Are you ready to get over a major hurdle? 

Many entrepreneurs face the challenge of not knowing how to work together cohesively with their right-hand person, whether they are a contractor, an OBM, an integrator, or even a spouse. This gap prevents them from achieving the wildest dreams that they have for their business. So, today we’re talking about partnership and strategic collaboration between the visionary or the CEO and their right-hand person, who is usually responsible for bringing their ideas to life. You are going to learn how to build your dream team as an entrepreneur. 

I want to share my experiences and pull back the curtain on everything we have learned at the Luminary Leadership company, providing valuable insights and tips that can help entrepreneurs see more growth and success in their businesses. So, if you’re feeling stuck in your growth, hit a financial plateau, or keep launching without achieving the expected results, it’s time to gear up and take advantage of this opportunity to learn how to leverage that partnership in the best possible way. 

And just for the sake of just keeping it simple, I’ll use the term integrator. What’s an integrator? I’m using that term to blanket the person in the business who is the right hand, who is not necessarily the leader in the organization but they’re more of that strategic brain; they’re behind the scenes versus the visionary who is typically the founder of the business or the creator in the business. Okay, let’s build your dream team!

Building a Successful Team

In 2011, I made my very first hire. At that time, I brought someone onto my team with the mindset that this person checked all the necessary skill boxes and had a pulse, so they were the right fit for the job. However, I had no idea how to lead them or inspire them to be invigorated by our vision and mission, probably because I hardly had one at the time. As a result, I became frustrated with the process and kept thinking, “Why do I keep making the wrong hires? Why do I keep experiencing turnover?” At times, I felt like I might as well do the work myself because I could do it faster, without having to explain or fix anything. I felt like I was wasting time and money.

I understand the struggles that come with building a successful business. From hiring the right team members, to managing team dynamics and company culture, it can be a daunting task. The ultimate goal is to create a culture that attracts and retains top talent, and minimizes employee turnover. Not only is high turnover costly in terms of time, energy, and money, it can also be frustrating when you bring in new team members who don’t live up to your expectations.

It’s all about creating an environment that encourages productivity and output. As an entrepreneur, you want to bring in good people who can make a huge impact on your business. But how many times have you been disappointed when you hire someone or outsource a project, only to find out that they aren’t delivering the results you hoped for?

On the flip side, as entrepreneurs, we have aspirations to build successful and profitable businesses, no matter what industry we’re in. Our ultimate goal is to make an impact, grow, and scale our businesses. We also want to create a company culture that people talk about, where employees are energized and galvanized by the work they do.

However, sometimes we make the wrong hires, not because we hire the wrong people, but because we hire for the wrong reasons. We get caught up in the busyness of our to-do lists, and end up hiring people to stay busy and do tasks that don’t contribute to profitability. This can lead to feeling overwhelmed and stuck in the weeds of our businesses, rather than being able to focus on our zone of genius.

Hiring the Right People 

I know firsthand how it feels to be in the weeds of your business. You have these big goals and dreams, but when you sit down to work, it feels like you’ll never have the time or capacity to make them a reality. It’s a frustrating and discouraging cycle that can bleed into your personal life, leaving you feeling like you’re not the parent or spouse you want to be.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. There is a way to break free from the never-ending to-do list and get into your zone of genius. It starts with hiring the right people.

You may have asked yourself, “Where do I find good people?” The truth is, you don’t just find them, you create an environment that attracts them. By having a clear mission and team culture, you naturally start to attract people who share your values and have what I call “good bones.” If the person has good bones, they have your value system and the personality that’s going to complement who already exists in the team, or complement you as the visionary. And then, because they have good bones, you cultivate the team that you want to create. You don’t find the gem. You don’t find the needle in the haystack. You have your people, and you pour into them first so that they’re ready and willing and excited to invest into you.

Of course, having a hiring template and process is important to weed out the truly wrong people. But more than that, it’s about creating an environment where people want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

Team Culture

The next piece is creating this culture within your organization. It’s up to you as the leader to develop a culture that you’re proud of and that it’s so known that you don’t have to put it in an email or an onboarding document, because you lead by that example every day.

Team culture is something that you either intentionally or unintentionally create.  And if you unintentionally create it, it’s likely not going to be something that people are inspired by. They’re going to be there to collect their paycheck and they’re going to have eyes elsewhere.

You want to create a culture that makes them feel loved, that makes them feel seen and valued and understood. So, are you consciously taking time and building time into your schedule as a leader in the organization to do this? Or are you trying to skip this part? 

The Connection Between the Leader and the Integrator 

Why are you struggling with profitability, why aren’t you seeing the growth and the scalability that you’re seeking? All of that is going to stem from that connection and understanding between the visionary and the integrator of knowing how to take the visionary’s ideas and cultivate them into realities with an actual system to roll them out in a way that works for the team and in a way that actually moves the needle. 

Do you have someone who understands the heartbeat of the business, understands the reason that you do it, understands how you work as a visionary, and then helps you create a plan that works for your brain as a leader? Because one size does not fit all. And if your integrator doesn’t know how to get to know you in a way that’s going to support you then they may not be a good fit. Because you’re an individual with your own unique fingerprint on how this is going to work or not work, and they might try to fit you into a project management system that doesn’t work, or fit you into a way of communication that slows you down. It is so important that they know you and you know them.

If you feel like you’re struggling with this, we have some amazing resources coming your way. First, our Incubator Mastermind is getting a little bit of a facelift because it’s such a powerful program that leaders and visionaries come into but what we found was they would get these big ideas and then they’d try to bring them back to their right hand person and there was a disconnect there because the right hand person wasn’t a part of the process. So now, this is going to be something where visionaries and their right hand person are a part of together in masterminding and you can find out more at https://luminaryleadershipco.com/mastermind/. We’re also creating something really powerful for everybody else, where we’re going to house a lot of templates and tools and resources and daily coaching right in your back pocket. So, if you want to get on the waitlist to be the first to know of what the heck I’m talking about, visit https://luminaryleadershipco.com/leader. 

Don’t forget to check out part 2 of this series on how to build your dream team!

RESOURCES

• If you are ready for your breakthrough and are seeking additional support, check out: https://luminaryleadershipco.com/mastermind
• If you interested in having access to templates, tools and resources to help you create your dream team, get on the waitlist here:  https://luminaryleadershipco.com/leader
• Connect with me on Instagram!

RELATED EPISODES:

• Episode 20: Creating a People-First Culture with Steve Gabriel
• Episode 22: Visionary vs. Realist: How to Get on the Same Page as Your Spouse
• Episode 98: Building and Leading a Team that Supports Your Mission with Husband and Wife Business Owners Ryan and Anna Leonard
• Episode 156: Create More in Less Time, Get Focused + Become Unstoppable with This Tweak That Changed Everything For Me!
• Episode 162: Unleash Your Entrepreneurial Potential with a Future-Focused Leadership Success Strategy