Remember when the Olympics started allowing pro athletes to compete? That gave the U.S. a definite advantage in the sport of basketball. We were able to create a fantasy team, except in real life. We took the best of the best, regardless of the team jerseys they normally wore. The idea of the Dream Team was born.
As it happens, athletics is not the only field of endeavor that could benefit from the assemblage of a Dream Team. It is also a pretty good idea in the corporate world. In one way, companies are already doing this when they choose board members. They pick CEOs and executives from other successful businesses to help guide their own. At the boots-on-the-ground level, there is a lot more that can be done.
We talk often about what can be done to get the most out of employees. One of the best things we can do with our employees is group them together in logical ways that enhance team dynamics. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are examples of people who were more together than they were alone. You could say they were the Dream Team of the Federation. But the Federation isn’t real. And your business is. Here is some advice to consider when forming your own Dream Teams:
Broaden the Net
If you want the best team members, that probably indicates that you don’t have the best in your company. Promoting from within may not actually do anything to improve upon your situation. You have to fish from a bigger pond. This is a difficult and time consuming venture. There are plenty of good people to be found. But finding them can be a full-time job.
Since you already have a full-time job, you will need to employ the services of a company like Extreme Technologies Inc, whose full-time job is to locate and provide the expert help you need to complete your project. This type of staffing service specializes in highly skilled professionals in fields ranging from information technology to engineering. If you don’t have the reach to find the best talent, partner with someone who does.
Don’t Sacrifice the Good for the Perfect
Hiring managers can get so focused on finding the mythical “perfect” candidate, they let a lot of really good candidates slip through their fingers. They have sacrificed perfectly good candidates for the impossibly perfect candidate that doesn’t actually exist.
This is a particularly egregious marriage myth that has slopped over into the business world. It is that there is one right person for you. And somehow, out of the 7 billion people on the planet, you will find them. This kind of magical thinking has led to more disappointments than happily ever afters. Once a business removes the magical requirement of perfection, a whole lot of good team members become available.
Let Go of the Once that Aren’t Working Out
As a CEO, you should never take firing an employee lightly. They are people, not statistics. If you have to fire an employee, you should consider that a personal failure. After all, you chose them to begin with. Every effort should be made to salvage and rehabilitate a hire that is not working out as hoped.
That said, there comes a time when those efforts have been made and you have to move on. It is even more important to deal with these matters expeditiously in today’s work environment where teamwork is so important. It is not just one person in a cubical that is having trouble. It is an entire team. Let a bad actor stick around too long and you don’t just lose a single worker. You lose the productivity of an entire workgroup.
In 1992, it was easy to put together a dream-team for the U.S men’s basketball team. Any 12 year old could have done it. In the corporate world, it is a bit more challenging. Broaden the net. Eliminate perfection from your search criteria. And let go and reset quickly when things don’t work out. This will go a long ways toward that Dream Team you always wanted.
Featured image credit: ShutterStock
