We’ve gotten a few emails recently from VP’s of Sales asking about their competencies. Here’s an excerpt:
“You are talking a lot about leadership competencies and skills in general–but I’m VP of Sales. I don’t feel like I get much attention when it comes to leadership development. So what should I be working on?”
Here’s our recommendation: Go through the list below and check those that apply to your position. Since we don’t know you and can’t attest to your inventory of competencies, you’ll have to rely on your self-honesty as to whether you have those or not.
This work come from Hogan Assessments that we administer to all Coaching clients. We’ve also recommended whether you should be high or moderate on this scale.
This is broken down into Skills and Values. These are not an exhaustive list but will help you check out your own desires.
On the right is a sample from the Assessment so you can get a sense of what is measured.
Adjustment (Skill)
Concerns your ability to maintain stable moods. High in adjustment means you can adapt and maintain calm, even in times of stress. Does it matter if you fly off the handle? Does it matter if you let your stress affect others? You want to be Moderate to High.
Ambition (Skill)
This concerns taking initiative, being competitive and seeking leadership roles. If you’re LOW in Ambition, you won’t exert your influence appropriately. If you’re too high, you’ll steam-roll people. Moderate to High here.
Sociability (Skill)
Concerns talkativeness, social boldness and need to be the entertainment. This is usually the High I (from DISC), It’s the “outgoingness” measure. Someone high in this builds alot of friendships. But could talk too much. Moderate to High.
Interpersonal Sensitivity (Skill)
High in this means you are so sensitive to your words that you may candy-coat things. Low means people are afraid of you–and won’t open up around you. Moderate to High.
Prudence (Skill)
Concerns being conscientious, dependable and rule-abiding. Someone high is very cautious. Low scores reflect extreme flexibility about rules–maybe too much so. It becomes hard for you to enforce rules set on others. Low here. Why? You want to be a risk taker. If you aren’t achieving your goals, it may be because you haven’t taken enough risks.
Altruism (Value)
This is about your need to help others achieve their goals. Chances are, if you’re a sales leader, you have people who report to you. The best leaders are those who help others. You want Moderate to High here.
Commerce (Value)
This is the motivation of money. You want to be high here. If you have budget or P&L responsibility, then you’d best have it as a driver. You want to be High.
Affiliation
This concerns networking as a driver. As VP, you are probably working with others in your company–or in other companies. Today, networking is vital to building relationships that can help you and your business. Should be High.
Here’s the bottom line. You need to be highly aware of your skills and values. If you’re not, here’s what will happen:
- You’ll get frustrated because people won’t follow you on your mission.
- You’ll get frustrated because you’ll be unmotivated and won’t know why.
- You’ll experience stress — remember stress occurs when your skills/values don’t match the requirements of the role you’re in.
- You won’t bring your best game to the field.
Good luck. Call us if you want an Assessment run on you. It’s quite inexpensive compared to the value it is by knowing more of your personal makeup. We’re at 317.575.0057.
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