The one skill needed for the 21st Century team

A client of mine has kept me extremely busy over the past few months. A large corporation has asked me to help educate engineering leaders (and their employees) about how to sell the work their teams do. Of course, they don't use the words "sell stuff." It's usually, "can you help my team explain our value proposition?" Whatever the reason behind the request, it typically has a flavor of "my boss doesn't think we're as valuable as I think we are." Fearing the inevitable "re-org", I think this organizational uncertainty is a fascinating trend that will continue to grow in corporate America. Whether you work for yourself or someone else, selling is a timeless skill, and modern technology has just put every team on an equal playing field. That means that if built the right way, your team can not only survive but thrive in almost any organization.

Important note: I define "sell" as the ability to move another person to take an action they wouldn't have otherwise taken. Some might call this influence or power. To me, sales is caring enough about your client to know what they need to do differently and convincing them to do it.

Over a century ago, Henry Ford pioneered the idea of creating an assembly line. Employees showed up, did what they were told and got paid for it. The key, of course, was in the ability of a few smart people to break up very complicated work into smaller and repeatable tasks. This drove down production costs, made average people car buyers, and made a few people very rich.

It worked so well for Ford (and their employees), that soon after, other companies followed suit. Even as technology advanced, we looked for ways to follow the industrial model Ford popularized. For the entire 20th century, this is simply how work got done. You didn't need to know how to sell in this model. Rather, you needed to know how to follow instructions.

While many of us likely take for granted the smart phones in our pockets, I think it's important we step back and acknowledge the incredible opportunity we have. This little device has connected you with over a billion people on the planet. You have the opportunity to meet new people, develop new ideas and build your influence. That's power.

For those who work for themselves, we can appreciate the opportunities this connectedness affords us to grow our businesses and networks.

But what if you work for someone else? What if you work for a large company?

What I think communication technology like the internet and mobile devices has done is make the industrial model Henry Ford pioneered too unstable. Companies that operate as one big organizational chart will soon die under the weight of their own unnecessary bureaucracy. The pace of business continues to quicken meaning new initiatives fail faster and teams' life spans have gotten shorter. Many have started to recognize this and the number of reorganizations has skyrocketed.

The concept of a reorganization is so intriguing to me. In the corporate world, a "re-org" is synonymous with a merger or acquisition. A new regime is established and determines who will come along with them. Too many corporate managers think re-orgs are something out of their control. I disagree.

You can make your team immune to organizational changes if you do one thing, create a business so valuable that people wouldn't dare dismantle it.

It was refreshing to be approached by leaders who recognized this and knew one thing many corporate leaders don't seem to get...

Your team of Engineers are all in sales now. Teach them to sell.

Your workplace may still have organizational charts stuffed in PowerPoint slides on an internal web site. However, be honest with yourself. You know those don't dictate the work of people. Those organizational charts don't decide which employees can interact. Companies can no longer control who gets access to certain people and information. This has put small corporate teams in a unique position to be in control of their destiny, at least more so than ever before. The teams that not only survive, but thrive amidst change, will be those that have the most influence.

The key to building the 21st century team

Organize your team around influencers, those that can connect and sell to those in your company. These are the routers in your teams. These are the people everyone wants on their project. Choose to organize your team around them. And if you don't think you have anyone on your team like that, you're probably wrong.

Teams today are organized around influencers. The best way to grow your influence is to gain trust.

People like Susan Cain and Dan Pink have already proven you don't need to be a slick-talking extrovert to be a good sales person. Technology has also empowered your customers. Many times, they can be just as much an expert in your area as you. Today, people look for their salesperson to be a partner and trusted advisor. They need to know you care. They need to trust you.

If you are trying to increase your influence at work, remember the cost of influence is trust, and it comes at a premium. We tend to trust those:

who tell the truth
who are generous
who keep their promises.

Trust is a fragile thing, too. Lying, being selfish and breaking your promises are certain ways to break trust you may never get back.

During my most recent workshop, one of the participants said, "all this sales stuff just sounds like being a good person." She was right. Sales isn't hard if you embrace the right mindset. Your business is about serving something far greater than yourself. If you (and your employees) genuinely believe that and commit to serving others that follow you, your influence will build. You will find it easier for your stories to spread because you won't have to work as hard to spread them. You may even see your brand and cause grow.