Investing In Teams

The key to a successful organization always lies in the team. Investing in teams allows you to get the right dynamic; everything else will simply fall into place. 

But it doesn’t just happen. You have to nurture it. If you want the best from your team, you need to put time and effort into it, starting with team building.

When you build your team, do you have a tried and tested formula? You may have the perfect questions to ask in an interview scenario. Perhaps you trust your gut, or maybe you leave it to your existing team members to make the call.

However you do it, it’s got to be right. Teams can evolve and change, especially as new members join and existing members leave. No matter what the changes are, the team’s fundamental core usually stays consistent.

Investing In Your Team

There are 5 things to remember when you are investing in teams, and you should remember them when selecting team members.

These 5 key things will make it super easy to build a successful and happy team. But what does each one mean? 

Heart

It’s really important to spend some time seeing with your heart. This is because the heart is a powerful tool when it comes to making decisions. 

When you feel a connection to someone, it doesn’t come from your head; it comes from your heart. 

Anxiety and fear all come from the brain, so if you stay in your head, you’re dead.

There are 40,000 independent neurons in our heart system. The heart can send more information than it receives from the brain. In fact, most decisions are made at the heart level, and then you justify them with your logical thinking head.

This is powerful because it suggests that the heart can make decisions independently from the brain, and if you listen to your heart more, then you’ll reap the benefits.

Know Your Teammate

You need to know your teammate well. You have to go beyond the basics and get to know the deeper stuff, like what is important to them – what makes them tick. They should, in turn, know what’s important to you.

It is a proven fact that an organization’s engagement, productivity, and profits rise when people feel empowered and valued. One way to do this is to take the time to understand and know your colleagues as individuals. 

The IT Factor

How do you hire a teammate? What do you look for?

You should first identify your applicant’s IT factor and decide if it aligns with your company’s core values.

In the Blue Angels, the IT factor was a purpose larger than self. They had to see the importance of being a role model and connecting with people.

Your business might call for compassion, humility, or adaptability, but whatever the IT factor is, you can usually spot it during the interview process. 

Once you’ve met with a potential recruit, ask yourself if they bring something special to the table and if it matches your organization’s ethos and aims

Team Player

The Blue Angels only ever selected teammates based on who appeared to be the best team player. 

They weren’t chosen for a particular position; they were always selected to be part of the team. Only afterward were they assigned a position. When investing in teams, this worked well for the Angels, and their success rate was high. Very rarely did the team not gel well together.

So when investing in teams, look for someone passionate about your mission. For the Blue Angels, it was about being ambassadors of goodwill, they were looking for people who would own the outcome, not just the position.

This is the epitome of a team player, though, someone who is willing to give more than they receive, to share their knowledge, step up, and accept the mission. You can use this criterion successfully in your organization as these are very impressive attributes.

Trust 

The final and most important thing to look for when investing in teams is trust. 

A team needs trust to excel and be the very best that it can be. You can learn how to trust one another over time, but you have to commit to building and earning that trust every single day.

The Blue Angels referred to it as high-trust contracts. It was an unflinching trust that your teammate had your back and you theirs. When flying in such dangerous conditions, you absolutely need to trust your fellow pilots with your life. 

If your team has trust in one another to follow protocol to the letter and get things done, then you’ll have a happier and more efficient organization.

What To Look For?

Remember that when you’re investing in teams, it starts with a heart feeling. Follow your instinct and then look for the IT factor. You’re looking for:

Dedicating time to your recruitment is essential to building a successful team. Investing in teams creates a more harmonious working environment, and you’ll be more proactive and efficient.

It builds trust, mitigates conflict, encourages communication, and increases collaboration. 

Effective team building will result in more engaged employees, which is great for company culture and boosting productivity.

Spend your time investing in teams, and you’ll build a high-performance team destined for success.