I once heard someone describe a company as having a “not made here” culture. In the highest ranks of the company, any idea or opportunity to learn from a source outside the organization was ignored, good ideas only came from inside the organization. The end result was a lack of productivity in practical initiatives (working harder, not smarter), and on a much larger scale, a culture that didn’t acknowledge severe market shifts until they were hit head on.

I have a friend who is starting his own business and stated recently that despite the stress of starting up, it is the most challenging and exciting time of his career. He is having fun, he’s learning, he’s engaged and successful. Wouldn’t it be great if your employees felt the same way?

Deloitte’s 2010 Shift Index calls employees with a “questing” and “connecting” disposition as passionate workers. Passionate workers are engaged and constantly seek to improve their individual performance. Unfortunately, less than 25% of workers surveyed are passionate about their work.

Despite the fact that the “topple rate” has doubled, (the rate at which big companies lose their leadership position), the Deloitte survey shows that most companies have not addressed the organizational, management, technical or cultural barriers (among other things) that inhibit engagement and high performance.  And yet, it’s a known reinforcing loop, the more skilled and engaged your workforce is, the more likely you will build and/or sustain your leadership and performance in the marketplace.

So how does social media fit into all of this?  Social media has changed how we socialize, learn, communicate and do business. It adapts and changes quickly through innovation and yet some people still see it as a playground for teenagers. So in the context of social media, it’s representative of your leadership and company mindset: Do you have a “not made here”,  “long live the pony express” or “how soon can we start” attitude? A mindset that encourages curiosity, creativity and willingness to explore new things will have a ripple effect inside your organization.

Education, communication, and executive participation are key elements in updating your culture. Passionate workers won’t stay and they don’t over perform in companies that don’t foster their individual potential, let alone the potential of the business. Companies that establish a foundation of learning (and hence, training) and cultivate a habit of curiosity will be far more prepared for the changes ahead and will stay far ahead of the competition.

Most of us have a wide range of friends, some of whom are more central to our daily lives because they live near us, work with us, etc. But distance aside, many of us carry friendships over decades and they serve a purpose in our lives as well as a history. All that to say, if you look at the high performing sales reps in your company, also look at the company they keep.  The quality of their network tends to drive them to greater accomplishments and results.

Most top performers seek each other out in an organization, and they feed off of each other. They tend to shy away from negative influences in an company and keep in constant contact. There are often competitive undertones but the drive and desire to perform fuels idea generation, feedback, and best practices. They see the potential, not the obstacle; they find productivity vs. activity, etc—in essence, they are the practical translation of the premise that certain social behaviors are contagious and drive behavior and thinking in others.

One other thing I’ve noticed is that the relationships are genuine which increases ownership and interest level. That key element plays a significant role in how they interact and as a result, how they perform.

What is your view on the element of “social contagion” in the workplace? Does high energy, strong performance and drive breed similar behavior? Can a company inadvertently squelch drive and positive behavior? And how does an organization cultivate the right environment to encourage success versus defeat?

As I look back at my work experience and that of others, I have found that the most successful leaders easily align their people to the business objectives and they do this by (in no particular order):

• Clearly expressing the business goals
• Communicating a simple roadmap to achieve the goals
• Providing transparency
• Genuine passion for their work
• Genuine compassion for their employees
• An inherent understanding—and practice—that customer satisfaction and fiscal performance is directly tied to employee satisfaction and employee performance
• Promoting innovation through trust and empowerment
• Enabling the success of others—creating leaders; building knowledge, skills, empowerment
• Accountable to the plan
• Rewards and recognizes the right things
• Creating an environment of mutual respect, communication and strong cultural values

Long ago I had a regional director who used to recognize the individual achievements of his sales team (tied to quotas)—well over 100 people, consisting of sales reps, administrative staff and his management team. He wrote in a green pen and he sent out individual notes each month to the achievers. It wasn’t just about getting the note, per se, it was the fact that the notes were personalized. We all knew what we had to do to get the notes (hit the number) but we also knew that we weren’t a face in the crowd. Perhaps more importantly, he was focused on the success of others in tangible ways, not just notes, and he was consistently rewarded for it through the results of the region.

We can all find instances of leadership failure in the past few years, much of it has been well publicized. But at the end of the day, it’s easy to take shortcuts on leadership due to increased priorities and responsibilities, less time, fewer resources, etc. What are you doing to create satisfaction for your two most valuable assets (your customers and your employees)? Are you taking care of your people so they in turn, will take care of the business?

Clearly, you can’t stop selling. But there is a difference between telling people to go out and sell, and engaging in dialogue to understand how to sell effectively in a down market. The inspiration, from an employee’s perspective comes from participating in the process—what are you doing to understand the current reality, what questions do you ask, how do you participate, what solutions do you offer that are unique and untested? The process is a means to close the gap between the perceptions that their leadership is unaware or unwilling to understand the current economic climate and the barriers to selling.

The process is also about driving new and inspired behavior. Not everyone knows how to sell in a down economy and some people have never been through it. That said, inspiring people who are driven by recognition, reward and accomplishment is a difficult task right now. Inspiration is a mechanism for changing behavior, for changing thinking, for moving people to try new things by seeing unrealized opportunity rather than obstacles. That may sound lofty, but this is a good time to set new standards for how to sell, where to sell and how to build disruptive solutions (disruptive to your competitors…).

A great moment in my early management career was sitting down with my new team and talking about opportunity. The conversation moved in that direction when we were discussing industry solutions and someone actually said “we have nothing more to sell.” No exaggeration and clearly not what any sales manager wants to hear for soooo many reasons. After my initial shock, I simply asked the question—what would you sell if you could—where do you see the opportunities? Thankfully that opened the floodgates to new ideas and while there was some pushback—”we can’t do that because…”, a simple response of “let me figure out how to remove the obstacles, let’s talk about what business is out there” moved us down the right path. It changed behavior and thinking.

In reality, inspiring your employees is more about your own self-awareness as a leader and the time you take to lead. When the pressure is on or we’re doing more with less, it is easy to lose sight of what motivates a staff or to hope they will motivate themselves. Inspiring employees starts with engaged leadership.  As a leader, what are you inspiring your employees to do—their job or to move from good to great in their job? And how you are helping to move them in that direction?

When companies are laying off employees at historical rates, the challenge is to engage employees through motivation, not fear of job loss. As such, two-way communication is important in a down economy. A lack of communication and direction results in productivity declines, decreased morale, increased fear and uncertainty.

There are two key sources for communication: the organization and sales management. Many companies do a good job of providing transparency but one-on-one time is often overlooked. This includes skip levels as well as meaningful time with a direct report–ideally, time or lunch outside the office. Take the time to answer their questions about the business, ask for their insights, find out how they are feeling—or let them drive the conversation.

As an example, I worked for a company where our SVP of Sales regularly hosted an evening at his home for our new hires as they came to town for training. He did such a great job of communicating and relating, that even in our toughest times he had an engaged sales force. Additionally, with each new fiscal year he recognized past successes (individual and team), and set the sales vision and expectations. Everyone started the year with a clear idea of what to expect and what was expected, while primed to give 110%.

Another way to engage your employees is to ask for their input. In terms of developing actions and priorities in a tough climate, the best ideas may come from them. In a past role, my reps helped to identify a key sales niche that reversed severely declining revenues due to a service shift. A friend of mine also did this, and found new ways to reduce cost and increase customer satisfaction in her business. Her top retention criterion, as it turned out, was employee engagement.

Be a servant leader. You can build confidence and trust by being a “selling manager”. However, it is equally important to help them perform better through coaching, removing sales obstacles, assisting in their sales efforts, employee development, etc. This is a golden rule in sales, and employees will appreciate your willingness to make them more successful.

Explain the “why” in business decisions. I always find that people respond better to change when they understand the rationale. Additionally, corporate decisions can affect customers but your sales reps can’t have a successful dialogue without the rationale. In the end, you help to set them up for success while building trust and confidence.

Be an invested leader. Selling becomes harder in a down economy, so skills must be fresh and elevated. As such, managers should continue to share best practices, provide skill and knowledge-based training as well as coaching. Maintain or develop your succession plans and stick to them. If you continue to develop your employees, you are more likely to improve retention during good times.

Maintain accountability. This may seem a bit contrary if you need feet on the street, but your top sales people know their peers and they tend to resent under-performers. You can negatively affect morale if poor performance is ignored or given latitude. Find out why they are not performing and address accordingly.

Last but not least, reward and recognition are always important. The simple fact is that small gestures are as important as the big ones. I recently saw on Twitter that a CEO took his top two performers to a national sales summit as reward for their efforts. This is a great way to get one-on-one time with employees as well. However, it can also be as simple as a gift card or an email acknowledging a great job in managing a meeting, building teamwork, writing a proposal, etc. It all adds up to whether or not you know the good things that your folks are doing, and more importantly, you appreciate it.

As most companies will tell you, employees stay for other reasons than pay—even sales people. Your people are your strongest asset, and in the most challenging times, you will continue to get the best out of them if you give them the best of yourself.