Replacing high-performance selling with sustained human performance. Is it time?

I’ve had an intuitive itch for the past few months around the term “high performance” when used to describe sales professionals, and I’ve not been sure why.

After years of being described and describing myself as a high performer, it suddenly didn’t sit well. 

Rather than react, I decided to hold it lightly and, when the time was right, let my curiosity explore what was getting my goat.

Last week, that time arrived. I read a post on LinkedIn, and I realised why. Here’s what it read:

“Light a fire in the belly of your high-performing salespeople, they always deliver. This is what sets them apart from the rest.” The words were followed by a flaming fire emoji X 3.

I thank that author for giving me crystal clear clarity. They painted the perfect picture as to the consequence of this traditional approach to sales performance:

1. Light the fire in your high performer

2. Make the most of their seemingly endless capacity and ability to deliver consistently

3. Guaranteed that with time, many will end up surrounded by burning fire emojis and in the depths of burnout

Well-being and performance research amongst the sales profession is starting to gain traction. Finally.

For a profession and capability most organisations can’t survive without, it makes sense that sustainability amongst sales teams should be prioritised. Yet traditional performance models continue to prevail, and along with them, so does overwork, emotional exhaustion and burnout.

We need the data to support decision-making in shaping a more sustainable future.

That sustainable future starts with teams:

1. Being aware of their individual capacities

2. Understanding their personal signs of declining health (mental, physical, emotional and spiritual)

3. Finding the confidence to work with a supportive organisation in restoring well-being equilibrium.

By example, one recent study demonstrated that high-performing sales professionals are 37% less likely to report burnout symptoms, making them harder to identify before a crisis. If you aren’t aware or you are fearful of speaking up, how on earth can you look after your well-being?

We’ve a long way to go.

And this is the group who we are encouraging to “light a fire” within!

Here’s the thing about fires:

Fires need a spark to ignite.

Kindling to catch on.

Larger logs to create coals.

And coals to generate consistent heat.

A fire has endless capacity to generate heat and perform so long as it has oxygen - its input.

There is no fire in the absence of oxygen.

We all need oxygen.  We all need to know our oxygen.  And at the risk of sounding cliché, we are each responsible for fastening our oxygen masks.

I developed the sales approach Momentum Mindset to minimise short-burst, outcome-centric thinking and instead encourage a more sustainable approach to sales performance.  One which prioritised growing the human behind the sales number in a context which would simultaneously drive commercial results.

It’s intended as a framework for sustained human performance aligning with the four core needs of our advanced brain as defined by organisational psychologist Fiona Murden in her award-winning book, Defining You:

1. Human connection

2. A sense of meaning

3. Learning and growth

4. Giving or generosity

This list becomes our performance oxygen, able to fuel any contained “fire” for a sustained period. Less fits and bursts, more continual burn off to stave off disaster.

Now, let’s revisit the burning metaphor surrounding high performance.

High performers are well known for their capacity. 

It’s a badge of honour lauded by organisations because they know this cohort will consistently deliver. They are a sure thing. 

The smarter organisations plan for performance sustainability.

1.     They build the support scaffolding around their admired performer by building team capacity.

2.     The admired performer is led by an experienced leader equipped to manage their unique levels of capacity and capability.  This includes recognising symptoms of burnout and having plans in place to mitigate risk.

3.     They focus as much on human input as they do on human output.  Developing the human behind the number and feeding the important cerebral need of learning.

4. They create definitions of success beyond the sales metric, an extrinsic and disempowering form of motivation

However, this isn’t always enough, nor does it always happen.

The term high performance insinuates we deliver, achieve, and succeed when we hit a peak.

The highest point.  The gold medal.  The grand final win.  The sales target.

Call it the raging, out-of-control wildfire. Once it’s extinguished, and in the absence of a long-term plan for sustainable performance, life must be rebuilt from the ground up - and from my experience, that rebuild is deeply challenging and, at times, painful.

Sadly and sometimes tragically, we’ve all seen and heard of stories of the fallen elite athlete.

What if we stoked our fire to prepare for sustained human performance rather than fits and bursts of high performance?

One which delivers ongoing results for the human, beyond the business results. One where both business and human wins.

Last week, organisational psychologist and best-selling author Adam Grant published on social media:

Burnout isn’t due to a lack of motivation.  It’s caused by a shortage of capacity.

There are more interesting people and projects than hours in the day. 

The key question isn’t whether you have an interest.  It’s whether you have bandwidth.

Enthusiasm is boundless.  Time is finite.

If you are going to light the fire. Please do so responsibly.

And to the author inspiring this piece, please kindly consider finding some new emojis.

Peta x

Sustainable Sales Coach | Mental Health Advocate | Sustainable Sales Trainer for Teams

Corporate Speaker for Beyond Blue - here’s what the audience says

Author of My Beautiful Mess - Living through burnout and rediscovering me

Founder of Momentum Mindset - tailored solutions for sustainable selling

The first module of the Momentum Mindset online course is Motivation Momentum.

A 5 week online course, including virtual coaching with Peta.

Check out the five e-lessons here

Each e-lesson forms your self-care mindset toolkit, setting you up for sustainable sales performance.

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