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Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

Every Wednesday is Personal Development in Business…

I recently learned an important lesson in business that I’d like to share with you. My partner and I run a website & video production company. We produce design driven media to help companies brand their business online. Our business is highly dependent on team work, and therefore putting the right team together is imperative to each project. Everyone involved in a particular project plays a role, and as the saying goes, you are only as strong as your weakest link.

In order to stay versatile in the web business, it is imperative from time to time to work with contracted outsources. Picking these outsources is where I learned an important lesson. Like many other businesses, we have formed relationships with many different outsources that we feel confident in. However, sometimes, because of the rapid changing technology, you need to go outside your trusted sources. This happened to us a few months ago. We needed a developer specializing in a rather new coding language. So, as the process goes, we put out a job ad, and then checked out the work from the responders. It is evaluating these sources where I learned an important lesson.

Picking your team is critical to success in business…

At first, my partner who handles the majority of the creative decisions, would sift through the work and pick out the most talented and qualified people. After this, we send emails to each of them to get an estimate of both the cost and the time for completion. Then, after we have all of this information, we make a decision on who to meet with. It is during this interview that we decide if we have made the right decision.

The lesson I learned is the order of importance for certain characteristics when selecting who to work with. See, at first, my partner and I, like most people, were all about talent. The more talented the work, the more we wanted to make them a part of our team. Talent is an important part of the creative process, and everyone figures the more talent you have, the better off you are. However, this was our mistake.

Headaches Cost Money…

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation, and only 5 minutes to ruin it.” -Warren Buffett

Talent is not the most important characteristic when building a team. In fact, it is last on the list. Time is money, especially in business. Therefore, the less headaches, the less time spent, and consequently, the more money made. Plus, even more important, is building a relationship with clients. The more headaches for the client, the less likely they are to work with you again. Nothing is worse than having to cover for your team when you know they are wrong. Protect your reputation by choosing the right people to represent your company.

A perfect example of this is last year’s Dallas Cowboys football team. They ignored all external factors when putting together their roster, choosing to go with talent over all else. Their squad was loaded with talented players with questionable character. What happened was the locker room collapsed, the distractions became too many, and they are still dealing with the aftermath from this season. They sold their soul and now they are desperate to get it back.

Anytime you work in a team, it is the culmination of that team’s effort that makes a project successful. It is never just one talented individual, no matter how it may seem. Everyone plays their role, whether it’s a success, or a failure. To help you get the most out of your team, I have come up with a priority list to refer to when judging candidates. Whether outsources, employees, or just a 5th member of your local basketball pick up team, this short list will help you make the right decision.

Top 4 Characteristics for Picking Team Players

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1. Professionalism

The key to quality and efficiency is professionalism. This is defined as a person who understands they are part of a business and therefore acts in a professional manner. They understand what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. They help out with client relations by providing honest feedback, quick responses, and by meeting deadlines. In short, their professionalism makes your job easier. Even though they are not representing your business, they act as if they are.

2. Relationship Builders

A good team player thinks long term. They understand that one project can be the beginning of a beneficial relationship for both parties. Good team players will ask about the project, give their professional input, and list their price for services. Individuals will give demands, worry about themselves, and think short term. If the person starts to ask questions about personal goals, benefits, or rewards, then you may have to move on. These types focus only on the single project and how it affects the now. Long term team players worry about building a relationship. I have found businesses, even one person shops, understand the importance of relationship building better than the work-starved freelancers eager desperate to pay their bills.

3. Experience

Nothing makes working with someone easier than experience. Experience means they have learned from their mistakes, and can even add to your experience. Nothing makes life easier than have someone to work with who has experience doing what you need them too. It gives you confidence in their abilities. This confidence makes life easier, because you will spend less time questioning if what they say is accurate. Simply put, you know they’ve been there, done that, and therefore they can do it again.

4. Talent

Talent is important, but it takes a back seat to these characteristics. Don’t get caught up in the wow factor of someone’s work. Take it into consideration, but look past the glitz and glamour. Remember, no team is dependent on one person to carry them. A team is only as good as the sum of its parts. Adding talent to one part of a team is useless if it is going to drain the talent from other parts of the team.

Comment Below

What characteristics do you find essential to building the right team?

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Tomorrow the 2008 National Football League (NFL) season begins when the New York Giants take on the Washington Redskins in the Hall of Fame game.  This is one of my favorite times of year, as the kids return to school, American Football is back on Sundays, and the beautiful changing of the seasons is about to begin (at least in New Jersey).

One of the elements I love about Football is the concept of team work.  In order to be successful in the NFL, or in any sport for that matter, you must work cohesively as a team.  It does not matter if you have all the best players in the world.  If you do not work as one, all of that talent will be wasted.  That’s a great segue into today’s topic:

Working together as a team

Whether it’s just with one other person, or an entire football team, learning to work as a team is extremely critical to attaining success in any business.  Nothing is more beautiful to watch than an entire team working in unison toward one single goal.

“Team work is not about the glory, it’s about the end goal.“

Sports is a great example of this.  In fact, another great team work sport, even more popular than American Football is, well, ‘Futbol’, otherwise known as Soccer in the United States.  Scoring a goal in soccer can be one of the most beautiful examples of teamwork that there is.  For example….

Did you notice the way the ball moves as if they are all one unit.  On some of these goals, you barely notice the goalie, because his presence did not matter.  He had no chance of making the save.  The team was too strong to be stopped.

Now, you don’t have to be a world renowned Soccer star to understand the concepts of good team work.  These concepts work for any type of team, especially in business. My partner and I are always battling to find the best way to work together as a team.  It can take some time to work out all of the kinks.  Below is a list of that I find helpful to make the ‘kink’ period a little smoother.  I believe these 7 tips will boost any team’s spirit, and help speed up the process.

Be Patient

One of the biggest things for me to overcome was my lack of patience.  There is no specific area you want to be patient in.  It is just a general rule.  Patience is key to developing a good team.  Everyone involved must understand that perfecting their team work is a process.  It takes time.

Focus on strengths, not weaknesses.

Sometimes people fall behind on the team.  They become the weakest link.  A weak team will chide this person, and make them feel responsible for the team failures.  However, a strong team will understand the weakest link needs help.  They will formulate their strategy around strengthening that weak link, and getting the most out of it they can.

A great example of this is the New England Patriots of the NFL.  If they feel like they will have trouble running the ball on a particular team, then they just throw the ball instead.  They formulate a weekly plan in order to maximize their advantages.  They disguise their weaknesses, and they focus on their strengths.  They lost only one game last year, and it was the Super Bowl.  They are widely considered the best team in Football year after year.

Put Down the Gavel!

We are all human.  It’s common knowledge that every one of us makes mistakes.  If a teammate makes a mistake, or has a mishap in judgment, try not to hold it against them.  If it becomes consistent, than that is a different story.  However, if it is just a one time event, or an honest mistake, try to just let it go.  Perfection is an unrealistic expectation in my opinion.  There is no perfect person, team, or anything else living that I am aware of.  Perfection is just a made up idea.  Life, however, is reality.  So when a teammate makes a mistake, remember that on a different day, that very well could be you.

Who is the Expert?

This tip is especially useful for creative teams.  I have learned from working with my partner that it is usually better to yield to each of our own areas of expertise.  For example, my partner is very experienced and talented in graphic design and basically art in general.  This has helped him become an incredible web designer.  I, on the other hand, am not a web designer.  I do not have the same experience, so therefore, I understand that I do not necessarily know better, I just may notice something that he has not.

When we are looking at a mock up of a web page he has created, occasionally I will have a difference of opinion.  Sometimes I may not like the color scheme, or maybe I think the color of the titles should be different.  The truth is, even if I think I do, I never particularly know what’s wrong, but I do know when something doesn’t feel right.

Instead of sticking to what I think is wrong, and declaring it’s my way or the highway, I begin to ask questions like…

‘Why are those titles red?’

‘Do you think they would look better in green, or no?’

‘What if we moved this over here?  Will that work?’

‘Do you think this area could be better, or are you saving that space for something?’

Instead of him changing to what I think, he begins to search for his own answers.  Now, he is answering his own questions and making decisions I would have never thought of.  Instead of challenging him, I begin to get him to think.  I begin to get him to see what I think I see.  Sometimes, he proves my opinions dead wrong.  [Actually, more often than not ]  However, in the end, we not only have a stronger product, we have a stronger team.

It’s Not What You Say, It’s How you Say It

This has always been my biggest problem.  Since I was young, I never was wrong for what I said.  It was always how I said it.  I guess that comes from being overly emotional at times.  My ego would tell me I am right, therefore I have the right to act like a lunatic.  That is not the best way to work, unfortunately for the ‘younger me‘.   I have worked most of my life at trying to say things the right way to people.  What I have found, is it works wonders.

What I try to do is concentrate on my goal, and not on what is said.  For example, if I know someone is wrong, that does not mean I have to call them out on it.  I may ask them if they knew of a different, better way.  Or I may say that that is a great way to do it, but we like to do it this way.  My point is, I do not make it an issue of right vs. wrong.  It is more an issue of options.

The other advice is to understand that everyone is different.  Some people like to e kept in line, others like not to be bothered.  So if one approach is not working, try a different approach.  It may be just what your team needs.

Trust is Key

This is a simple, but extremely important element.  If you do not trust the people on your team, then you are not going to be successful.  It is that simple.

I do not mean you have to trust them with your life, but you do have to trust in their abilities.  Micromanaging a teammate’s responsibilities only causes more stress on yourself.  Have faith in their abilities and try to learn how to get the most out of them.  But most of all, trust them.  Try to give them the confidence in themselves that they may otherwise be lacking.

Believe

Just like trust, this is a rather simple, yet utterly important concept.  You have to believe in your team.  You have believe that whatever goal you are trying for is reachable for your team.  Even if logic says otherwise, and people doubt you, you persevere on b/c you believe in your team.  There has never been the exact same team under the exact same circumstances before because it’s not possible.  There are similar circumstances, but never quite exactly the same.  So, if that is true, than the possibility of doing something no other team has is also there.

All you have to do is believe.

Can you help me continue this list?

The greatest things ever created in the world were done by incredible teams, not individuals.  Everyone plays their part in team work, and the stronger the team, the stronger the chance at success.  That’s why I am constantly trying to improve my teamwork skills.

It is in that spirit, that i ask you readers out there to continue to add to this list.  Any additions that you make are greatly appreciated.  My goal is to build the ultimate list of ways to improve and enhance teamwork for us all to benefit from.  Just leave any additions in the comments section below.

I figure, if we work as a team, we will get a much better list than I could ever write