Editor’s note: This is the fifth post of the Fast Forward Your Business series by guest blogger Phil Badura from ActionCOACH. 

The Business Ladder of Success

In the last instalment we addressed Level 3 – Leverage, which is all about implementing systems into your business. In this post, we move on to Level 4 – Team.

Level 4 – Team

Your team provides the structure for growth of your business.

In business, a team can be defined as a group of people with a full set of complementary skills required to complete a task, job or project.

Team members:

• Are accountable for the collective performance
• Operate with a high degree of interdependence
• Share authority and responsibility for self management
• Work towards a common goal and shared rewards

A team becomes more than just a collection of people when a strong sense of purpose and mutual commitment creates synergy, thus generating performance greater than the sum of the performance of its individual members.

Keys to a Winning Team

• Strong Leadership

As the business owner it is critically essential that as the Leader, you create and hold the Vision and Purpose for the business and set the Expectations for the team around these.

• Common Goal

Having a Common Goal enrols and inspires the team to work towards achieving the best outcomes for the business.

• Rules of the Game

Setting the culture for the business entitles individuals the right to be part of the team. When ALL of the team members understand and know what the Rules of the Game are that they are playing by in the workplace, it makes for a happier environment to work in achieving the business’s objectives.

• Action Plan

This is putting a plan in place so that Everyone knows Who Does What and By When. Developing an action plan can help change makers turn their visions into reality, and increase efficiency and accountability within a business. An action plan describes the way your business will meet its objectives through detailed action steps that describe how and when these steps will be taken.

• Support Risk Taking

Some of the greatest business and productivity improvements have been achieved through team members taking a calculated risk in trying something different in seeking improvement. Let people test their ideas in seeking out Constant and Never Ending Improvement.

• 100% Involvement/Inclusion

Having employees 100% involved creates Positive Synergy within the team. When people share common interests, they align their individual efforts toward the same goal. More specifically, they find personal affinities that help them work together, seek opportunities to leverage each other’s talents, and measure the results of their collective efforts with respect to their common goal.

Getting the right people on the bus

One of the most important considerations in building a winning team is to have a well documented and robust Recruitment Process.

The key points for a robust recruitment process are:

• Person Profile

Define the key skills and personal attributes that you are seeking for the role in question. What are the key elements that will enable the person to ‘fit the team culture’?

• Position Description

Define the key position requirements and scope of the role including Key Performance Indicators and measurement criteria for evaluating employee performance.

• Job Advertisement

Write the ad with a ‘YOU’ focus, outlining the key attributes that ‘the right person’ will be looking for in a new role. Sell the position!

• Screening Process

Remember, some people are great at selling themselves but may not be able to deliver ‘the goods’. Conversely, other people may not be so good at selling themselves and what they can do, so it’s imperative that your screening process brings out ALL of the details about the candidate.

• De-Selection

The recruitment process should not be about a Selection process but more about the De-Selection process. The aim is to have candidates de-select themselves from the recruitment process.

• Engagement and Induction

The final stage is making an offer and signing off on an Employment Contract, and ensuring that you have a robust induction program for the new employee.

Utilising Technology within the Team

In today’s environment there are a number of new technologies (like ServiceM8) that can be used by teams for improving efficiency and productivity. 

When considering what technology improvements you can make to increase your team’s efficiency, it is important to consider how the technology integrates with the other management systems you have in place.

Remember, creating a winning team is the final stage of being able to develop the team to the point where you are able to consider appointing a General Manager to run your business.  

When you reach this point you can put the business on Auto-Pilot and have ‘A Commercial, Profitable Enterprise, That Works, Without You’.  

In the next (final) instalment of Fast Forward Your Business we’ll address Level 5 and 6 – Synergy & Results

In business, it is always the little things that get big results. Take the Business Health Check Here to receive a complimentary report on the ‘health status’ of your Business.

Phil Badura – Business Coach

Phil is a certified Business Coach at ActionCOACH. Specialising in business advice, planning, coaching and mentoring, Phil’s passion is for helping small and medium-sized businesses grow and become more profitable.