As she rushed through the office, Kacy Dillon, the broker-in-charge stopped briefly by Ian Brechin's desk, gave him the "thumbs-up" sign and said "Great job, Brechin, you did well!"

She then sped off in the direction of her next meeting leaving Ian a little bemused.

He was struggling with this new desk computer and had just crashed it for the third time this morning. Was she being sarcastic or was she referring to the major deal he had just closed with what was to be the company's largest client.

Hopefully the latter!

From time to time you can see examples where the broker-in-charge acts as spectator.

Their behavior; the words they use and their body language would not be out of place at a soccer or baseball match. They would be sitting in the stands chewing on a hot dog, swigging a beer and shouting criticism at the players (their staff) on the field. There is very little connection between the broker and the staff other than they happen to be sitting in the same building.

This image is used to highlight the profound difference between the 'broker as optimizer' and the 'broker as spectator'.

An Optimizer works individually with each of the players, helping them to overcome setbacks and obstacles to progress. They understand how their team responds to different types of motivation and how their family life and health affect their performance.

Most of all Optimizing is carried out on a very frequent basis. You don't wait for the big contract to give your advice to the team or individual agent in the way that the 'broker as spectator' does.

Optimizers work really closely with everyone in the team to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their team before they have to be tested under pressure.

The Language of Optimizing

Spectator language is full of demands; "Do this, do that, do the next thing." There is no time or space for discussion, experimentation and, god forbid, failure. Spectator Managers need results and they need them now.

The language of an optimizer is significantly different. First of all the Optimizer is an integral part of the team; often found in the field and in their fur-lined office. Team language tends to contain the word "We" and you will hear a softer tone to the questions "How can we improve this? How can we make that happen faster, more accurately or more consistently?" It is a relationship of trust between two adults rather than a critical parent talking down to a child.

Ian Brechin's co-worker, Joanna Collins came to his assistance with the new computer system. "I've found some work-arounds that avoid crashing the system, let me show you."

Then, almost as an afterthought she added "I hope you realize how proud we all are that you closed the Grossman deal, you'll need to share some of your closing secrets with the rest of us."

Ian smiled, wondering why Joanna's piece of recognition seemed more valuable than Kacy Dillon's.

How do you optimize your teams' novel?

Maverick Rules!