For some time now, we’ve been witnessing a shift in the structure of a business. Many modern brands and companies are moving away from a traditional hierarchical and vertical chain of command, and more towards a horizontal structure. This is an interesting development for a number of reasons, but one interesting consequence in particular is that it puts an even stronger emphasis on building the right team. It’s no longer about sending the right orders down the chain of command; it’s about having a solid team of experts ready to collaborate with one another.
So, how do you go about building this modern dream team? Here are four principles to keep in mind when hiring a dream team.
Know What You Need
Out with the old and in with the new. We mentioned how structures are changing across industries, and that isn’t for nothing. If structures are changing across the board, it means that the traditional structures being left behind are outdated, and simply dead weight in a modern business.
Carry that same energy in your hiring philosophy. Are you looking for a new whatever because that position is vacant, or because you need one? Don’t forget, hiring takes time and it takes training, and both of those take money. Start seriously considering why the positions you have exist, and which positions really need to be filled. By better solidifying what you need and who you’re looking for, it’ll also be easier to get a feel for the profile needed in that position.
Hire internally
It won’t always be possible, but whenever you can, try hiring internally. Admittedly, this principle is nothing new, but it’s one that has stayed relevant for a reason.
Hiring, in any fashion, costs money. Hiring costs more money, however, when it’s external. Not only does it cost money to search for suitable candidates and to market the position, but onboarding and training also take much longer for somebody that isn’t already familiar with the company culture—naturally.
Hiring internally solves these pains. An employee offered a promotion or a transfer is already familiar with the company, is likely already familiar with the team to some capacity, and will be much quicker to perform at full capacity than an external hire. Not only this, but internal hiring shows your employees that they aren’t just replaceable names on a payroll, their time and effort in the company matters and is taken into account. This is good for team morale and internal company culture, and ultimately fosters a better workplace environment.
Hire for Character
Another thing to take into account, and something that is much easier to do when hiring internally, is to hire for character. Many of us already know: credentials aren’t everything. Especially if you’re trying to build a dream team, what good is hiring the world’s best marketing expert if they refuse to work with the rest of the team?
When hiring internally, this is a simpler thing to take into consideration. Chances are you are already familiar with this person’s behavior and personality, you already know how they get along with other team members, so you aren’t making too much of a gamble on team chemistry down the road. It’s trickier for external hires, but it’s still important. Trying to hire for character instead of having to discipline, emergency team build, or fire and rehire later is much better for a healthy collaborative environment.
Let Your Team Do What They Do
Once you’ve built your dream team, don’t forget why you hired them in the first place. They know what they’re doing! You won’t hire a painter to create a portrait for you and then tell them how to handle their paintbrush—this is the same idea. A great team with great collaboration needs some freedom and autonomy to do what they do organically. Keeping them tied down with orders and unnecessary red tape is just wasting their talent (and your hiring campaigns).
In an important way, this follows the philosophy of servant leadership. After building the perfect team, your role as a leader is less about barking orders and more about enabling and empowering each team member to be able to perform the best that they can. If you invest in your team, they will invest in their work, and that will come up in the metrics. It’s in the name after all—what is building a dream team if not thinking about the people first?
Living Pono is dedicated to communicating business management concepts with Hawaiian values. Founded by Kevin May, an established and successful leader and mentor, Living Pono is your destination to learn about how to live your life righteously and how that can have positive effects in your career. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below or contact us here. Also, join our mailing list below, so you can be alerted when a new article is released.
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