Necessity might be the mother of invention but it doesn’t always create lasting change.

And while none of us would wish for this pandemic, there have been some innovations that are for the better and likely here to stay:

• Sales
• Stretching and Stretch Roles
• Efficiencies in processes, like onboarding

Sales has traditionally been done in person, out on the road.  Well, we know that’s been impossible for many, if not most, salespeople since March.  What’s not been impossible, however, is selling.  And I’m hearing from some CEOs that they’re seeing good salespeople who are not only doing ok, but excelling, and their numbers reflect it.  They’ve flexed and adjusted to meeting customers virtually, to changing the entire sales process.  Even when we’re on the other side of the pandemic, I think the leaner processes are here to stay.  With much greater profitability.

Whether you’ve had to ask someone to step up and assume greater responsibility because of furloughs and being short staffed, or because your plate is overflowing and you’re being forced to delegate to attend to where you’re most needed, team members are stretching.  And they’re doing it well.  I’m hearing this across industry, from retail to professional services.  People are stepping up, right hands are being created, and benches are being built.  This is all for the better.  Leaders are able to focus where they’re most valuable, team members get opportunities they might not, and there is a greater sturdiness to the overall team – and organization — because there’s some backup in place.

If onboarding had been sluggish in the past, it’s becoming lightening fast.  You’ve found ways to integrate new team members into the fold quickly and successfully.  Some of the successes: giving new team members a point of contact in the organization for anything and everything, making the HR process move more rapidly, and, perhaps most telling of the times we’re in: ensuring that new employees have the right technology to begin immediately, including a contact in tech to help them with any glitches.

We still have some distance to cover in this 10x marathon, but you are innovating with success and adaptability.  Let me know of other unexpected successes you’re having.  I’d love to hear about them.

I work with CEOs and senior executives who are courageous, talented, successful, and want to make their mark.

Hosting a Virtual Conference or Event?  I’ve been speaking on “Reconnecting with Resilience™: The 4 Key Investments for Leading through COVID and Beyond” at organizations like Caterpillar and Deloitte, and at conferences like the Wells Fargo Retail Summit and the upcoming North Carolina School of Banking.   For booking information, email me at: sarah@sarah levitt.com

Webinar Topics for Your Virtual Conferences and Events:

New! VIP Velvet Rope Offering: Customized Roundtable Discussion for Your Select Attendees
You choose whom to invite, we craft a signature offering that can only be found through you, and I bring unique content and lead a discussion among participants

Reconnecting with Resilience™: Leading through COVID and Beyond
The 4 key investments to make in yourself and your team to successfully navigate the future

Magnificent Leadership® – Keys to Leading through Uncertainty with Success
Transform Uncertainty, Transcend Circumstance, and Claim the Future: Apply the 8 key factors

Six Month Strategy – Planning During Uncertainty
How to create and execute a responsive strategy for uncertain and volatile times

Bringing the Outside In: Cultivating the Soil of Entrepreneurship in Your Organization
How to foster speed, grow innovation, and encourage hustle

Magnificent Leadership®: Building Self-Correcting Teams™
Forget high performance and instead build a team that can function without you

To Work with Me Directly:

Magnificent Leadership® Executive Forum
An elite group coaching program for senior executives leading through COVID and beyond

In this unique executive group coaching program, select senior leaders from organizations across industry and size are represented — technology, biotech, manufacturing, higher education, science, banking, and professional services, as examples — to create a rich learning ecosystem that accelerates results.  Among an outstanding cohort of your peers, we’ll discuss your most critical issues, shared experiences, and hot-off-the-press learnings.  We’ll talk urgent and strategic.  In a trusted space where you don’t have to sugar-coat anything, so you can make the best decisions possible.  Success in these times requires bringing everything you’ve got.  It does not require going it alone.

In addition, members also have private coaching access to me.

Fee: $2500, Quarterly Membership

To apply for the next cohort now, email me: sarah@sarah-levitt.com