When Stalin started his reign of terror - his atrocities included the great purge, assassinations and of course sending millions to the gulags - he did not want to be open about this. He wanted the people to admire and look up to him as the savior of Russia. So the massive propaganda machine went to work creating a different identity, a cult of personality for the citizens to admire.

Statues of him were mass produced, movies were made where an actor played Stalin and huge posters were placed all over the Soviet Union. However the statues portrayed Stalin as broad shouldered and well proportioned, the movie actor used to play Stalin was 6 foot 2 and in the posters he was very handsome. The reality - he was a short, fat, ugly and had no shoulders. He wanted to be what he portrayed and even came to believe it himself, but that did not make it true.

How do your sales people view themselves. How do you view them and how do you view yourself? Is it reality or is it simply a "cult of personality" that you or they have created. They want to be a rock star sales person, they want the benefits and they want to be treated like they are. But are they really?

The sales people with the most potential are those that are humble and willing to keep learning. The minute someone starts thinking " I don't need this" or "I don't need to change" progress is stunted and they have developed a false assessment of themselves. Managers cannot afford to defend, protect or soften the reality, they need to be honest and help the sales people grow. They cannot listen to excuses and they need to set the example by making sure they are on a personal development program themselves.