Becoming a Transformative Leader

05/11/23 • 45 min

Truly great leaders transform the people and teams that they work with. We’ve been lucky enough to have some conversations with some truly transformative leaders on the Revenue Builders Podcast. This week, we’re sharing some of our favorite golden nuggets from some memorable guests.

Tune in as MongoDB CRO Cedric Pech, War Veteran & Mentor Anthony Anderson, Former CEO of Iron Mountain & Chairman for Fairwinds Bob Brennan, and JD Brookhart talk emotions in times of chaos, different types of leadership and leadership issues, and how to help people reach their true potential. Learn what it takes to be a great leader on this episode of Revenue Builders.

Here are some key sections to check out:

01:08 Cedric Pech on transactional leadership vs transformative leadership

16:13 Anthony Anderson on emotions and understanding the why of everything he does

26:42 Bob Brennan on what it means to keep people from themselves

30:24 JD Brookhart on building trust in a team and how bad character can affect the morale of the entire team

Additional Resources:

Connect with Cedric Pech: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cedricpech/
Connect with Anthony Anderson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-anderson-441177129/
Connect with Bob Brennan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbrennan236/
Connect with JD Brookhart: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jd-brookhart-ba647977/
How to Lead through Economic Change: https://forc.mx/3M8NBrU

QUOTES

Cedric quotes a French author on training people on the sales process: “If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them task and work only but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea. When you define the sales process, when you train the people on qualifying things, these are all incredibly important things to do you make them competent at doing that.”

Anthony on navigating your environment in times of chaos: “This kind of what you're being told and what you're supposed to act on but ultimately what you're observing and what you're feeling. So some of the chaos of war is not just what's happening outside. It's what's happening in your heart and in your mind.”

Check out John McMahon’s book here:

https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064

Here are some key sections to check out:

01:08 Cedric Pech on transactional leadership vs transformative leadership

16:13 Anthony Anderson on emotions and understanding the why of everything he does

26:42 Bob Brennan on what it means to keep people from themselves

30:24 JD Brookhart on building trust in a team and how bad character can affect the morale of the entire team

Additional Resources:

Connect with Cedric Pech: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cedricpech/
Connect with Anthony Anderson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-anderson-441177129/
Connect with Bob Brennan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbrennan236/
Connect with JD Brookhart: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jd-brookhart-ba647977/
How to Lead through Economic Change: https://forc.mx/3M8NBrU

QUOTES

Check out John McMahon’s book here:

https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064

Previous Episode

Developing Elite Sales Habits with Richard Rivera, Part 2

Today we continue our conversation with Richard Rivera, Founder of GENNOW Sales Consulting and author of The Champion Sell. This time we discuss his formula for sales success: what he calls the E.L.I.T.E. method for aligning with the buyer. E.L.I.T.E. stands for Emotional Connection, Leading Vision, Inspiring Commitment, Trust Building, and Empowering Champions.

Tune in to this episode of Revenue Builders to hear Richard break down these 5 game-changing strategies in an insightful conversation with our hosts John Kaplan and John McMahon.

Here are some key sections to check out:

01:23 The 5 ELITE Sales Habits

07:02 Going deeper on emotional connection

14:27 Elite sellers allow buyers to visualize our solution in their world

20:52 Identifying integrated outcomes

29:18 Deals begin and end with trust

42:19 Addressing gaps of commitment

Additional Resources:

Connect with Richard Rivera on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-rivera-44532b1/
Read The Champion Sell by Richard Rivera: https://www.thechampionsell.com/
3 Skills Reps Need to Hit Revenue Targets in a Down Economy: https://forc.mx/3VjFnAd

QUOTES

Recognize the Survive, Thrive, Think pattern: “I've got to first disarm those survival instincts and the way I do that is I attach myself to the problems that they care about. In other words, what are they surviving in the job today? How many of us have been in an opportunity where we're presenting all of this really cool stuff and all of a sudden the buyer just pushes back and says you have no idea what I'm trying to deal with, I've got problems to solve.”

Be intentional with trust-building: “Trust is a force. Out of all the different emotions, whether it's stress, tension, or conflict, trust can make the kind of impact on a deal that will completely stop a locomotive in its tracks. We don't think of it that way, we think of it as this passive thing and say they like me, they trust me, we're good. No, trust is a force and you've got to respect it.”

Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064

Next Episode

Executing a Winning Strategy with Chuck Bamford

What makes a winning strategy? According to today’s guest Chuck Bamford, PhD, author of The Strategy Mindset 2.0, strategy is about developing and aligning on a competitive advantage that actually moves the needle in your customer’s experience. It’s aligning on strategy from the top down that can often be a challenge for sales organization.

Chuck is the author of multiple strategy books used in MBA and Entrepreneurship courses around the country. He joins us today to talk common pitfalls, new realities, and winning implementation processes for strategy. Tune in for some truly golden insights shared in this conversation with our hosts John Kaplan and John McMahon.

Here are some key sections to check out:

03:47 Defining strategy and how not to complicate it

16:06 The two disconnects in business

25:04 The importance of aligning goals with compensation

33:13 Avoid knee-jerk reactions during slow economic times

43:30 Hygiene around the ideal customer profile

50:08 Company culture tied to strategy

53:59 Creating a differentiation strategy

Additional Resources:

Connect with Chuck Bamford on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-bamford-ph-d-67b9811/
Get The Strategy Mindset 2.0: https://www.bamfordassociates.com/the-strategy-mindset-2-0
How to Enable Sellers to Execute on Your Revenue Strategy During Economic Change: https://forc.mx/3OfBtGR

QUOTES

Chuck on converting KPIs:

“I think one of the big disconnects in business is that everything that leadership does is hypothesis. They believe that if we invest here, here and here, and our employees do this, this and this, that as we move forward, the number of customers will go up or returning customers or our EBITA, but they don't want to address what the activities are, or to convert it to activity metrics.

Chuck on aligning with employees:

“I tell everybody that the entire game in alignment with all my employees, I'm trying to get as many employees as I can to buy into my strategy. And the entire game is that it fits with how they view the company in the world, and that they are compensated and rewarded for making that happen.”