If you want to keep great salespeople, you need to do more than set targets and push for results. In this episode, I talk to Andy Reid – global sales leader, startup mentor and author of Success is for the Curious – about the leadership traits that work whether you’re running a global bank division or a two-person startup.

Andy shares why the best leaders are comfortable with their vulnerabilities, why you should stop trying to fix weaknesses, and how knowing yourself makes it easier to know (and grow) others. We cover curiosity, courage, and why you’ll get further finding the 1% that makes someone exceptional and doubling down on it.

How to lead with vulnerability and play to your team’s strengths

• Get clear on your own identity as a leader – people follow authenticity.

• Accept and own your weaknesses so you can hire to fill them.

• Focus on amplifying strengths rather than fixing weaknesses.

• Treat each person as an individual – find their “secret sauce” and help them use it.

• Use curiosity to get others talking; use courage to ask the hard questions.

Timeline

[02:09] – Why knowing your identity as a leader makes it easier for people to follow you
[04:11] – The most effective leaders are comfortable with their vulnerabilities
[07:39] – Why focusing on strengths beats fixing weaknesses every time
[10:29] – How happiness acts as a “success drug” for leaders and teams
[12:51] – The power of finding each individual’s 1% and amplifying it
[17:26] – Success as a “flow state” and how to recognise it
[18:53] – Curiosity and courage: the two traits every sales hire needs
[22:17] – The one message Andy would put on 10,000 billboards

Links & resources

• Andy Reid’s website: @andyreidcoaching

• Success is for the Curious – available at major booksellers

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