Welcome to the emotional side of adaptive sales leadership! You've learned your style and DISC framework. Now here's the hard truth: adapting your approach with different salespeople often feels uncomfortable or even "fake."
This emotional resistance is your biggest obstacle to becoming truly adaptive as a sales manager.
Engagement Message
Have you felt awkward trying to adjust your natural management style with different sales reps?
Here's why adapting feels weird: your brain developed your default sales management patterns over years. They feel "right" because they're familiar and have driven results before.
When you consciously choose a different coaching approach, it triggers internal alarm bells saying "this isn't how I manage!"
Engagement Message
Can you recall the last time you tried managing a rep differently and felt uncomfortable?
Let's say you're naturally results-driven (D-style) but need to slow down for a relationship-focused rep (S-style). Your brain screams "we need to close more deals!" even though the supportive approach is exactly what they need.
These emotional reactions are predictable and manageable once you recognize them.
Engagement Message
What emotions come up when you have to dial back your urgency with certain reps?
Common emotional reactions to adapting: impatience when you need to be more coaching-focused, anxiety when being less directive about sales tactics, frustration when collaborating on deals instead of taking control.
Your emotions aren't telling you to stop adapting - they're just uncomfortable with the unfamiliar.
Engagement Message
Which of these emotional reactions sounds most familiar in your sales management?
Good news: this discomfort fades with practice! Like learning any new sales skill, adaptive leadership feels clunky at first but becomes natural over time.
The key is recognizing these emotions as temporary growing pains, not permanent management conflicts.
