Picking Your Team Successfully

As a mother and a small business owner, you will probably have people working closely with and for you in the coming years. While you may not be able to afford a full time assistant or hire any permanent staff, chances are you make choices on a daily basis about who you choose to do business with: the print shop, graphic designer, web host, web designer, etc.

When I was first starting out in business, I couldn’t afford much help at all. I was doing all of those things myself. But as my business grew, I needed to start selecting a team of people to work closely with. To date I have an assistant, a marketing consultant and 10 event coordinators that work for me. The people you choose to work closest with will either make or break you. I have made some mistakes selecting team members in the past and sometimes you have to learn the hard way. I cannot stress this enough so I’ll say it again: The people you choose to work closest with will either make or break you.

Here is an excerpt from John Maxwell’s Leadership promises for everyday:

Red Auerbach, long-time president of the Boston Celtics, said, “How you select people is more important than how you manage them once they’re on the job. If you start with the right people, you won’t have problems later on.”

I want people close to me to…

Know my heart
Be loyal to me
Be trustworthy
Be discerning
Have a servant’s heart
Be a good thinker
Be able to follow through
Have a great heart for God

This excerpt was originally taken from the book “Developing the Leaders Around You” by John Maxwell, which I highly recommend. Maxwell goes on to describe each characteristic of the people He chooses to be closest to him. It’s wonderful advice and I hope you’ll get a chance to pick it up if you are working with a team in any way.

I encourage you to think ahead. If you are earnestly plugging away at your business, then there is a great chance you’ll be hiring people to join your team in the future. I can tell you from personal experience that it is no fun at all to have to ask someone to step down from your team. So take my advice: pick your team wisely and prayerfully!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

Until next time…

MariLee Parrish

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