Within the last few years, the line between our personal and professional lives has blurred. Remote work is only becoming more common, with many employees working in the same place they sleep, eat, and spend time with their families. This lack of physical separation makes it difficult for our brains to turn our outside lives off when we turn on our laptops in the morning.
For leaders, who must promote their teams’ productivity and performance, it’s especially crucial to stay focused and let go of distractions at work. But feelings and activities going on at home can get in the way of their ability to lead others.
Therefore, investing in personal development will also positively impact leaders’ ability to support reps and achieve their goals.
Lofty Expectations for Solutions Leaders
PreSales leaders have much to accomplish at work. They’ve got to build and manage their teams to effectively support colleagues and customers throughout the sales process. Between high-level team strategy meetings to one-on-one coaching sessions, it’s easy to feel like you’re being spread too thin.
And beyond the nitty gritty of daily work, leaders need to refine and master their own set of skills. Emotional intelligence is critical for impactful leadership, as is humility (you’ve got to own up to your own mistakes), impartiality (no playing favorites when you’re in charge of a group), and flexibility (change is inevitable!).
Personal Development for Professional Growth
Spinning all these plates often leaves little time for leaders to nurture their personal health — which eventually leads to burnout and subpar performance that spreads to the rest of your team.
The complex business and Solutions landscape requires SC leaders to be consistently on the ball. While many in today’s workforce seek out professional development opportunities, personal development has widespread, game-changing benefits.
Self-awareness
Working on personal growth forces you to look inward and reflect on your strengths and weaknesses. Knowing yourself on a deeper level means you hold yourself accountable, and can accept feedback openly, promoting honesty and transparency across your team. Recognizing where you excel will also inform how you solve problems and make critical decisions moving forward.
Provides direction
Personal development can also inspire new goals and ideas, creating direction for both yourself as an individual and for your team. With SCs on your team, you can set measurable and attainable objectives — then work backwards to create roadmaps for getting there. With a clear path forward, all will feel more motivated and productive.
Lead with confidence
Opening yourself up to learning and growth will restore faith in your own abilities. Bettering yourself improves vital skills that impact how you carry yourself through life and work. This sense of certainty is inevitably passed along to your SCs, motivating them to do their best. And ultimately, self-improvement facilitates trusting relationships with the members of your team.
Improves mental and physical health
Just as personal matters can bleed into work, anxiety or frustration at work can affect your home life and lead to unhealthy habits. When you log off for the day feeling overwhelmed or irritable, there’s little energy or motivation to get up and move or catch up with loved ones. Then you bring it to work with you again the next day. Thus begins the vicious cycle that quickly becomes hard to break.
Possibly the most significant benefit of personal development is the mental boost. Feeling better mentally means you bring your best self to every aspect of your life: home and family, social interactions, and of course, work.
Get Started This February
PSLC is kicking off a year full of great content with our first Summit, hosting sessions about topics not often covered in leadership training and development. Leadership Now is designed specifically for PreSales leaders, featuring keynote speakers, panel discussions, and workshops focused on the latest trends and strategies.
Collaborate more effectively with your team and across functions in your organization, make an impact no matter who — or where — your SCs are, and keep morale and productivity high in uncertain times.