9 things successful teams in sports and business have in common.
by rob nixon
when it comes to sporting success what is better, a team of champions or a championship team?
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you know the answer. a championship team will beat a team of champions every single time. the sporting arena is littered with successes in which a team that works well together outperforms the team that has the superstars and big names.
the same with business success. you need a single team working together with the one vision, one plan and the shared passion to achieve your success.
so how do you get everyone on the same page with complete buy-in, working together and implementing?
there are five areas to focus on when building a high-performing team in an accounting business:
- do you have the right people?
- are they motivated, excited and passionate?
- do they know what to do?
- do they know how to do it?
- is the environment conducive to a high-achieving culture?
the right people
you know if you have the wrong people on your team and to get rid of them would be a great benefit to your business. you know this but you do nothing about it. why is that? you will always make some mistakes in hiring people and you will always have problems with people – hire one person and you start to have problems! but putting up with the wrong people for so long in your business – that’s inexcusable.
with so many people available to be hired, there is no excuse not to have the very best people on your team. if you change your business model you can create additional profitability and afford to have the best people available.
get rid of the wrong people. the leopard will never change its spots and they will drag your business down. if you have to fire them, performance manage them out or even make the position redundant, then do it.
the right team members need to be selected on attitude first and skills second. you can train the skills – hard to change the attitude.
excited, motivated and passionate
assuming you have the wrong people off your bus and the right people are on it then you need to make sure they want to be there. are they doing what they love? are they motivated to help clients? are they passionate about their work?
last time i looked there were 168 hours in a week. how many hours do you think are associated with:
- getting ready for work
- getting to work
- actually being at work
- coming home from work
- thinking about work!
my guess is that around 50 percent of your waking life is associated with work. half of your (and your team’s) adult working, waking life is associated with work. half your life! i sincerely hope that for the benefit of your clients, your loved ones, your fellow teammates and in particular yourself that you are motivated doing what you do and you enjoy it.
if you do not enjoy what you do then do something else. you’re going to spend half your life doing what you’re currently doing.
i was in a coaching club meeting once, talking about doing what you love and an accountant (a sole practitioner called janice) said, “i do not enjoy this business. i loathe it. my husband and i have other business interests. i am going to sell it.” the next day she sold the firm to her second in command for $750,000 in cash.
knowing what to do
do your team members have clear job descriptions, implementation tasks and workflow projects to keep them busy? do they know what to do on a daily basis? is it crystal clear what they are working on, what their priorities are and who they are working with?
many accountants i get to meet run out of work to do – yet the partners are always busy. if the business is well run from a workflow point of view, then it should be properly resourced and the team should be kept busy all of the time.
knowing how to do it
let’s say you hire a new accountant. they have eight years’ experience working for two other firms. you are excited to get this fully qualified superstar accountant on your team. you have loads of work to do so the induction process might go like this:
“hi [name], welcome to the firm. you’ll be working in [name’s] team. here is your desk, your computer, your chair, your login and here is a heap of unfinished work to get into. you have eight years’ experience so you must know what to do. let me know your progress on friday afternoon over a beer. good luck.”
just because this superstar accountant has eight years’ experience at two other firms it does not mean they know how your business works. have a good look at your induction process and ongoing training process. when someone joins your business, what happens in the first week? are they properly inducted into your business? what is the ongoing soft skills (not just technical-based) training program?
are your teams enjoying a healthy mix of internal and external training programs? more often than not external training programs provide a better and more cost-effective solution.
the right environment
if you and your team are going to spend 50 percent of your working waking life at work then shouldn’t the workplace be a great place to be at?
i visit many accountancy offices and i mostly find the environment is not that great. often i find the furniture is tired, the office is closed and dark, the computer equipment is not up to date, the meeting rooms are untidy, the colors are dated and there is a limited choice of food and beverage available.
you know you have the right environment if your team members bring their friends to work to show off the premises. let your team decide what sort of workplace they want. have a brainstorming session, get them involved and do not put the financial editor on during this process. do the cost justification and all of the ideas come out.
with a coat of paint, some fresh plants, some new furniture and some fresh ideas you can make any environment look great.
as i observe high-performing teams in the business and sporting arena, they have a few things in common:
- common purpose – they are striving for the same purpose.
- values and standards – they have clear performance standards and shared values.
- goal alignment – everyone is shooting for the same goal.
- roles, responsibilities and priorities – they all know what and when to do things.
- open communication – there is a channel of consistent communication.
- participation and support – they get involved and support each other.
- plan of action – there is a plan of action that is followed.
- risk taking and innovation – calculated and innovative risks are taken.
- celebration – there is constant celebration like sales bells, recognition and plenty of parties!
just like you can change your business model to be more profitable, you can also redesign how your team works. it’s your choice.