How’s your team looking?

Oprah Winfrey once said “Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher”. If Oprah said it, it must be true.

Great people help to create great businesses.

Over the years, I’ve learnt not to do things alone.

Small business owners think it’s a weakness if they need to ask for help or delegate tasks.

They feel like they’re a failure because they can’t do everything themselves. If this is you, then you need to change your mindset right now.

It’s OK to ask for help or delegate and in fact it’s imperative if you want your business to survive and thrive and for you to maintain your sanity!

Sure, you might can do all the tasks at hand but does it make great business sense to be doing it all?

Many of us when we start our business have no choice but to do everything for ourselves, but before too long we start employing staff.

We train them in our ways. We delegate tasks to them. They often become an extension of ourselves and provided we have chosen well, they lessen our workload.

But we also have another team which is equally important even though we don’t interact with them as often – our external team.

The external team

Our external team are our trusty advisors, mentors, experts, and confidantes that have our back.

They can help us achieve our goals faster and potentially with a lot less stress.

I like to think about my external team as being in three parts:

1. The people who support me to keep me healthy, well and functioning (eg. my health professionals, my kinesiologist, my personal trainer)

2. The people who support my family and save me time (eg. house cleaner, dry cleaner, Woolworths Online)

3. The people who support my business (eg. my banker, my financial planner, my insurance broker, my solicitor, my bookkeeper, my IT professional, my software providers such as MYOB, my business mentors and coaches)

I have given you some examples of some of the people I have on my team so why don’t you start writing a list of who you currently have on your team and who might be missing from your team.

Getting the A-Team together

If things aren’t going so well in one part of your life, other parts will be impacted and that is why it’s so important to consider carefully who you have on your team.

For things to run smoothly, we need everything balanced and in sync – there’s no use being on cloud nine in one area and rock bottom in another.

What help do you need from your team? How often you need help from them? What does the timing look like so that they’ll come together and support you simultaneously?

Depending on the answers to the above, you may meet with them weekly, monthly, quarterly or even annually. Whatever it is, make sure you have something diarised so you don’t forget.

Hopefully, once you have your list finished, the starting point is for you to work out who you might need to see more regularly.

It is also worth noting that at different stages of your life and business, your needs will change and that is perfectly normal.

You may need to see one of your team more regularly, such as your banker and accountant, if your numbers are tight or you are in a growth stage and need some extra support.

You and your business may outgrow a particular advisor or mentor if they no longer ‘get you’ or you just don’t feel a connection anymore.

That’s OK, recognise it and make a timely change.

To make your business journey is as profitable, enjoyable and successful surround yourself with the right team.

With the right planning, this is a team that is going to serve you, support you and lift you higher!