Being a small business owner usually means you have to wear many hats. In the beginning, you have to be your own manager, customer service, content creator, marketing and more. As your business grows you need to start offloading some of those tasks. There are only so many hours in a day, right?
When that time comes it is essential to build a strong team for your business’ success. In this post, I will discuss 5 things to keep in mind when building and managing your team.
1 – The right bums in the right seats
Having the right people performing the right tasks will allow your business to grow quickly. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. A great team is one in which everyone’s strengths are put to practice and their weaknesses are supported by other team members. Get to know each individual team member. Be open to team member feedback. This will create a comfortable work environment which will, in turn, encourage all to work to their full potential.
A cohesive team will support each other as they complete their tasks. Foster good communication and trust among your team members. When a team feels comfortable working together and are on the same page workflows easily. When a problem arises they know who to reach out to for help without hesitation.
When people are working on tasks that bring them joy, they are completed in less time. Working on something you aren’t excited about can feel draining and stressful. You are more likely to procrastinate and have a hard time focusing. Make sure to listen to your team members and do your best to assign work that excites them.
2 – Collectively problem-solving
You’ve probably heard the saying “Two heads are better than one”. When your team is comfortable knowing that you are open to their ideas, problem-solving and new ideas will flourish. You have created a safe space where everyone feels free to brainstorm and give feedback without being afraid of judgment. Usually, the greatest ideas come from the least expected places.
Piecing together different ideas and tweaking according to team feedback results in better outcomes than what you would achieve alone. Optimize creativity by combining different inputs and life experiences to produce something new. You may have a vast library of experiences in your mind to pull inspiration from, but imagine the end result of adding the experiences of your team members as well.
When team members work in an environment of respect and support they start to work together as a unit. It is no longer individual contributions, but collective team effort on projects which will be more productive.
3 – Your team will stick around longer
When your team is happy in their work they are less likely to look elsewhere for work. Every new team member requires your investment in training and integrating them into the team. Team turnover is a waste of time and money. You cannot create a cohesive team if the members are constantly changing.
When people are working well together they create social bonds that actually enhance their work environment. A work team containing friendships brings fun and stress relief to the workweek.
When your team feels a part of the process and decision making a shared vision and collective goal is created. They will perceive the business success as their success and will be invested in providing value and results. Team members will feel valued and appreciated while valuing and appreciating their teammates.
4 – Foster good communication
Your team wants to be a part of something bigger than the tasks. Completing random tasks assigned to them may not feel meaningful. Team members are empowered when they understand their role in the project process. When seeing their value they ensure the best possible outcomes.
Bring your team in on meetings, not to talk TO them but to get their input and LISTEN to what they have to offer. Your team members need to feel comfortable speaking up and giving their opinions and ideas. If they feel like their voice is unwelcomed or is dismissed quickly they will stop manifesting and you’ll lose potential ideas and solutions.
Allow your team to lean on one another. When your team is able to work together your time is freed up. You will feel overwhelmed and waste time if you need to be notified of every matter. There are a lot of small issues that you don’t need to get involved in. Your team members are more than capable of solving them amongst themselves if they are comfortable talking to each other and know who to ask for help when needed.
5 – Jack of all trades and master of none
As I said, everyone has strengths and weaknesses, so when building your team be mindful of that and pursue diversity. If everyone on your team has similar backgrounds and capacities you will end up with a team that is very strong on one side, and very weak on another. If you have a diverse team you can balance out weaknesses and create t a strong team. Also, having people with different backgrounds brings in more inputs and inspiration for creating new things and coming up with solutions.
Your team can work when you can’t. Just like everybody else you are not perfect or even great at everything. There are things that fall in your genius zone and others that just don’t. Recognizing tasks that are not your strength and offloading them to a team member that shines is a smart business decision. Keep in mind that if you are a one-man business and you get sick, your business stops. Having a reliable team provides you with the support and peace of mind to take the needed time off.
You can focus on your brilliance as you bring others on to focus on theirs. Just as your team members can balance out each other’s weaknesses, they can balance out yours. Identify the things that you aren’t great at and find those who dedicate their lives to them. By allowing others to handle these tasks you are able to provide value to your clients with the tasks you are amazing at. Everybody wins.
Ready to take your team to the next level? Let us help you!
I work as a verified consultant for an amazing project management tool called ClickUp. In ClickUp we can create a system that is incredible for managing your business and your team. This platform provides you and your team with communication tools and the ability to oversee projects while being on the same page everybody is.
Reach out and tell me about your business and learn how I can help you!
