When a rep is struggling, most managers reach for one of two tools.
More pressure. Or more training.
Both can work. Both can also make things worse, because they fix different problems.
Hersey and Blanchard's situational leadership describes a person's readiness as two things: ability and willingness. In plain field language, skill and will.
A skill gap looks like this: the rep tries hard, but the calls do not land. Pressure does not help, because effort was never the problem. What helps is showing, practising, then watching it on the next double visit.
A will gap looks different: the rep knows how, but the energy has gone. Another training session on what they already know feels like an insult. What helps is a real conversation. Something has changed. A lost doctor, workload, something at home, sometimes the relationship with me.
So before I decide anything, I ask.
- For skill: "Walk me through that call. Where did it get hard?"
- For will: "What has changed for you in the last few months?"
The answer usually tells you which one it is. Often it is a bit of both, and then I start with the will, because skill work does not stick without it.
“Train a skill gap. Talk through a will gap. Never mix them up.”
Lesson 8 of 23 in Step 4: Coaching, with the full guide and a checklist for this week.