the service of others has always been very important to me and should be for every human on earth. We are all born to this world to be in the service of others and many still need to figure that out. I started out volunteering with the Red Cross in my twenties. So another natural fit for me is the area of non-profits, helping the leaders be great leaders, helping them create cultures of excellence and getting outside people to be involved with the charities.

So sitting back and self-reflecting, I find it rewarding that I see the value of what they bring to me as a human and as a coach. There are lots of great lessons being learned and practiced that benefits both groups of people.