Date of Award

5-24-2002

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Leadership (MAL)

Department

Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. Lori Lohman PhD.

Second Advisor

Majorie Mathison Hance

Abstract

According to Peter Drucker, Robert K. Greenleaf is known as the grandfather of the modern empowerment movement in business leadership. Greenleaf fervently believed that true leaders are those who lead by serving others. He was also a strong proponent of ethics and integrity in the ranks of managers/leaders.

A research study in the Journal of Marketing Management, Spring/Summer 1997, reported that the personal factor found to have the greatest influence in the performance of sales managers was training. This paper applies the Servant Leader Model to the demands of the sales leadership role. Traditional sales training concentrates on the mechanics of the sales manager role: How to set quotas, distribute territories, learn the sales reporting tools, etc. By adopting the model proposed in this paper the new sales manager will have a set of tools to deal with the "people" side of equation.

This paper looks at the Five Ways of Being presented by James A. Autry in his book The Servant Leader and develops a model that new sales managers can use to develop a mutually successful relationship with their sales team. The five ways, Be Authentic, Be Vulnerable, Be Accepting, Be Present and Be Useful, offer the new sales leader a template for action. A step by step guide that will allow them to forge a highly responsive relationship with their sales team based on the theory of one to one marketing. In the highly charged sales environment one size never fits all and new sales leaders will excel only if they are able to gain the trust and support of the people on their team. This model will give them the tools to inspire the people they serve to achieve outstanding results.

Identifier

SC 11.MAL.2002.Campanar.PA

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