Putting together a business team that really clicks is no easy task. When you are dealing with clients, you need hard workers willing to commit to a single goal. All members of a high-functioning team must be fully on board with the mission, which in this case, is helping to secure a clients’ financial futures.
In effective teams, each member makes the other better, says Brett Steenbarger, an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY. “There is always synergy,” he adds. “People learn from each other, support each other, help each other. Among less effective teams we see conflict and clashing agendas, taking without giving, and lukewarm commitment.”
Here are a few expert tips for putting together the best team possible.
Communicate Your Goals
The raison d’etre of any business should be to become the preferred provider of products or services to its markets — the firm that clients choose first. Develop strategies with your team to be on a journey to become that preferred provider and share with all employees why this is important, says Biz Journals.
Choose Staff Wisely
Employees represent you, as well as your company. The results they achieve (or fail to achieve) and the ability to work cohesively as a team have a direct impact on your reputation as an effective leader. Ensure your team members have common sense and strong critical judgment. Each team member must be willing to devote a reasonable amount of time and energy to advancing the group’s mission and must be able to trust that all other team members are doing the same.
Ensure Diversity
Teams that possess a wide range of professional skills and competencies are more fully equipped to meet a wider range of challenges, says Small Business Chronicle. When building teams, take time to ensure that each member possesses skills and strengths that complement the skills, strengths and weaknesses of other team members. Teams with common skill-sets often accomplish little. Ensure that each team member possesses a unique specialty, while fully understanding what exactly they are expected to contribute to the overall mission.
Allow Creative Freedom
All team members should feel free to think creatively — to try new things and perhaps fail, without the fear of consequences. Team members must be able to trust that others will listen to their ideas, openly and willingly. In addition, the team must be adaptable enough to accommodate the changes necessary to bring new ideas to realization.
Dwayne Rettinger, an Executive Financial Consultant at IG Wealth Management, says empowering his team and his associates was critical in terms of improving performance in his financial practice. “There was a time where I was the weak link and it was my capacity that mattered in terms of our productivity and growth,” Dwayne Rettinger said in an interview.
“Now, I truly have a flat organizational structure,” Rettinger says. “I’m not a boss, I’m just a team member, and all my Associates have equal capacity and capability and I simply leverage that. That has allowed us to expand our collective capacity.”
As you build your own team, keep the above points in mind. By following a few select guidelines, you can build a well-balanced team that is trustworthy and has the skills to meet the goals set in front of them.
Dwayne Rettinger, Investors Group Financial Services Inc.
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This is a general source of information only. It is not intended to provide personalized tax, legal or investment advice, and is not intended as a solicitation to purchase securities. Dwayne Rettinger is solely responsible for its content. For more information on this topic or any other financial matter, please contact an IG Wealth Management Consultant.