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As I work with leaders and their growing organizations, I have come to see that the most difficult part of growth is building a high-performing team. Everyone wants a team of A players, but you don’t always get them. We think good people cost a lot of money. We worry that those good people might leave for the next new opportunity. Some business managers and owners would rather hire and keep B players in the same position to avoid turnover.
Through my experience of working with different teams as a coach, a team member, and a team leader, I believe these are the four keys to building an agile and productive team for your growing organizations:
Recruit smart, hardworking, and [insert your own positive characteristics] people rather than looking solely at their skill sets. In this day and age with information at our fingertips, it’s easy to figure out how to do something. Skills matter, but a skillset that is necessary now might be useless next year for your growing organization. It is also more important to have great people even before you have a direction, because directions change quickly based on market needs! So recruit people that can learn quickly, who you want to work with, and leaders who you would want to follow.
What are the characteristics of the people that you would love to work with? To follow as a leader? How will your organization help them grow?
Even when I found myself in a corporate role that matched up with my skillset and passion, I still left because the company’s purpose did not align with mine. When you have a whole new team, it’s important to have them be part of the purpose and values creation process. You do not have to worry about people leaving if they admire you as a leader and agree with your purpose and vision. It’s not just about the money; it’s the upside of working with you.
How can you get your people to buy into your organization’s purpose? Are you thinking big enough to keep everyone excited to be part of that growth?
Related: How to Create a 'Higher Purpose' For Your Company Culture
Finding alignment between passion and purpose is a key contributor to employee engagement. When you have alignment, you don’t need to constantly worry about motivating your team. You can do this by giving your team opportunities to do what they love to do. Imagine someone who loves singing getting asked to sing at a company event. Listen to your people. At the same time, show your team that passions can be developed as you get great at what you do and bring joy to what you do. If you are able to align passion, purpose and profit, you have a highly engaged organization.
What do your people love to do? How can they contribute with their passions? How can you help cultivate those passions?
Related: 5 Meaningful & Better Ways You Can Show Appreciation At Work
Assumptions are killers in productivity. When managers provide clear expectations, their team members are 41% less likely to feel burnout. If you think a report should be done in a day but your team actually thinks it should take a week, there’s a gap in setting expectations. As the team gets bigger, these gaps grow wider. As you anticipate growing, you’ll need to have actual agreements such as standard operating procedures, work instructions, defined roles and responsibilities. It’s never too early to start setting clearer expectations.
Do you communicate well with your team? Are you forming agreement with your team or just expectations for them?
Discover the impact of a culture that can scale and adapt as your business grows:
