Are you building your team from scratch? Well you are in luck because in today’s video we are going to be diving into 5 ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS to building a team from scratch.

Would you prefer to read rather than watch? Not to worry! You can read the blog post below.

ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT #1 – KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE AND WHY

Having a clear picture of the end goal is important when it comes to building your team because if you don’t have a clear understanding yourself of what it is you are trying to achieve there’s no way you can place key players where they need to be or hire the people you need to hire in order to achieve whatever it is that you are trying to achieve. So as a new manager it’s important for you to talk to whoever is in charge about what the end goal is – that way you are able to create a vision and start reverse engineering that outcome with all the puzzle pieces that are needed. 

Now, if you are a solopreneur moving into leadership as a first time manager the same thing applies – except you as the business owner have to think through what is it that you as a business owner are trying to achieve? What is the impact that you are trying to make and the goals you are trying to achieve? 

ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT #2 – DO A GAP ANALYSIS

Once you have that clarity – the second step is to do a gap analysis that fits your purpose so that you are hiring with intention. Rather than just hiring for the sake of hiring based on what you think you need. It is far more effective to hire people that will get you closer to your target – that can’t be random. But the good news is that because you started with the end in mind you would have thought through exactly the type of player that is needed to help you achieve your goals. For example, if this year the goal of your department is to provide outstanding customer care, then you know based on that goal that not only do you need to hire and then train based on that but you need people who have the qualities that will lend to that like for example empathy. 

If you’re a business owner and your goal is to be on stage speaking and making an impact then it would be advantageous to you that the person that you hire can get you closer to that perhaps pitching on your behalf rather than them doing the general admin tasks or it could be vice versa – whatever you might think is best. 

Either way, knowing your purpose helps you create a gap analysis that will help you build the right pieces. 

ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT #3

The third thing you want to do is build out defined roles and responsibilities. Nothing is more frustrating to a team leader than not having expectations met, and nothing is more frustrating to a team member than not having clear expectations. So it’s supEr important as you are building out your team that you are clearly defining what the expectations are and the metrics that will measure that success so whether or not you are using OKRs or KPI’s you want to make sure that everyone will understand what is expected of them and how they will know whether they are on track or off track of the expectations. I would argue that it is important to have as much of this as you can lay out even before you bring on a new team member so that they are coming into a situation that is clear from the beginning. 

In fact, I suggest hiring based on it! 

ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT #4

The next important ingredient is to set up communication guidelines and systems. Communication plagues many teams particularly the teams that are moving fast – which most businesses are today. I mean due to the climate of the world – you might have to pivot quickly. Or on the flip side you might be working remotely in which case you have an added layer to communication. This means that communication has to be done with intentionality. I’m talking scheduled, regular, systematized – if you do not plan it, it will not get done and you will find yourself with a heap of problems.

If you do not get intentional about it, it will not happen. In the New Manager Accelerator I walk my students through a series of communication systems such as the one on one, your team meeting which needs to be done properly in order for it to be thorough and  a team charter which is more about how you communicate with each other as a team and the systems you use to do so. If you’re interested in who you should be, if proper team leadership is your jam – then I highly suggest you check out the details below this blog!

ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT #5

Okay the 5th ingredient to building a team is for you as the leader to develop the skills required to lead that team. A team is a direct reflection of its leader. And so, if you are not getting the results you are looking for then chances are it’s because something is broken.

If you are not showing accountability then your team will not. If things are not being done to the quality that you want, it could be because they were not given the proper training, coaching, course correction. Or maybe they are being allowed to stay on the team despite not meeting expectations. You see it all comes back to you as the team leader. Which is why it’s crucial that you seek out the development that you require.