May/June 19 - ChannelVision Magazine

at their actions from a birds-eye view and can’t see how they affect the overall picture. Coaching must be able to point that out and change the behavior. If the behavior doesn’t change, those negative team members must be removed from the organization. So what is the best environment to promote teamwork and collaboration? I prefer the pod structure in organizations to encourage optimal cohesiveness, and I’ve implemented pods several times with positive results. Pods are small groups of agile teams, usually less than 10 members, responsible for the support of a group of accounts or a sales territory. The pod is constructed to bring together multiple disciplines of expertise, allowing members to develop chemistry and consistency in how they work together. An example of a pod structure in telecommunications might be a sales person or two paired with an account manager, a sales support person, a sales engineer and a project or implementation manager. Besides the internal benefits to the organization related to teamwork, customers also benefit from the consistency of working with the same team members. If you’ve read some of my previous articles, you also know that I’m ex- tremely big on growing employees and promoting from within the organization. When that happens regularly, and team members feel fulfilled, they not only feel positive about the company they work for, but they also gain valuable experience as they learn each position on the way to their ultimate destination. It’s hard to beat the pod structure in terms of providing cross-functional experiences and fueling employee development and growth. Team mem- bers are forced to interact on a daily basis, allowing each member to better understand the daily walk of their team- mates. If leadership continuously works on culture, one negative team member can be quickly discovered and coun- seled by members of their own team. Positive-minded team members are more likely to outweigh any negativity. No matter what your position is in an organization, you have the power to affect the culture of the organization by being a positive presence in the office and confronting negative employees during their attempts to bring others down. You can stop negativity sometimes simply by shutting down negative conversations and placing a positive spin on a bad situation. You can influ- ence the success of your team, one interaction at a time. Don’t allow the actions of a few bad seeds hurt the environment where you spend the majority of your waking hours. o Bruce Wirt is the chief business development of- ficer at Telesystem, a national provider of communication, collaboration, secu- rity and infrastructure solutions. Wirt has previously led both direct and indirect sales and marketing teams, with extensive executive experi- ence in the telecom industry. channel management The Lowest Connectivity Rates in the Industry Supporting 2,500+ Dealers Nationwide. Choice Partners benefit from the most aggressive Pricing, lucrative Commission, industry-tenured Knowledge, enterprise- grade Support, the nations fastest growing 4G LTE Network, and a wide range of innovative Solutions. INDUSTRY’S LEADING HARDWARE BRANDS We work with only the best hardware manufacturers and distribute the Industry’s most reputable brands, including; Cradlepoint, BEC, Digi, Netgear, and much more. ADD ENTERPRISE MOBILITY TO YOUR PORTFOLIO As an Affiliate Agent with Choice, you’ll gain access to corporate wireless programs including smartphones, tablets, and wireless services, directly to businesses. INCREASE SALES THROUGH SELL-WITH Your solutions are represented by Choice Business Connections and the T- Mobile direct sales team, granting you access to a nationwide sales force to represent your company’s solution. CONNECTIVITY INCREASES PROFITABILITY As a Choice wholesaler, you gain access to the lowest IoT, M2M, Mobile Internet & Data, and Voice plans for both specialized and specific industry applications. Failover Plans Startingat $ 4 .99 $ 10 .00 SIMs for Failover Plans at 2GB 4GLTE Overage Free 50MB permonth per month $ 0 .00 (888)565-0774 www.ChoiceIoT.com 59 May - June, 2019 | Channel Vision