Our Sales Director is highly energetic and great at closing deals, but he refuses to build the structured, CRM-driven tracking systems we need to scale. How do we diagnose if this is a behavioral issue or a natural conative limitation?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To resolve this friction, you must understand the difference between behavioral issues and natural conative limitations. Use a tool like the Kolbe Index to measure his conative strengths. If your Sales Director scores very high in Quickstart and very low in Follow Thru, he is naturally wired to react quickly, improvise, and close deals, but he naturally resists detailed planning, organizing, and system-building. This is not a behavioral issue, a lack of respect for authority, or a lack of motivation. It is a biological blueprint of how he instinctively takes action. Knowing this, you cannot train or discipline him into becoming a highly systematic CRM manager. It is a capacity issue on the GWC™ tool. Instead of trying to change his natural wiring, you must restructure the seat on your Accountability Chart. Keep him focused on what he does best: driving sales and closing deals. Then, create a supporting seat, such as a Sales Operations Specialist, filled by someone with high Follow Thru conative strengths, to build and run the tracking systems under his direction.