Taking Off Your Sales Training Wheels
posted in Leadership, Sales, Training
Some time ago, my daughter was learning how to ride a bike. Like most parents, I started her very slowly. I bought her the smallest bike with training wheels we could find so she would not fall and hurt herself. Within two days, she was riding all around the neighborhood and had effectively mastered the art of riding her new vehicle on wheels. Shortly thereafter I went out to buy her a larger bike that she could grow into over time. After I attached the training wheels, she eagerly jumped on and within less than a week was riding it all over the neighborhood. Now while my daughter had quickly figured out how to ride her new bike, I was very cautious about taking off the training wheels too early. After four months or so of listening to my little girl beg and plead with me to remove these support mechanisms from her bicycle, I reluctantly did so. As I nervously held onto her as she started to peddle without training wheels for the first time, she demanded that I let her go. I did and was waiting for her to immediately lose her balance and fall over onto the ground. However, as I watched her pull away from me she composed herself beautifully and proceeded to ride her bike around our driveway, our sidewalk and then into our street. She never fell down! It was amazing to watch my little girl turn into a big girl right before my eyes. Later that day one of my neighbors saw my daughter riding with a sense of new found freedom and asked me how she learned how to do it. I paused, smiled and said, “I just removed her training wheels.”
After thinking more about this episode, I could not help but relate it to business. How many times have I been holding back my team members from accomplishing greater things in their lives? How often am I the person who does not believe they can do more? Could I be holding my associates back from greater heights?
Since then, I have tried to stop putting fences around what I think people can accomplish. I have intentionally stood in the background more and simply let my associates pursue their vision. While I will always be available for assistance and support, I realized that I might be limiting them in terms of reaching their maximum capabilities. And what if they do fall down? So what! People will always encounter obstacles along the way in life. Failing does not have to be permanent and in fact many times people have to face defeat before accomplishing their ultimate mission. So as you read and consider this article, do yourself a favor and ask: “Am I putting imaginary training wheels on my people that might be limiting their growth and/or overall organizational development?” If yes, remember the story of the father who amazingly watched his once young daughter ride her bike by herself into the land of infinite opportunities.