The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Have you ever participated in a trust building exercise?  They have been the craze for years.  There have been a few fun ones, like Escape Rooms, but there have also been a few you wish to forget, like “trust fall.” Seriously, who enjoys blindly falling backwards hoping someone will catch us?!   

Team building exercises are a great way to form relationships and build reciprocity. But developing trust takes time—much longer than one afternoon—and activities alone are not how a foundation of trust is established. Building an effective team starts by asking thoughtful questions. Those questions spark conversation, providing team members an opportunity to share bits of information about themselves, and over time, leading to more trust and engagement—improving team productivity along the way.

Whether you’re a veteran in your career or just starting out, one of the most helpful things you can do is continue your professional growth. Our team enjoys many forms of professional development, and we find one of the quickest ways to grow is by reading.  At The Center for Sales Strategy (CSS), you’ll find a book in our hands most of the time. 

Reading helps you develop empathy, gain valuable exposure to other perspectives, and increases verbal intelligence—all of which make you a better leader. Some of the most influential leaders make reading a top priority and understand the importance reading has on their success. Bill Gates reads at least 50 books a year! He is instrumental in getting other business leaders to jump on the “reading bandwagon.” If you’re ready to broaden your mind and expand your professional development, take a look at these books that our team recommends.

Telecommuting, flexible work environments—both fancier terms for working remotely—is the new normal for many of us. By now, you’ve gotten a taste for what working from home entails. And whether you choose to admit it or not, some of you have decided that remote work isn’t as great as it sounded just a few weeks ago.

At first, working quietly in your pajamas seemed enticing—even productive—then the silence set in, and you missed all the chaos. Most people do! Knowing how important socializing is, how do you keep that feeling intact with your team in a time of social distancing?

In 0.50 seconds, Google produces approximately 20,000,000 results for the term ‘employee engagement.’ Obviously, employee engagement is a hot topic. At the core of employee engagement are company values. These values determine the why, how, and what of the company.

Elevated levels of employee engagement are positively correlated with better business results. Meaning the higher the level of engagement, the better the chances of meeting or exceeding company goals. In an Employee Confidence Survey conducted by Glassdoor, 53% of current employees are confident they could find another job quickly. Simply put, if you don’t give your employees a reason to stay, they won’t!

What image comes to mind when you hear the words “burnout?”

Burnout is defined as an individual’s response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors within the workplace. It doesn’t simply happen from being bored or from working too many hours.

Studies increasingly indicate other factors are behind this work epidemic and employee burnout has reached record levels. It’s so common that people in all industries and in all positions are susceptible to burnout.

Being able to spot employee burnout and prevent it is essential if you want to maintain a positive work environment and keep the best talent on your team.

Setting your New Year’s Resolutions?  Did you add exercise more frequently to your list? We are here to help you!

Many studies show that exercising your brain is a key to professional development. One of the best ways to do this is to read a good book. In this age of podcasts and blogs, it is still a good idea to set aside time to go deeper than surface information and picking up a good book gives you more in-depth insight and provides ideas for your personal growth.

Wouldn't it be great if you could snap your fingers and change the behaviors of those you manage? Well... maybe... but you can't. Since you can’t directly change the behaviors of others, it is vital that you concentrate on changing your own behaviors. This will make the biggest difference in your relationships with others and will help propel them to success. 

This isn’t some top-secret tip that we've been hiding all this time, but it is an important one to keep at the forefront as you move into a new year and evaluate your management style. Think about this, "Are you conscious of your own behavior and how it's perceived by those you manage?"

Managers often reach out to us looking for creative ways to recruit people to their companies. Unfortunately, most wait until they are in need, when in reality, consistent searching and recruiting to keep their talent banks full would not only prepare them for the future, but also save them money and time when the time comes to fill a position on their team.

Do you love baseball? I do. As this season winds down and teams head to the playoffs, I am already thinking of next spring and the first pitch. I always wait with anticipation to see how the team will perform every year. Will we have a winning season and make the playoffs in the fall? Do we have the right players to be a winning team?