WHO IS YOUR INNER CIRCLE?
"YOUR TEAM SHOULD HELP YOUR BUSINESS GROW, THRIVE AND SCALE BEYOND WHAT YOU COULD DO ALONE"
Just how important is it to have the 'perfect team'? I always remember some excellent advice from someone who said 'be careful who does your recruitment as you will end up with lots of clones of them back'.
The reason for this:
1) We like people who are like us.
2) We are drawn to people who think like us
3) We are flattered when people agree with us.
But is this the right balance for your team?
In the business gold blog with Thomas Cox he gave some great advice https://www.circlewellnessacademy.com/post/crossfit-games-athlete-family-man-entrepreneur-business-gold-with-thomas-cox
"Pay attention to the things you don't like to do and get them done anyway. I hate doing taxes, but if I want my business to succeed I have to get them done"
And this is where your team comes in. There will be things
* You like to do
* You are good at
* You can do quickly
* You want to do
But there are other aspects of the business which are contrary to this. And if you have a team of individuals who are 'like you' with the same strengths, mindset and desires how are you going to achieve your goals holistically as you will all be fighting for who is going to do the 'other' tasks!
Let me bring it alive for you. My wife Jo and I can work together and I count her as an important part of my team. Here is how the balance works
* I am a design and creation lover - everything must look perfect aesthetically. Jo is more pragmatic and encourages me that sometimes 90% is okay if it means we get an article/post/update out on time
*Paperwork takes me time, and frustrates me as it draws me away from my strengths. Jo is detail and will work methodically through company secretary tasks for accounts, tax, registry and all the mundane detail that MUST be taken care of for my company to operate compliantly.
* I have so many ideas and want to do them all. I will put energy and drive and passion into delivering as much as possible. Jo will gently remind me a strategy is not about doing everything, but by doing your company purpose well.
* We don't always agree and we are comfortable having challenging conversations
So what is my purpose of drawing this example out? If I had another 'me' in the team rather than Jo we would have even better design, we would have banks of ideas, we would have aesthetically pleasing perfection. BUT there is a chance we would fall back on some of those 'compliance' tasks.
As you build your team here would be my advice
* Look at your strengths
* Be honest about your weaknesses
*Write down where you want to spend your time and what you want to do
* Be honest about what you struggle with or what you don't want to do
* Use this as a benchmark of the gaps for your team
* Sketch out what roles you need in the business and the type of skills or personality types you need for each role
*Diversify as much as you can (Race, Gender, Culture, Neurodiversity)
A few other team thoughts
* Be aligned on the team goals - if there is an incongruence on the goals or the culture of the company this could cause issue further down the line. Its important to establish the alignment at interview stage
* Leave ego's at the door - be open to challenge and different views, this is where the magic happens. People will only challenge if they feel it is a 'safe' environment to do so, work hard to create that culture
* Never assume. your role is 'more important' - there are definitely some roles that are more glamorous than others but everyone will play an important part to guarantee the success of your business
* Focus hard on valuing each and every team member, reminding everyone how important they are to the success of your company. Take your mind back to the NASA janitor...
Our business consultancy course goes into more depth on recruiting the right team around you, if you would like to know more please drop us a line or check out the course here https://www.circlewellnessacademy.com/businessconsultancy