What’s the most critical element in your new strategic account program’s success? Why do so many strategic account programs fail to deliver what’s expected for both partners? What do we need from our strategic account team leaders? How would Wonder Woman handle this challenge?
Many times, we need a superhero to lead our strategic account programs successfully. Do you think Wonder Woman would be a great strategic account team leader?
Wonder Woman understands the importance of leadership when building a high performing strategic account team. She leads by understanding the different needs of all her different stakeholders. She can work effectively with all the different members of her team.
Wonder Woman empowers others through helping them develop their own unique leadership capabilities and style. Strategic account leaders are lifetime learners and invest time in developing their team members to be excellent at what they do. Many use coaching to help others improve more quickly.
Today’s strategic account team leaders leverage technology to become more effective. Its paradoxical, but the more data we get, the farther away we get from deciding. Are your strategic account team leaders capable of focusing on what’s important? How comfortable are they making decisions with incomplete information?
Technology has allowed executives to avoid making decisions for much longer than in the past. Technology should help you accelerate your decision-making process, not slow it down. Your strategic account team leaders need to become more intuitive when making their decisions.
Wonder Woman is a visionary, she sees the world as it could be. Is your strategic account team leader a visionary? How do they help their clients and internal resources create a compelling vision with their partnerships? Multiple stakeholders with many agendas are becoming normal in many organizations. You need to help create a shared vision for all your team members.
Does your strategic account team leader have their own teachable point of view? How good is she at balancing different priorities and perspectives? Understanding the difference between sales, revenue and market share are just the beginning of the discussions with your strategic accounts.
Wonder Woman consistently shows courage in the face of danger. Courage is critical factor in leadership success today. Are your strategic account team leaders empowered to say no to their clients? I can’t tell you how many times strategic account team leaders’ decisions are overturned by their organizations’ leaders, only to fail upon implementation.
Strong strategic account leaders must have the courage to know when to say when. As leaders, you must learn to trust the people in the field’s decision. If you don’t trust them and their decisions, you may have the wrong person in charge of your strategic account.
Wonder Woman is an inspiration to people everywhere with her combination of strength, compassion, and wisdom. How does your strategic team leader inspire their team? Are they building on others’ strengths and experiences? It’s interesting, the more time your strategic team leader invests in understanding the different members of her team, the more successful she is in getting extraordinary results.
Wonder Woman attracts people to work with her. A great strategic account team leader attracts people to work with them. They are great at promoting the people on their team’s efforts. People who work with them feel appreciated. Their results speak for themselves.
They are gifted collaborators. It might be a team award, a day at the spa, or a nonprofit project, but these leaders know how to build team camaraderie. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.
Does your strategic account team leader increase their team’s energy and creativity? I saw of bunch of younger children attending the Wonder Women movie this weekend. Their energy was amazing. They thought they could do anything after seeing the movie. What happens as we grow up? Why do so few people possess the passion and the creativity they possessed as children? Can your strategic account leaders reignite their team members imagination?
Is your strategic account leader a connector? Are they able to see the bigger picture? Can they connect the dots? My technical leader is one of the best connecters I’ve ever known. He is always looking for ways of getting people together.
It doesn’t matter what project he is working on, he finds a way of getting the people on the team to get to know each other better. He creates an environment where people know each other better. He knows it’s much harder to say no when you know the other person. It’s almost like having a golden lasso!
Looking for a great time at the movie this weekend, check out Wonder Woman in a theater near you.
See you next week.