Calm in the chaos. Consistent despite distractions. Self-aware and other aware. These aren’t just admirable traits; they’re the defining attributes of emotionally mature sales leaders. And in today’s challenging sales environment, they’re not optional—they’re mission critical.
When sales leaders lack emotional maturity, the cost is steep. Gallup reports that managers account for at least 70% of the variance in team engagement, which directly impacts revenue, retention, and development. In fact companies with highly engaged teams (often led by emotionally mature leaders) experience 23% higher profitability.
Take a closer look at the attributes below and ask yourself:
Are You Calm In the Chaos?
As a former VP of Sales with seven direct reports, I experienced both ends of the emotional maturity spectrum. My emotionally mature sales managers were my all-weather players. Regardless of the weather, rain or shine, they stayed steady and kept their teams focused on the sales mission.
The less mature managers---not so much. I referred to them as my fair-weather players. When things were good, they were great. But the moment adversity hit, I wasn’t solving just one problem—I had two: the actual business challenge and their attitude. And because emotions are contagious, their negativity quickly infected the team. Pretty soon, reps spent more time complaining than prospecting.
Are You Consistent Despite Distractions?
Emotionally mature leaders don’t cave into instant gratification activities chasing the latest shiny object. They don’t allow themselves to get distracted by trying to put out every fire happening at the company, often cancelling important coaching sessions with their team or not investing enough time in preparing for group meetings.
The emotionally mature leader is focused and understands the greatest return on investment is the time invested with their team members. That investment of time often prevents a few of those repeat fires. These sales leaders have mastered the EQ skill of delayed gratification. They put in the work of consistent coaching to earn the reward of a high performing sales team.
Are You Self-Aware?
You’ve heard me say it before: “That which you are not aware of, you cannot change.”
Without self-awareness, a sales leader may never realize:
- Their communication style is triggering defensiveness in the team.
- Their excuses around delegation are the root cause for bottlenecks.
- Their inability to examine their own emotions affects their ability to read the emotions in another human being, resulting in lower trust and engagement.
When a leader lacks self-awareness, they almost always lack other-awareness. If you can’t recognize your own emotions, it’s difficult to recognize the emotional cues of your team—blocking deeper conversations and stronger relationships.
The good news is that emotional intelligence and maturity isn’t fixed.
It can be learned and improved.
And in a world where artificial intelligence is grabbing the headlines, let’s remember this: Until robots start giving birth to robots, leaders will still be managing human beings. Develop your emotional maturity because a mature sales leader is a successful sales leader.
Good Selling and Leading!
