Practical Exercises for Performance Improvement Workshops

This week, I facilitated a manager workshop on how to grow and develop people and teams. One question sparked a great conversation: “How do you develop your people outside of formal programs?” It’s a great question. IMO, one of the highest leverage actions a leader can take is making small, but consistent actions to develop their people. While formal learning experiences absolutely a role, there are far more opportunities for growth outside of structured settings from an hours in the day perspective. Helping leaders recognize and embrace this is a major opportunity. I introduced the idea of Practices of Development (PODs) aka small, intentional activities integrated into everyday work that help employees build skills, flex new muscles, and increase their impact. Here are a few examples we discussed: 🌟 Paired Programming: Borrowed from software engineering, this involves pairing an employee with a peer to take on a new task—helping them ramp up quickly, cross-train, or learn by doing. 🌟 Learning Logs: Have team members track what they’re working on, learning, and questioning to encourage reflection. 🌟 Bullpen Sessions: Bring similar roles together for feedback, idea sharing, and collaborative problem-solving, where everyone both A) shares a deliverable they are working on, and B) gets feedback and suggestions for improvement 🌟 Each 1 Teach 1:  Give everyone a chance to teach one work-related skill or insight to the team. 🌟 I Do, We Do, You Do:Adapted from education, this scaffolding approach lets you model a task, then do it together, then hand it off. A simple and effective way to build confidence and skill. 🌟 Back Pocket Ideas:  During strategy/scoping work sessions, ask employees to submit ideas for initiatives tied to a customer problem or personal interest. Select the strongest ones and incorporate them into their role. These are a few examples that have worked well. If you’ve found creative ways to build development opportunities into your employees day to day work, I’d love to hear what’s worked for you!

One team I worked with increased their discovery to demo conversion by 40% in just 30 days with consistent role playing. But… Before I started working with them, they used to HATE it! Here’s what their sales leader said: "Marcus, my team hates it. It feels awkward and forced. Plus, my top performers don't need it." Here's the exact framework I implemented that transformed their performance (and changed their minds): 1️⃣ Make it unexpected Don't announce who's going next in your meetings This keeps EVERYONE engaged and prepared Your reps should be slightly uncomfortable (that's where growth happens) 2️⃣ Include your stars: Make sure to also pick your top performers This shows the team that EVERYONE needs practice It creates psychological safety for less experienced reps It prevents the "I'm-too-good-for-this" mentality 3️⃣ Make it specific: Don't use generic scenarios ("sell me this pen") Focus on REAL objections your team faces daily Target specific stages of your sales process Address actual deals they're working on 4️⃣ Keep it brief: 3-5 minutes per role-play Immediate, actionable feedback Recognize what they did well and then.. One or two specific improvements to focus on 5️⃣ Create a feedback culture: Have peers provide feedback too Focus on what could be improved, not what was "wrong" Document common challenges for future training Celebrate improvement openly This worked so well that even their top performer came to me and said: "I honestly thought I was too good for this, but you caught me off guard in that role-play and I realized I was leaving money on the table." The reality is simple: every professional athlete still practices fundamentals daily. Every world class musician still practices scales. Your sales team needs the same discipline. One sales leader told me: "I was shocked at how quickly our conversations improved. My team went from dreading role-plays to actually requesting them before big meetings." — Hey sales leaders… want to top this off with a 3 step blueprint to running the PERFECT sales meeting? Go here: https://lnkd.in/gtkFi9CK

Here's an exercise to play with your AEs, SEs, and CSMs that costs $0.00 and will help them develop a stronger presence. It's called "Awkward 30 Seconds," and I often use it as a warmup in my "Client Leadership" workshops to build self-awareness and other awareness. These workshops address the fact that we often have no idea how other people perceive us because we are not other people—we are ourselves. The more we understand ourselves, the better we can serve and lead others. How to Play: 1. Give everyone a couple of minutes to prepare a 30-second elevator pitch on a topic of their choosing. You want them to be comfortable. 2. Then, have them stand up to present the topic, but before they do, they must stand there for 30 seconds and wait (yes, it's awkward). 3. After 30 seconds of standing, the rest of the group must give them feedback about their presence and how it made them feel. Some people will stand there straight as a board. Some people will smile. Some people will rock back and forth. Some people will do weird things with their hands. It's the most awkward 30 seconds you'll experience as a seller, but the feedback will be amazing. You will hear people say things like: - "You look confident." - "You look nervous." - "I feel like I can trust you even though you haven't said anything." - "You seemed too intense/aggressive, smile a little bit." - "Your smile is infectious, and I want to give you a big bear hug." I have had people tell me that this was the best exercise they've ever done because it helped them realize that they had superpowers that they didn't know they had. Use those superpowers. "Today you are you. That's truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you." -Dr. Seuss P.S. My bio has a link to a free month of games like this, which you can play at SKOs and in your team meetings.