Leadership and sales advice from The Cure Podcast
By Pete Mercer
Strategic thinking is a critical tool for sales leaders. In a recent episode of The Cure Podcast, hosts Scott Adams and Brian Sullivan spoke to Colonel Kevin Benson – a retired professional soldier with a distinguished 30-year career in the United States Army – about the world of strategic thinking and leadership excellence. In addition to his military career, Benson is a graduate of West Point Military Academy, a contributor to prestigious journals, has a Ph.D. in American history, and is the author of the upcoming book, “Expectation of Valor.”
Here are some highlights from their conversation.
Choosing a leadership style
Picking the right leadership style can be the deciding factor on whether people are going to follow you or not. In this conversation, Sullivan brings up two people who can be distilled into their contrasting styles of leadership: famed football coach Tony Dungy and famed basketball coach Bobby Knight.
Famously, Bobby Knight was known for his antics on the court. Screaming and threatening his players from the sidelines, he drove his teams to win over 900 basketball games, including three NCAA championships.
Tony Dungy, who led the Indianapolis Colts to the Super Bowl, is known for focusing on his personal values and the positive impact he can make.
Both leadership styles have their place, but it’s important to understand how each approach can be used successfully. While the Tony Dungy approach is likely to be most effective in any situation, Benson notes that the Bobby Knight approach can work too. You just have to be able to back it up with your own actions.
Benson said, “There are leaders so toxic that it doesn’t matter how competent they are; they are jerks and people won’t follow them. The Bobby Knight style of leadership can be remarkably successful because people will follow him if he’s demonstrated his competence. It’s the classic situation where you don’t tell someone to do something that you’re not capable of doing yourself.”
Building a team
Every good leader is responsible for building a strong team equipped to hit goals and achieve company outcomes. This is one of the more challenging aspects of leadership because the way that you build your team will play out in the results your team provides.
Benson said, “You need to recognize your frame and what influences the way you think – while your frame enhances your ability, the nature of a frame also prevents you from seeing things that others who have a different frame than you might be able to see. Therefore, the total product of the team brings in more nuance.”
By focusing on the nuance that different people from different backgrounds can bring to the team, you can foster an environment that allows for everyone to share their perspectives and ideas. Leaders need to be able to recognize the limits of their own intelligence and accept the input from those around them – which is why it’s critical to build your team well.
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