For nearly two decades, professional ice hockey was dominated by one man — Wayne Gretzky. Those of us who had the privilege of seeing him play were awed by his athletic skills. He shattered scoring records like no other player before him and was certainly worthy of his nickname “The Great One.”
Wayne Gretzky retired as a player six years ago and eventually became part-owner of the Phoenix Coyotes franchise. Hoping to inject greater success into a mediocre team, Gretzky inserted himself behind the bench as the team’s coach.
On the surface, it appeared to be a smart move. Great players should make great coaches, right? Not necessarily. Why not? Because the skills it takes to be a great player are not necessarily the same skills it takes to be a great coach. Even in team sports, athletes perform individually. Their primary concern is executing their individual role. In Gretzky’s case, he could skate, pass, and shoot the puck better than his competition – and he played the game with an intense passion that stemmed from his inner self. No coach ever had to teach Wayne Gretzky how to be a winner.
However, as a coach, Gretzky’s physical skills become secondary. He’s no longer skating or controlling a hockey puck. Now his primary responsibilities are to mold and motivate a group of athletes into one well-oiled machine. Since it’s unlikely any of his current players will ever match his playing skills, he will likely be disappointed if he expects to produce an entire team in his image. Does that mean he shouldn’t raise the bar? Not at all; however, he’ll only experience frustration if he thinks that all of his own playing talent and passion will somehow be passed on to those he coaches. In fact, the team’s recent poor play has already raised questions in the media as to whether or not Wayne Gretzky needs to fire himself as coach and concentrate only on his ownership responsibilities.
How does this apply to sales? Just because someone is a great salesperson, there’s no guarantee they will become a great sales manager. All too often, companies promote successful sales reps into management positions, only to discover they fail miserably because they lack the people development skills necessary to turn their sales forces into winners. You see, that’s a whole different skill set than selling. If you’re in senior management, you might want to remember that statement the next time you go looking for a sales manager. And, if you’re a salesperson thinking about becoming a sales manager, you might want to ask yourself if you’re ready to take on a whole different set of responsibilities. After all, the jobs are not the same.

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