Many new managers assume that strong team performance will naturally get noticed, but this often isn't the case. The episode presents three detailed strategies to ensure your team's achievements and efforts are visible at higher levels in the organization.
1. Lack of Team Visibility: Managers often believe their team's performance will speak for itself. However, leadership may not always be aware of the hard work, challenges, and contributions your team is making. This is especially true when senior leaders are not closely involved in the day-to-day activities. As a result, teams can remain underappreciated despite delivering strong results.
2. Fear of Self-Promotion: Many managers worry about being perceived as boastful or overly self-promotional when they talk about their team’s achievements. This can prevent them from sharing valuable wins with leadership. The episode explains how to frame team accomplishments as learning opportunities for the larger organization, making it easier to share successes without feeling like you are bragging.
3. Navigating Organizational Structures and Timing: Many new managers struggle with knowing when and how to communicate their team’s accomplishments, especially during key moments such as promotion cycles or leadership discussions. Without this knowledge, it can be hard to advocate for promotions or strategic initiatives, leaving deserving team members overlooked.
Keys to Marketing Your Team
1. Position Wins as Best Practices: One way to market your team is by presenting their accomplishments as best practices that can benefit the entire organization. This allows you to share successes in a way that feels collaborative rather than boastful. For instance, if a team member develops a particularly effective sales technique, share it with larger teams or regions as a valuable insight. This not only elevates your team’s visibility but also positions them as contributors to broader organizational success.
2. Use Impactful, Digestible Emails: Another method is to send concise, bulleted emails to your direct leader or leadership teams. These emails should highlight specific wins or achievements that have had a tangible impact on the business, making it easy for your leader to forward them up the chain. By keeping the emails short and focused on the results, you create a simple way for your boss to promote your team without overloading them with details.
3. Leverage Sales Competencies to Justify Promotions: Use sales competencies to support discussions about team member promotions. By tracking key qualitative behaviors such as technical knowledge, ability to close, or seeking out new opportunities, you can present a clear case for why a team member deserves a promotion. When timed correctly—about two months before the promotion cycle or other key evaluations—this approach provides leadership with concrete evidence that can’t be easily overlooked.
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