We are opening up our little secret to success before you all today. I believe Helen Keller said it the best: “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”
You get the gist. We are all about teamwork.
Reminds me of another quote by Carnegie. Allow me to quote it for you.
“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results”
– Andrew Carnegie
You see, some might feel teamwork is a pretty trivial concept and doesn’t deserve spending the next 5 minutes of your precious time reading about the same. But hold on a bit. I am not going to gibber-gabber about teamwork, but about assembling the right people in the team to get the work done.
Sounds Interesting? Read on.
Finding the Right People
This is common knowledge that it gets difficult to get all the work done by a single person, and sometimes the overwhelming pressure could lead them to solutions that might not be the absolute best. Of course, getting a lot of people working in a team changes the equation a bit. They would find a better solution to the problem, or would they? It depends a lot on the people involved, the chemistry of the team members and where their interests are vested.
However, the story entirely changes when you find the ‘right people’ and make them work as a team. Their talents and experiences together can provide creative solutions to the problem in the shortest time. That is the embodiment of teamwork. A good team can do wonders in new projects, and perhaps every project, and can leave an ever-lasting impact.
But, it is of utmost importance that this team comprises of the ‘best’ people that are ‘right fit’ for the job. Building a good team of right members may need some added resources, but it is precisely the most critical step.
However, we also agree with the fact that the term ‘Best’ is subjective. Whoever may be the best in their area of practice may or may not be right for the team. It is crucial, thus, to choose the ‘right’ members and not just the best ones. It is the right ones who will be able to gel and work in harmony to bring out the desired results.
In the cult classic BUILT TO LAST, the author Jim Collins while researching the reasons which made some companies last much longer than their competitors and stay far ahead in the game stressed that visionary companies settled only for the best employees with the same mindset.
The core ideology is either shared by the employees or not. There is no middle path in this aspect, shares Jim. He linked it to the reason why new employees either thrive or leave very quickly.
These visionary companies act like big families and gain a cult following when they grow. Once such companies are sure that employees followed their core ideology, they trusted the employees enough to give them room to experiment and generate those ideas that the company relies on.
Thus, it is important to find and invest in the ‘right’ talent.
Who are these right people that we believe investing in?
Let’s say we hire a designer who is good at what he does. However, he cannot bring an ‘aha’ moment in our presentation. He could design an Okay-ish presentation, but the zing that helps us connect with our audience is absent.
He might be good, but he is not right for us.
This very truth holds for all professional service providers we work with – be it accountants, bankers, lawyers, architects or any other service provider. Everyone has to bring the zing in to go from good to great.
Now let’s have a look at the services rendered by a patent attorney. We believe that the ‘right’ patent attorney is one who not only identifies patents to assert that are core to the client’s domain, but also help in unearthing those potential patents which the client may not even be aware of.
He would help the client to formulate strategies to convert patents into financial assets. He would help ensure that the client’s patent portfolio is utilized to avail maximum returns.
Similarly, another key service is marketing. The marketer would help us in expanding our horizons with minimum required expenses and ensure that we reach the target audience of our product or service.
A ‘right’ marketer will choose the apt target audience and find the best way to attract them. He would ensure that the marketing strategy aligns with the mission and vision of the business.
Now, when the ‘right’ patent attorney in our team collaborates with the ‘right’ marketer, we will inevitably find the ‘right’ and ‘best’ business plan to grow.
Thus, as a first step, assembling the right team should be a priority. When the best team is assembled, only then can a leader effectively delegate and expect desired results.
Each team member may act as a cog in the wheel, but the wheel cannot turn properly and efficiently even if a single cog is incompetent. One unproductive resource can also become a big nuisance. Hence, it is required for any company to invest in every one of its employees.
What will happen if we stop investing in these people?
Using the same example, if we keep on neglecting the ideas which our marketer provides or do not follow the advice of our patent attorney, they might not continue to work with the same zeal.
Now, what would happen if we do not provide a traditional marketer with training and resources for digital marketing and social media alternatives? What would happen if the patent attorney is not provided adequate resources to comprehend the latest technologies or products?
The same team member who was the ‘right’ choice for a project might turn into average or even below average, and the team will not be able to deliver the stellar performance as before.
Thus, it is extremely important to ensure that the team members are provided motivation, resources, training, and leadership to achieve the common goals.
When the emphasis is laid on ‘team-building’ it will help the company to retain the existing talent and attract potential candidates.
Each team member is different from the other. In his capacity, a team member brings a unique skill set to the table, which helps them all to act together and deliver the maximum productivity. The individual’s competence to present his skills and communicate in the best possible way with others can only help the teamwork well.
Look the popular TV series ‘SUITS’, all the team members – Harvey, Louis, Jessica, Mike, Rachel, and Donna are all different from one another and have unique skills to offer. That is why collectively they became a great team. But, did they ever stop investing in the team members? No, Rachel even obtained her law degree while employed with the firm.
If a team member approaches the leader for further honing his skills or updating them in consonance with the current trends or technologies, then the company should not shy away from such an investment.
It will reap good returns in the long run. Here, the company is not just fostering the skills of an employee, but also ensuring that the same employee becomes a brand ambassador of that company forever. This is a win-win situation.
Henry Ford has famously remarked:
“The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.”
So, the learning and development curve of an employee is not just his responsibility, but should be a concern for the company. The training costs may be much lesser as compared to the cost of hiring new employees and building the appropriate team.
What to keep in mind when building the right team?
- The leader must communicate the common goals to each team member. He must be able to understand the individual skills sets and check whether they would all be able to come together to work smoothly. The aim should be a smooth work collaboration daily.
- It is also vital that the leader encourages and recognizes the efforts and contributions of each team member. The smooth functioning of the team is also his accountability in addition to the deliverables as per the schedule.
- To achieve the afore-said, the leader should work on providing a proper understanding of the objectives of the project. He must draw the chart of expectations for each team member and ensure that the roles, responsibilities, and accountability are clearly defined. The team members should be willing to trust each other and cooperate. There should be no ambiguous structure between them.
- The ‘right’ team will further have an open mind for new ideas and to facilitate a pleasant work environment. They appreciate sharing knowledge and learning from each other. They are aware of the fact that each member is important and is there in the team due to their skill sets. They would also aim at smart working instead of just being hard working.
- The ‘smart’ employees will aim towards clear-cut goals. They would not want to waste the time and resources in conflicts. They understand the boundaries of their roles and are not insecure in any crisis. They would all be committed and motivated to achieve the desired goals.
It is ideal for the right team to break the project into smaller tasks so that they can all work towards achieving the target at the earliest. For example, we wish to launch new software for aiding research in patents. We do understand that for this project, we not only required patent agents from diverse technologies, but also the ‘right’ software developers.
In this project, small teams can be created to research each technological domain. This research will then flow to our team to write the desired claims for our product. It will be forwarded to the team conducting a prior-art search, which will give suggestions to our software developers to work around the claims.
Only if all the sub-teams function smoothly, we can think of achieving a good product. The team members here complement the strengths of each other.
On the other hand, look at a scenario where what a bad or unsuited team member can do to a project. The first and foremost issue is of confidentiality. What will happen in case the employee steals the classified information of this new software and routes it to our competitors?
We could face irreversible losses. Our reputation may go for a toss. It might get difficult for the leader to trust other employees, and the other team members may find the work environment hostile due to these issues.
Even one single mistake in choosing an unsuitable employee can cause irreparable damage. Which is why it is important to get the “right” people in the team.
Conclusion:
It is time that we transform ourselves. Like a football world cup brings together the teams, fans, and followers closer, we and even you can bring together the best team. The best will follow the mission and vision to achieve the set goals and provide the best results to the clients and stakeholders.
Want the best? Find the right person to join your team.
CMO’s Note: I just couldn’t help but leave a promotional note here, albeit with a bit of context. What does help you decide how to choose the”right” search vendor for your next project? You might have a lot of factors you would consider, but we believe the right search vendor works rather as the partner than the vendor. This partnership approach to search has helped us cross various milestones and establish lasting relationships with our clients. Read more about our approach here – How we strive to set ourselves apart from the rest?
