Oh, welcome to MakTV. My name is Mak,
and this is a space for first time people managers who are looking just to up
level their confidence and their skills so that they can lead their teams
successfully. So a couple of weeks ago, actually,
I got this fantastic question from actually two of our subscribers who were
looking for more information as to how they can build a team from scratch.
Interestingly enough,
these two subscribers were from completely different worlds.
Actually one was from the corporate setting as a middle manager,
and the other was actually a solopreneur who was about to build her from the
bottom up.
And so I thought this was a fantastic question that obviously can affect two
groups of people. So I wanted to do a video on it today.
So today we're going to be diving into the five essential steps that you need in
order to build your team from scratch successfully.
And of course I'll make it so that it can apply it to either if you're in the
corporate setting as a front line or middle manager,
or if you are a solopreneur building your fantastic team. Okay.
So let's dive in. Okay. So first things first,
it is super important for you to have complete clarity on what it is
you're trying to achieve. Now, if you've been following me for some time,
then you probably have heard me say a couple of times that it's pretty much
impossible for you to hit a target you can't see.
And building a team is really about you and a group of people trying to
achieve a specific outcome.
And so if you don't know what that specific outcome is,
then it would be impossible for you and your team to get there. Which is why,
if you are a frontline or middle manager, whatever the case might be,
then you got to get that clarity from whoever it is in charge about what the
goal is, what is it that this department is trying to achieve together.
That way, when you have that type of clarification, you can build your vision,
which is arguably the most important thing that a manager must do.
And when you build that vision,
then you're able to reverse engineer the outcome,
and then strategically place people in the places they need to be in order to
hit that target. Now,
if you are a solopreneur and you're building out your entire team,
then what you need to do is actually create the vision on your own. Figure out,
like, what is the impact that you are trying to make on the world?
What is the impact that your business has? And then you're able to,
of course,
reverse engineer the outcome of what your goal is based on that vision. Okay,
so once you have the clarity that you need,
the second step would be to do a gap analysis that fits your purpose so
that you were hiring with intention rather than just hiring based on what you
think you need.
It is far more effective to hire people that will get you that much closer to
where you are going rather than just hiring at random. Now,
the good news is because you started with the end in mind,
you already know the type of team player you need in order to help you hit that
target. So for example, let's say your department,
the goal for the year is to really up level customer care. You know,
based on that end goal,
that you need to hire people and train people based on that goal.
You also know something really important,
which is that you need to be looking for people that have the qualities that
will get you to that goal, right? It's not just their skillset,
but also the qualities. So perhaps you know,
that you're looking for people that have a lot of empathy because you know,
that will help you with the customer care aspect. Now,
if you're a business owner and your dream let's say is to be on stage,
like you feel as though you can have the greatest impact on many people by being
on stage and talking about your expertise. Then when you hire,
perhaps you'll hire someone that can pitch you to different people or put you
in rooms where your expertise can be seen so that you can one day be on stage
rather than hiring someone that's just doing your backend admin tasks, right?
You want to hire strategically and starting with the end in mind helps you
do that. Even just doing that gap analysis.
So it's really important to do that gap analysis to see, okay,
this is where we are right now. This is where I want to be.
What is it that I need to get here?
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 their expectations
met. And nothing is more frustrating for a team player than not having clear
expectations.
This is why it's truly important that you are building out from the very
beginning, what the expectations are. I mean,
every single person on that team should have a metric.
Whether you're using KPIs or OKR's,
each and every person should know what the expectations are and how they know
whether they are progressing or whether they are not progressing at all right.
Each and every person needs to be very clear as to what the expectations are and
how they know they are being,
how they know they are successful at what they're doing.
The next important ingredient is to set up for yourself,
communication guidelines and systems.
Communication is one of those things that just plagues all teams,
particularly the teams that are moving fast, which honestly,
it seems as though all businesses are having to move fast in this day and age,
just due to your climate, a lot of pivots are happening.
And so communication is something that is essential for them to be successful.
Particularly if you are working remotely,
because there's this added layer of complication to your communication methods.
And so you really have to be intentional about what you communicate
and how you communicate. I'm talking scheduled, regular and systematized.
It has to be, I mean, success does not happen by accident.
You have to set it up for yourself or you have to put the things, the, um,
the things in place in order for you to be successful. And there's,
it's no different with communication. You know,
one of the best quotes I have ever heard on communication is actually by George
Bernard Shaw,
where he says that the greatest or the single biggest problem with communication
is the illusion that it has already taken place. Okay.
I love that.
The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has
already taken place. We take communication for granted,
even though it is super, super important.
And so that's why I'm saying you have to get very intentional about it.
And this is why a large part of my new manager accelerator program is helping my
students develop, right?
The systems and processes for consistent communication and doing it
properly so that they have the impact that they want.
I also help them set up a team charter so that they are communicating in the
right way, right?
So that all team members know how to communicate with each other so that things
are actually getting done. Okay.
So the fifth ingredient that is essential to building a successful
team is for you as the team leader,
to get the training and development that you require in order to lead this team.
A team is only just a reflection of its leader.
And so if you are not getting the results that you're looking for,
then that means that something is broken. You know,
John Maxwell says that everything literally rises and falls with a
leader. And so if there is, you know, a lack of accountability on the team,
then chances are that maybe there might be something that you're doing that is
causing this lack of accountability.
If you're not getting the desired results that you're wanting in terms of the
goals being met,
then maybe it's because you have not clearly stated what the goals are or how
they're supposed to reach these goals, right?
Everything literally falls back on the leader. And, you know,
the truth is that the skills that are required to lead a team are completely
different than what it is to be an individual contributor.
It is a completely different set of skills, ones that we are not born with.
And so you have to seek out the help that you need in order to lead
this team. Right?
And so that is probably one of the most crucial steps that you have to take once
you are building a team,
make sure that you are equipped with what you need in order to do the things
that sometimes are a little bit difficult,
but are very much needed in order to build a successful team.
So that's pretty much it.
Those are your five essential ingredients to building a successful team from
scratch. It was great to be with you here this week.
I hope that you enjoy this week's episode and I will see you in the next one.