You’ve likely heard the Helen Keller quote “alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” or the African Proverb “if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Well I, for one, would like to “do so much” AND would like to “go far.” One of the best decisions I’ve made in financial services was to grow my team. Yes, I could act as a solo practitioner but we are so much more effective as a team for many reasons. These may seem obvious but they are worth writing down to get to a starting point.
Capitalize on Diversity – utilizing different perspectives, skill sets and life experiences can only make your team stronger as a result. For example do you have multiple generations represented on your team? If yes, what is the value to the firm to include that diverse perspective? How can you capitalize on that to better serve your clients? Will having a younger team member help you better relate to the children of your clients? Will a younger team member bring more energy to the team around using new technology? Will a team member faced with caring for their elderly parent(s) bring a perspective as your own clients begin to face the same challenges?
Play to Your Strengths – instead of doing it ALL, begin to find the beauty in doing what you’re best at. Hiring to my weaknesses certainly has helped me enjoy what I do more. It has also seemed to multiply my time, since what I’m not fond of doing tends to take me longer because it’s just not my thing.
So what are some key ingredients to building a high functioning collaborative team?
Create a culture where team members are allowed to take ownership. Don’t give directives strictly from the top. Allow them to be part of decisions and allow them to represent their area of expertise in the process. We have monthly meetings to discussion new initiatives and that is exactly what we try to do in our firm. For example, an idea may seem amazing to the sales team, but to the support team it’s impossible to implement in the proposed timeframe. Make adjustments based on the collective groups feedback and you will have a much higher likelihood of success.
Each role plays a valuable part in the bigger picture. Without a role filled the success and productivity of the entire team is affected. When each team member has a sense of purpose and sees the piece of the puzzle they complete they know their job matters. Celebrating successes together only solidifies this within teams.
Emphasize constant communication as projects and cases getting shifted from one person to the next. If you are focused only on what you are good at, then you will at some point be making a hand off for a period of time. Developing a process and workflow becomes critical when teaming. Without a process we are likely to fail or let something or someone slip through the cracks. The teams that do this seamlessly find great success.
Have each other’s back and support each other like family. In our office, no job is beneath you. If something is critical and needs to be done we say “all hands on deck”. Together we get it done. We also find time to just simply have fun together often outside of work time.
Collective minds coming together allows us to put our best foot forward with our clients. It also helps us find greater joy in our work. It helps us build a model that is built for the long term and allows us to serve clients more completely. If you feel like you need assistance creating a culture of teamwork, visit https://www.julimcneely.com/coaching or email support@julimcneely.com.
I wish you great success!
-Juli McNeely