Diagnosis
Management doesn't think you have what it takes to make it to the next level.

Prescription
Lead a great meeting and let your talents shine to convince them otherwise.

Dan received an e-mail about his company's national sales meeting. The sales and marketing department from headquarters was going to be there, along with senior management from the Great Lakes regional office. Dan was excited that his company was moving back to an annual national sales meeting, but he wasn't excited about all the preparation work he needed in order to conduct his district break-out sessions.

Dan was feeling a bit burned out. He had just gotten feedback from his regional manager about why he didn't get the associate director job he just applied for in the sales training department. He was told his presentation and facilitation skills were not strong enough to lead in a sales training role. The general manager in the sales training department had spent a good deal of time in his district session last trimester, and apparently he wasn't too impressed. Other than that, his references and reputation were stellar, and his RM reiterated how pleased she was with his district's overall sales performance. But Dan felt frustrated. This was the third job within his company he applied for and didn't get. He knew he needed to find an opportunity to let his leadership and facilitation skills shine. He knows the upcoming national sales meeting will be a great opportunity to change some key decision makers' minds about his abilities.

Many district managers can relate to Dan's situation, while others may be looking for ways to stand out in the area of meeting leadership.

So, what makes a district manager a great facilitator? You'll find the answer below in my Seven Stages of Standout Facilitation. Measure your Facilitation Quotient (FQ) and then review each of the seven key strategies.

The seven stages of standout facilitation

1. Talent management

What does talent management mean when it comes to facilitation? It means knowing your audience and where your own talents and development opportunities lie. It means working with the strengths of the team to distribute the meeting content.

Often, district managers are unsure who should lead a session. Do they choose a representative who needs to develop skills in a particular area, or the rep who excels in a specific sales competency? One way to decide is to determine who will be attending the meeting and who will be available from the home or regional office to "drop in." For example, is the director of field force diversity available to attend part of your meeting? If she is, consider having the representative who is making regional contributions to identifying top diversity candidates for the region do a presentation called "Finding My Own Territory Counterpart."

In most cases, the lead facilitator role should go to the representative with the top skill or talent in a given area. By doing this, the district manager is providing the best role model for other representatives, providing an opportunity for recognition for the presenter and creating an opportunity to showcase the talent in the district for key sales and marketing leaders.

Facilitation strategy #1: Articulate how you have leveraged the talent of your direct reports to facilitate an energizing and competence-building district meeting.

2. Moderating the overall meeting

District managers often make a mistake when they decide to leave to chance the decision of who will attend the district break-out sessions from the home office, and who will not. Often, sales, marketing and human resource leaders are at the meeting and would appreciate being invited to attend the district meeting. Discuss possible attendees with your regional manager and request support in extending an invitation to those key executives.

Once you know who is going to attend your session, flex your leadership and networking skills by calling the executives ahead of time. Introduce yourself and provide an overview of the topics that will be covered in your district session. Take the opportunity to briefly highlight the rising talent on your team and, if appropriate, invite them out to cocktails or dinner following the district meeting. In addition, let them know you would like to properly introduce them, and ask if they are comfortable sending you an abbreviated biography so you can prepare to do this properly.