originally posted at SmoothSale
By Valeri Bocage
CEO Powerful Women International Connections
Aligning your team to the vision, mission, and values of your business or project is probably the single most important element in building a team that works. Naturally, it’s important to choose your team members carefully and select the right people for YOU! Some people work really well together and some do not. Some people are great together in a friendship/relationship and may be horrible in business together and vice versa. Some people may seem great for a while and then they are no longer a fit. Be prepared to be flexible to allow the ebb and flow of building a strong, tight team who really get the vision of your company or project.
Below is my list of how I carefully choose my team members and make sure that they are aligned with our vision, mission, and values.
My Vision
I envision compassionate women leaders using their innate gifts and expanding their leadership roles to be catalysts for positive change in society resulting in a better world especially for children.
I choose people who are aligned with my vision and mission.
What I look for before deciding on a team member:
- Passion and Compassion – People who are passionate and have compassion about others.
- Credibility – People who are credible in their community(ies)
- Authenticity – People who are authentic and can share their breakdowns and circumstances instead of hiding them.
- Humor – People who make me laugh and we laugh together. This builds a bond between people.
- Honesty and Integrity – People who would rather do the right thing than to do something dishonest just to make money.
- Talents and Skills – People who have mastery in their skills and talents. I also make sure that they are using their innate gifts and talents. When you have natural talents, you seem to WANT to work rather than feeling as if you have to work just to make money.
- Their Desires/Passions – I make sure I find out what my team members want and what is important to them. We then incorporate their desires into our work so that they are fulfilled.
My Team:
Carrie Nikitin
I believe Carrie is one of the top business strategists in the world (if not the top strategist!). She listens to (and gets) people’s vision for what they want to do in order for her to help them build their company. Her gifts, talents, and passion are to help start-ups and business of all sizes succeed no matter what challenges they are facing.
Since we were rebranding, it was like starting over. Because of Carrie’s incredible business acumen and talent in working with start-ups, I asked Carrie to be on our team. Creating successful strategies and solutions (for small to million dollar and billion dollar size companies) is a piece of cake for her. Since Carrie has a different way of building businesses than the old model, I see her as a world changer. She is also both gentle and tough.
Pam Terry
Pam is a dear friend and has worked with me for many years. One of Pam’s gifts is that she is a problem solver. She always looks for a win, win situation. She does not like making people feel as if they are incorrect in thinking. She looks for ways to see where the other person is coming from and finds a way to meet in the middle. Pam also loves to do research and is highly resourceful. If she does not know or understand a problem, she will find the answer. She excels in many areas, including technology so she knows (and creates) all of our systems and how they work. Since Pam will find answers for almost anything, I see Pam as one of the smartest people I know.
Click here to read more about our team
My New Orleans Recipe for Success
“I am originally from New Orleans where we are well-known for gumbo. Gumbo is putting a little of all the things you like into one pot and blending it. I use the method of making gumbo when building my team. I take all the best people with their many skills along with my list of criteria of what I am looking for to build my team and Voila! I have an awesome team”!
