by Rob Nixon 

What is better? A team of champions or a championship team?

Easy one. A championship team will out-perform a team of champions every time. So how do you create one?

There are 5 key questions that you need to ask yourself (and then act on) in this article, as you build a championship team.

1. Do you have the right people?
2. Are they motivated?
3. Do they know what to do?
4. Do they know how to do it?
5. Do you have the right environment conducive to success?

Let’s deal with each one.

1. Do you have the right people?

In the groundbreaking research book (about successful businesses) “Good to Great” by Jim Collins, the concept of the ‘bus’ kept on coming up. The concept is simple enough …

…get the right people on the bus, get the wrong people off the bus, get the right people in the right seats on the bus and then work out where the bus is going…

There may be some people in your firm who are not the right people. Maybe it’s an administration person. Maybe a sales person. Maybe a partner(s)! Some people just will not change. However, give them a chance and if counseling, career development, or a good talking to doesn’t work, then do them (and your business) a favour and free up their future.

We have all had someone leave (or we asked them to leave) and thought afterwards “I wish I had done that sooner”.

They may be right, but in the wrong seats doing the wrong thing. If you want your team to follow your vision then they must be the right team, in the right seats.

2. Are they motivated?

How long do we spend at work during our lifetime? Let’s say we turn up to work for 40 hours each week. Add a one hour commute each day and make that 45 hours each week. If that's a 45 week year, then we have 2025 hours each year either commuting or attending work. Most will spend about 40 years working so make that 81,000 hours. There are 8,760 hours in a year so that means each and every one of us will spend just over 9 (full) years at work!

With that amount of time spent working you had better enjoy it. We only have one shot at this life and it is our choice if we go through life enjoying it or not. Do you (and your team) want to come to work? Are you (and your team) motivated to do that – or is it drudgery?

What motivates people? It is different for everyone. Some want money. Some interesting work. Maybe it’s recognition. Maybe fulfillment. You don’t know until you ask them.

So ask the team what motivates them. What is their passion? Why do they come to work? What would they change if they could? What are they looking for in a job? 

Now you have to go and do step 1 first (right team on the bus) because it is pointless having a bunch of idiots (best word I could think of) who are motivated. A bunch of motivated idiots is not a good look!!!

3. Do they know what to do?

OK – so you have the right people, you have asked them what motivates them and what they want out of life. Now we start getting technical.

When you hire someone new what is your induction process like?

Is it like most, which is … THANK GOD YOU’RE HERE! There’s your desk, your computer, the rest rooms are over there, here’s some work and I’ll see you at the end of the week!

Or is it more of a structured approach of induction? A structured approach would be where:

1. There is an introductory meeting from the managing director explaining the values, goals and strategy of the business. Also explaining commitments on each side and asking the new person what they want to get out of their employment.

2. There is a formal position description so that the new person knows precisely what they have to do in their role to be successful.

3. They are assigned to a ‘buddy’ in the office who is going to show them around, introduce them to everyone and teach them the systems.

4. There is a team celebration (maybe coffee and cake) to welcome the new person

5. They are not introduced to do the work of their role until they are crystal clear what they have to do and how they do it.

6. There is an ‘end of first week’ meeting by the managing director to see how they are settling into their new role.

On an ongoing basis, giving clear job instructions on each project will also make a marked difference.

Make sure you read next week's newsletter to find out how to answer questions 4 and 5 on How to Build a Championship Team.