Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Nicole Cowart – an experienced HR and Organisational Development professional and writer at CustomWriting.com. Her opinions are her own.
Being surrounded by geniuses is great, but sometimes it is hard in practice. In this post, you will learn how to become a leader and build a team of true professionals.
One of the most important rules of entrepreneurs says: “Hire those who are better than you.” – smart, experienced employees who will require less control, and help you save time.
The problem is that each person has his or her own ego and brings along a certain degree of uncertainty. In other words, being surrounded by people, smarter than yourself, you can end up feeling a whole range of negative emotions, no matter how successful you are.
To become a successful entrepreneur and a full-fledged leader you may have to work on yourself.
1. Be aware of your strengths
Knowing your strengths means coming up with an objective assessment of your skills and knowledge. If you have gathered a strong team, then you have something to offer them. Focus only on what you already have, not on what you lack.
Write down your strengths on a piece of paper. Then ask yourself why each one is a strength and answer yourself honestly and objectively. This will give you confidence.
Be honest with your people. Ask them questions. If you do not, you will not get the answers. The more you compete with your team, the less you will learn and do. When you accept the fact that there is always someone smarter than you, training will become much easier and more fruitful.
2. Become Head Recruiter for a while
The more you are involved in the selection process, the more likely you are to find exactly who (and what) you need. Not even the most competent recruiter will be able to form your dream team for you. Sure they will be able to assess professional experience adequately, but they won’t be able to determine the candidate’s true potential, and readiness to work under your conditions of high speed and hard deadlines.
Will you really be able to work together? Does your potential hire possess the “fighting spirit” you require? These are the types of questions that only the team leader can determine the answers for.
3. Play on ambitions and provide a challenge
Good employees are hard to find. But they are even harder to keep. They typically don’t find it hard to secure a role, and money is not always their primary motivator when choosing a new employer. What can you offer candidates? The main motivator for someone considering a role within a startup is their own ambition. Your goal as a leader is to turn strict deadlines, relentlessly high workloads and an expectation of speedy (yet high quality) output into a professional challenge, an incentive for creativity and thinking outside the box.
It does not matter what the challenge is about – a change in design or an increase in sales. Your task is to add excitement to the activities of your employees, to kindle a fighting spirit, and to ensure they enjoy the work they do for you.
4. Get the best
Do not skimp. Sure, some professionals will be ‘more expensive’, harder to attract and retain, but the effectiveness of their work will surpass all such costs.
You won’t have to watch over them, waste time explaining and correcting their mistakes, or doing their work for them. It is always better to hire one super-specialist than two mediocre performers.
Look for those who have achieved outstanding successes. Someone who has achieved outstanding success in any business will stay up all night on your project and is less likely to leave the race halfway through it.
5. Delegate – but do not change your principles
To be responsible for your business does not mean doing everything yourself.
One of the main principles of teamwork is in fact collaboration. Do not forget to include it into your business strategy. But keep in mind that in order to delegate work to another person, you need to be able to make decisions.
It’s inevitable that at some point you will need to make tough decisions. If you do not falter, and you firmly believe in your decision, then it means it’s the right one for you and your business. Be confident in yourself.
And finally – appreciate the people who work for you. Believe in cooperation, create team events and give them the feeling of being wanted and respected.
Author
Michael Overell
Michael Overell is a seasoned entrepreneur and business leader with a proven track record in building companies, products, and teams in both startup and hyper-growth environments. Currently, he serves as a key executive at ClassDojo, where he is responsible for driving revenue growth and helping children around the world access quality education. Michael is also actively involved in investing and providing support to promising foreign founders looking to break into the US market through his work with Antipodes.
