Think Like a Leader: How to See the Big Picture and Stay Motivated as an Account Manager

There is a famous short-story about 3 stonecutters. Here's how it goes...

A traveller was walking along when he and came across 3 stonecutters working in a quarry. Each was busy cutting a block of stone. Interested to find out what they were working on, he asked the first stonecutter what he was doing. “I am cutting a stone!”, he said. No wiser, the traveller turned to the second stonecutter and asked him the same question. “I am cutting this block of stone to make sure that it’s square, and its dimensions are uniform, so that it will fit exactly in its place in a wall.” This answer was a bit closer to finding out what the stonecutters were working on but the traveller was still unclear. So, he turned to the third stonecutter. He seemed to be the happiest of the three and when asked what he was doing replied: “I am building a cathedral.”

So often as an account manager you can feel yourself running from meeting to meeting, head down and stuck in the details. It can get overwhelming and at times feedback and setbacks can become demotivating. It can be especially hard as an account executive when all of your tasks seem trivial and insignificant. But true leaders look at the bigger picture. They are the third stonecutter.

So, now again step back from what you are doing and reflect on the shared vision you are working towards. It can be really inspiring to imagine what success looks like at the end of all your hard work. Don't forget to make sure everyone else sees it too.