The sales team is often one of the largest components of a company. You might think, then, that this many people should get that much more work done for the organization... but unfortunately, not all sales teams work together in the ways they should in order to make this idea a reality.
The biggest problem most sales teams face is a lack of communication and the inability to fully understand one another. While it's easy to write these miscommunications and misunderstandings off as just "personalities that shouldn't be working together," that's often only an excuse that avoids responsibility for fixing the issue... and it creates a dysfunctional environment for the whole team.
Some team leaders may just tell their team members to, "Buck up, Buttercup!" and work harder to get things done when everything seems to be falling apart. The better approach, though, may be to change the way they're communicating with and listening to each other in order to address the root issue of the situation.
Miscommunication and Misunderstanding: What's the Big Difference?
Many feel that "miscommunication" and "misunderstanding" are interchangeable words in the English language. However, that could not be further from the truth!
A miscommunication occurs when the person trying to make a point does not do so clearly.
For example, a miscommunication could occur when someone giving a client directions to the office says, "Go down Jackson Ave. and then turn at the stoplight." It would be easy, and understandable, for the client to still get lost on the way to the office, because the speaker did not clearly communicate:
- How far to go on Jackson Ave.
- Which direction "down" refers to
- Which stoplight
- Which way to turn
On the other hand, a misunderstanding occurs when the person listening to the speaker fails to hear or process the information they're being given correctly.
For example: Simon Cowell, the infamously critical judge from televised competitive talent shows like X Factor: UK and American Idol has a phrase that he uses to intentionally elicit a misunderstanding from contestants after they perform. He simply says, "I didn't like it..."
Understandably, the contestant's face falls and their confidence crumples into a pile of ashes at their feet... until Simon finishes his comment with, "... I loved it!"
The contestant's face then blossoms into smiles and their confidence quickly reassembles itself as they realize that Simon had said exactly what he had meant, but that they had misunderstood the context that he was saying the words in.
Whole Brain Thinking
The desire to better understand and improve human social and verbal interaction has inspired many studies and a plethora of research. One such study was the result of 30 years of research by Dr. Ned Hermann, a manager for General Electric. Hermann developed a system called the Hermann Brain Dominance Instrument in the 1970s, which was designed to measure how people think and communicate.
Hermann's Whole Brain Model identified four quadrants of the brain which become engaged at varying degrees when individuals are attempting to communicate and understand others' communications. You and your sales team members each have an innate preference for at least one of these quadrant's approach to thinking. This preference directly impacts the ways you communicate with each other and the context that filters how communications are personally understood.
- Analytical thinkers prefer to work with what can be proven via facts and figures.
- Experimental thinkers desire to creatively innovate new ways of getting work done rather than using tried and true methods.
- Practical thinkers may not have a real preference for what is being done, but they need to know how it's going to be done – they desire the establishment of step-by-step processes.
- Relational thinkers want to know who is going to be involved with making the end goal a reality. They also want to make sure everyone feels good about the process.
How You Think is as Important as What You Think
Realizing that everyone could be coming at a specific topic from four completely different approaches makes it easier to see how misunderstandings and miscommunications can occur... and how the issue can then create major dysfunction within your team.
In the previous example of miscommunication, if you gave your Practical thinking client those vague driving directions, they could easily get frustrated, lost, and angry because you were not communicating with them in a logical, step-by-step manner. However, if that client were an Experimental thinker, they could probably take your directions and eventually figure out an inventive way to still get from Point A to Point B based on your big-picture directive.
In the example of Simon Cowell's feedback, if the performer was an Analytical thinker, they could hear his comment of, "I didn't like it..." and immediately start processing through what he or she could've done differently to get a more preferred outcome. The Relational thinking performer, however, would likely begin internalizing the judge's comment and start wrestling with overwhelming feelings of self-doubt, sadness, and disappointment in the idea of not meeting his expectations.
How to Better Avoid Miscommunication and Misunderstandings
By intentionally becoming aware of the ways that your team members individually think, you will become better able to address the underlying issues of miscommunication and misunderstanding that are causing the dysfunction within your sales team.
Tailoring messaging internally, personally, and even with clients, in such a way that maximizes the use of Whole Brain Thinking preferences will empower your team to take challenges head-on and become more productive and effective.
