Struggling to motivate yourself? Here are 3 ways to rediscover your enthusiasm for Account Management.

Are you struggling to drag yourself out of bed in the morning to go to work?

Do you have an overwhelming feeling of apathy about your daily Account Management responsibilities?

Perhaps you sell what you consider to be an uninspiring product? Or maybe you feel like your talents are being stifled by the monotony of the annual Sales cycle?

If you feel this way, take comfort in the fact that you are not alone.  The so-called “Great Resignation” which started in late-2021 is still ongoing today as millions continue to quit their jobs in pursuit of greater career fulfilment. 

However, you may not have the luxury of being able to take a career break to find your calling.  The rising costs of living means that most of us need to stay in our current roles to pay the bills.  With that in mind isn’t it better to try to get the most out of our current job, whilst you potentially look for other roles on the side?

In this article I look at three ways in which you can rediscover your passion for your Account Management role. 

1. Find fulfilment through developing and inspiring your direct reports or team members.

If you have people management responsibilities, then you can find job satisfaction in helping your direct reports flourish.

Find out their ambitions and help them attain the skills they need to achieve their goals.  Maybe you have a direct report who wants to manage a bigger account? Or maybe they want to manage a larger part of the business, which will put them in front of tougher Buyers?

In this example, allow them to shadow you in some of your customer meetings.  Not only will they learn from this experience, but it will also raise the stakes for your own performance as you seek to set an example for them!  This will help to sharpen your game.

If you aren’t in a management position, then apply this principle to other team members.  What can you do to make the biggest positive impact on your teammates? Perhaps you could offer to mentor a more junior Account Executive within the team? Or maybe you could take the lead in collating and communicating all the best practice for in-store and Online execution?

If you think hard enough there will always be rewarding tasks you can do to make a positive impact on your direct reports or fellow team members.

2. Involve yourself in other cross-functional projects which interest you.

Most blue-chip FMCG businesses will have a variety of ongoing cross-functional projects.   If you are feeling unmotivated in your role, why not mix things up and raise your hand to be involved in one of these projects?

I’ve personally been involved in a range of cross-functional projects in different companies throughout my career.  I have volunteered to work on Social Committees, been the Sales Lead for cross-functional Category Teams and NPD launches, been a super-user for the implementation of new forecasting and invoicing systems, as well as other mini-projects. 

Each of these projects added diversity to my day-to-day responsibilities and allowed me to build my network within that organisation.  Some projects were more enjoyable than others, but at the very least, in every case, I learned something new.

And what if you can’t join one of these internal Committees or projects? There is nothing stopping you from creating your own cross-functional team.  In the past, I set up monthly Account Surgeries to assemble the relevant stakeholders from different internal cross-functions.  The purpose of these monthly surgeries was to update and inform stakeholders about my customer’s performance and ask for help where necessary.

Similarly to the other aforementioned projects, these Surgeries became meetings I looked forward to each month and reinvigorated my enthusiasm for the role.    

3. Assess the ways to self-actualise and drive personal growth.

Self-actualisation is the process of becoming the person you’re destined to be and reaching your full potential.  This is of course, an ongoing process and whilst your Account Management position may not be your ideal job, you can still use it as a platform to help you take big steps towards self-actualisation.

Think hard about the person you want to be.  What can help you gain a better understanding of this important existential quandary is playing Positive Intelligence’s™ Navigate Power Game.  This game involves flash forwarding to the end of your life and asking: “What skills or knowledge do I wish I had acquired from this job?” The reason why this game is so powerful, is because at the end of our lives, alignment to our core values becomes most important to us.

From doing this exercise, perhaps you discover that you want to be a more compassionate leader? Or maybe you unearth a deeper desire to make a more positive contribution to society?

Once you have learned what is truly important for self-actualisation, you can then take specific actions to make this happen.  For example, if making a more positive societal contribution is your vocation, you could investigate doing more charity work within your role, or even join an internal team focused on improving product sustainability.  The possibilities are truly endless once you understand what is really meaningful to you.

How building Mental Fitness can help you reignite your enthusiasm for your job.

Whether you are going through a difficult time or just feel bored in your role, improved Mental Fitness will help you to maintain a positive outlook and uncover the gifts and opportunities from the situation.

As is true of any lasting habit change, this takes at least 6-weeks of intense work.  If you are interested in this game-changing program then take the Positive Intelligence Saboteur Assessment https://www.positiveintelligence.com/saboteurs/ and then book a free 30-minute coaching call with me at https://www.expcoaching.co.uk/ to find out more!