Mastering Team: Part One

No question is more vexing and arguably more important than the dynamics of building and managing a strong team. Recognizing the significance of this topic, and with a focus on practicality and relevance, we delve into a series of questions that will resonate with entrepreneurs at various stages of their journey, offering valuable perspectives and strategies to tackle common challenges head-on. 

This topic is so big, we had to break it into two parts. Part One looks at the questions, "How do I let go of my business?"; "How do I recruit the right team" and "How do I delegate?". Part 2 is more orientated to building a team culture.

Join us as we explore the intricacies of team management, uncovering practical solutions and invaluable lessons to propel your business towards success. 

Question One: How do I let go of my business?
Your business must be developed to a certain point before you can let go of it. What you ultimately want is for your business to be run by systems, and for your people to run those systems.

To extricate yourself from your business you need a leadership team that can manage the business without you. One of the biggest challenges faced by Business Owners is growing your employees into a leadership body that can control and manage the processes of your business. Finding such a team might short cut this journey, but your going to need the budget to buy in this level of skills. Of course the skills pool isn’t as extensive as we might hope, so finding the right person will be another challenge.

If you are going to step away from your business, the question you will have to ask yourself is: Who is making sure? Who is the person making sure your business is still operating like you set it up to operate? Who is checking? Who is following up? Who is accountable?

Accountability and responsibilities are often confused. There can only be one person who is accountable. You can have many people who are responsible, but the moment you have more than one person accountable you will face a problem. You will see a lot of fingers pointing. The accountable person must follow the action and make sure that objectives are achieved. So the starting point is to get clear about who is accountable for what. Do you have someone accountable for – driving profitable sales; ensuring that your product / service is delivered consistently to the delight of your customers; your finances and business administration is under control and supporting the endeavors of the Business.

Are you able to follow the action? You need to have dashboards in place that gives you sufficient feedback to alert you to problems that might be arising and to give you the confidence that your leadership team are doing a great job (or not). Dashboards should be a mix of lead and lag indicators, as well as a mix of quality and quantity metrics. What are the bits of information (preferably numbers) that would let me know if your business is running smoothly or not. Depending on your business and the division being managed this could be – quote conversion rate; turn-around times; defects/wastage; customer rating scores/complaints (lead indicators); expense variances; sales; GP Margins; Inventory (Lag indicators). Then of course you and your leadership team are going to need to ensure that you have dynamic meeting rhythms and routines in place.

And all of this presumes that your leadership team understand the context and environment in which they operate – do they understand and connect with your Company vision, purpose and strategic thrust? Is the Companys culture defined, nurtured and lived?

Question Two: How do I find the right employees? 

It is tricky getting the right person, and trickier still to get the right person into the right position. But once you’ve managed to crack this, you're in the golden alignment. So how to get there?  

Stage 1: Clarity on the postion 

Organizational Fit vs Productivity 

The most important question is whether the candidate is an organizational fit. Being an organizational fit means that they fit into the company culture and that they have the right attitude.  

The second important question to ask is how productive are they?. Do they have the skills, ability and experience to consistently perform and achieve the outcomes for which you are employing them? 

Duties and Responsibilities vs Outcomes 

When making hiring decisions people tend to focus on the potential employees duties. But the reason you hire a person is because you want them to achieve certain outcomes and objectives for you. The duties and responsibilities are all the things that they will need to do (and often then some) to achieve these outcomes and objectives. The outcomes are the important part. You employ people to achieve something, not to be busy.  

Once you are aware of how what you are looking for, you can begin to define the job. This way you will be hiring a person for the business needs, rather than the other way around. The great mistake that is often made in matters of team is structuring the business around people, rather than around what the business needs. 

All my clients have positional contracts. This document contains: 

• The purpose of the position: This is a one liner identifying the person’s reason for existing in the Company.  
• Three to five measurable outcomes that the person will have to achieve. The outcomes are stated as being achieved, they are the noun so to speak 
• Duties and responsibilities are then allocated to these outcomes. The duties and responsibilities are the adjective (the doing words).  
• The key performance indicators against which their performance can be tracked and measured. See for more information on KPI  

Next you are going to have to get clear on:

• What will make them a cultural fit. This will be informed by your Companys values/cultural statements, so should be the same for all employees irrespective of position. 
• What attributes the person will need for the position – bookkeeping function will require a person with high attention to detail, whereas a sales position will require people skill etc. You need to choose 3 most important attributes and accept that different positions require different attributes. Don’t confuse culture/values with attributes.  
• What qualifications, experience and skills the person needs. 

Stage 2: The recruitment process 

Now that you are clear on what you are looking for, you can begin the process of finding the right person for you.  

Some things to keep in mind:  

• Create as large a pool of good CVs as possible, so that you have a choice. It’s hard to judge one person on their own as here’s no contrast which shows that one applicant is better than the other. 
• Try to put your candidates through multiple screening processes, so you can learn about the different aspects of their personalities. For example, make the first interview a group interview, then move onto one on one interviews. In assisting my clients with group interviews we have had some interesting insights into candidates that we wouldn’t have seen in traditional interviews. 
• Ask great questions. The best indication of future performance is past performance. Ask them questions that require them to draw share past experiences rather than asking questions that they can regurgitate their best prepared answer. 
• Where ever possible ask them to demonstrate their ability by giving them some kind of related task to perform.   

Stage 3: The Onboarding Process 

Onboarding is where you set the tone for the rest of the employment relationship. The first day is the most clay-like any employee is ever going to be. The first four to eight weeks are arguably the most critical period of a person’s employment. After that, they will begin to settle in and revert to their own personal tendencies, which will be highly influenced by the team interactions and cultural introduction they received in the first two weeks, good or bad.  

Be very clear as to what they must achieve in their first month, second month and third month of employment. These deliverables must be reasonable for the employee to achieve and therefore should take into account the fact that they are new. This avoids the no man’s land an employer often finds themselves in when the employee isn’t meeting expectation but because they are new the employer feels unable to address the situation and three years later the problem is still present. Achievable outcomes are a good way to measure if you have made the right hiring decision. Unfortunately, you’re not always going to get it right, even with a solid recruitment process, so if you haven't got the right hire terminate the relationship as quickly as possible. Remember to communicate with them where they are not meeting expectations and give them a chance to do so.  

Question 3: How do I delegate?  

The bottom line is if you are going to do everything yourself, you are going to be the bottleneck in your own business. Our very professional advice to you is: get over yourself.  

That said, delegation isn’t easy. Delegation is a fundamental skill in effective leadership, yet mastering it isn't always straightforward. Here, we delve into four common pitfalls individuals encounter when delegating tasks, shedding light on how these missteps can impede successful outcomes and offering guidance on how to navigate them: 

• Overlooking Priority Emphasis: One of the most frequent errors in delegation is neglecting to delegate task priority. Failing to communicate the urgency or significance of a delegated task can lead to misunderstandings and misaligned expectations. Employees may not grasp the criticality of their assignments, resulting in delays or subpar execution or in fact may prioritise it when in fact they have more important matters to attend to. Always ask the person where what you are delegating fits in to their prioritise, that way you can ensure that they get it right and that you are aligned.  

• Lack of Follow-Up: Without follow up you are abdicating not delegating. Effective delegation requires you to stay connected and follow the action, offering assistance as needed, and ensuring that delegated tasks progress smoothly towards completion. 

• Neglecting Feedback: How will you know if what you delegate is making steady progress towards or has been completed? Neglecting to seek input from delegated team members can hinder collaboration and hinder performance. Without feedback, leaders may remain unaware of potential challenges or inefficiencies, impeding their ability to address issues and refine processes. To foster a culture of openness and continuous improvement, leaders should actively solicit feedback from those tasked with delegated responsibilities, welcoming their perspectives and insights. 

• Consequences: These may be either positive or negative.  In the case of the latter if the delegated responsibilities are not completed as required this needs to be appropriately addressed, as you will get what you tolerate.  While constructive feedback is essential for growth, positive reinforcement is equally vital. Unfortunately, many leaders neglect to acknowledge and celebrate the accomplishments of their team members. Failing to provide positive feedback can demotivate employees, leading to decreased morale and disengagement. Recognizing and praising achievements not only boosts morale but also reinforces desired behaviors and encourages continued excellence. Leaders should make a concerted effort to express appreciation for a job well done.  

By recognizing and addressing these common delegation pitfalls, leaders can enhance their effectiveness in empowering their teams, driving productivity, and fostering a positive work environment. Embracing clear communication, proactive follow-up, feedback solicitation, and positive reinforcement, leaders can cultivate a culture of accountability, collaboration, and success within their organizations. 

Your team is an essential part of getting your business to where it needs to be: making you money. It is important to know how to leverage your team so they aren't reliant on you; how to hire the right team, and how to delegate to your team, so they are supporting you.

We hope this has been helpful for you. If you want to read more, click for PART 2.