The Revolving Door of Unaccountability
Years ago, when I was a District Manager for Critical Care America, every six months or so I would get a new VP of Sales for a boss. So, after my fourth new boss in a year and a half, I began to wonder if I should implement all the new directives from the new leader, or simply wait him out!
Unfortunately, this trend still occurs as the average tenure of sales leaders is very short– less than 2 years for Vice Presidents of Sales. We frequently hear about the cost of sales rep turnover, which in many health care industries is 25% to 35% or higher annually, and how that turnover dramatically impacts the top and bottom lines for organizations.
But, we seldom hear about the cost of turnover of the managers and directors and VP’s who lead the sales teams, and the negative impact that has on the sales folks beneath them. Since I have moved around some in my career, I am qualified to speak about this topic, but I am much more interested in your thoughts on this issue.
Please comment and let me know your thoughts. Does turnover in the sales management ranks of a company have a negative impact? If so, how much impact does it have? A lot, or a little?
Thanks for sharing, Bill
Bill,
You ask one of those “it depends” questions, but for the most part there’s a significantly negative impact. When a good leader leaves, of course it hurts. But… the positive impact of a good leader’s inspiration and mentoring lasts for long time; maybe even for an entire career. When a bad leader leaves there’s also a negative impact. Bad breath truly is better than no breath. Longer term, though, a bad leader’s departure is good thing.
What’s been most interesting to me is what happens when a mediocre leader leaves. It seems to have the least negative impact. Maybe because everyone was and continues to muddle along according to his or her own plans and strategies…
From another perspective, both top tier and bottom tier sales professionals tend to perform well or poorly pretty much regardless of the quality or tenure of the leader. It’s that mass in the middle that’s impacted the most. High management turnover hurts this bunch – sometimes badly. They need CONSISTENT coaching and CONTINUOUS attention. It gets even worse typically, when the new leader arrives. That person will naturally be drawn to the top performers since they’re paying the bills and are the best source of insights into best practices. The worst performers will also draw attention. Nothing like demonstrating there’s a new sheriff in town by firing a few folks.
It can easily be six months till the new leader gets to know that middle 1/3. And if the tenure of the leader is six months, those that need a leader most never really get one.
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Great points, Todd! So, from your perspective, those middle third folks really are the most impacted by management turnover. I have to agree. Thanks for commenting! Bill