7 Part Sales E-Course
Lesson 6: Being a Martyr Can Be Murder
"Work, work, work, all I do is work and nobody appreciates me," is a cry that is heard in more offices than I'd like to count. Unfortunately, yours may be one of them.
In Lesson 6 I'll help you understand why being a martyr can be stealing your time and resources and what to do about it.
When we think of martyrs the first thing that comes to mind is religion not business. However, the martyr syndrome is a behavior that can make managers, leaders and/or salespeople time deprived and results depleted.
In case you need a refresher...a martyr (for business purposes) is someone who will work, sacrifice and suffer, to show how devoted they are in order to get sympathy from others.
The problem is that the sales manager, project manager and/or leader must deal with this person in such a way as to show appreciation while getting them to actually produce.
Or...if I just described the martyr in you, how are you going to stop that behavior and start making money, progress and even - completing tasks (a novel idea to some!).
Example: I once started an international division and made the woman who brought me the idea President and let her set the agenda. After months of travel bills, proposals, communiqués and all kinds of busy work I asked her what she had accomplished and how much top-line revenue she had achieved.
Her answer was revealing. All she could do was talk about how much time she had spent doing this and that and how hard it was on her. The hours she worked she felt were outrageous. However, she could see her labors bearing fruit soon.
A month went by with the same martyrdom in her voice. Hmm...how could I get her to produce and yet keep her from collapsing? Easy - take the tasks, goals, agendas, etcetera, completely out of her hands and invite her to help me set them for her with the knowledge that I was going to control the outcome by letting her think that she was in control.
She bought my idea. Within the month was out on the street looking for a new position. Geez, was it a success or failure. Well...all the other folks in the organization were relieved. They didn't have to listen to Ms. Martyr anymore. She had set her own course (ok...I did...but she thought she did) and now my company could go about its business without someone zapping our time, money, resources and energy.
Within weeks we had a new MAJOR client, had four new people on board and a feeling of excitement that that part of the company hadn't had since it started (about six months prior).
So, if you or your people have a tendency towards wanting to jump into a fire just to show how hard you work. Take a step back and sit down with your manager or team leader (or if that's who you are...the people on your team, in your company or on your project) and set realistic, achievable, deadline defined goals that you monitor on a consistent basis. And, hold them and/or yourself accountable.
It'll save you time, money, resources, and angst!