The Art of Asking. How to Build the Best Team for Your Business and Life, Intentionally.
At a certain point in the business and life, you find yourself in a place of incredible growth and expansion. No different from the house plant that needs a new pot, or the hermit crab that seeks a bigger shell. We as humans need a bigger container to hold our amassed lifestyles.
With this scaling comes the need for support from your community, loved ones, and friends. If you are in a position of power and influence this usually means building a team around you so that you no longer have to carry all the weight.
The very first step is acknowledging the fact that you can’t do it all, and more accurately, that you shouldn’t have to.
Particularly as a female Founder, influencer, mother, teacher this initial realization can sometimes take longer than our male counterparts.
No matter how long it takes you to get there, once you’ve accepted and embraced this natural occurrence now comes the asking.
The ART of asking.
So you need help scaling your business, life? Now what?
While asking for help is the first step, the true test of leadership is how we ask and being conscious of what we’re giving in return.
Since the future is female, at BHM we are interested in intentional team building and conducting business in a way that helps nurture healthy, mutually beneficial relationships within the work environment.
So what does that look like exactly?
First comes the seeking.
You must be proactive and crystal clear in finding those to surround you that will be thoughtful and intentional about their work. And align yourself with those that embody your business values and mission.
*This means you have to know exactly what those values are for yourself!*
This can sometimes alter the hiring process to go deeper than the candidates’ pedigree. While industry knowledge and skillset are still at the top of the list. It also requires asking questions like:
- What is your proudest accomplishment?
- What do you want out of your career?
- How did you pick your university and degree?
- How would you spend your time if money wasn’t an issue?
- Provide an example of you at your best.
Going beyond university ranking and even last name allows you, the employer, to begin fostering a more meaningful relationship. One that is built on trust, respect, and transparency.
Oftentimes this is where we think the work ends.
We’ve found someone who aligns with our business model and way of serving others, but now is the time to begin hashing out what exactly we are offering in return.
Just as we would hope someone thinks more of their job than completing the required hours, you as the Leader can and should be offering more than just the dollar dollar bills.
This is where having an actionable plan in place of how things will run before getting started helps.
Clearly highlighting what is expected from them:
- What are the exact core responsibilities, deliverables, and projects expected from them?
- Do they bring you closer to your goals?
- How do you measure them?
Now, what are you giving in return?
- Open, clear, and consistent communication
This is not the Devil Wears Prada and they are not here to read your mind. Clearly voicing exactly what you need from your team gives them the freedom to complete the job skillfully.
2. Provide appropriate career-building guidance
Particularly when you are hiring up-and-coming apprentices, interns, and assistants, you must temper your ego and realize that this position will probably be a stepping stone in the much larger trajectory of their career. This means equipping them with the tools to build a strong portfolio and boosting their resume.
This can look like mentorship, this can also look like asking them what specific skills they would like to take away from this and providing them the opportunity to do so.
3. Provide consistent feedback
While this dovetails off of clear communication it expands on the fact that after you clearly delegate the task, there still needs to be a conversation around what was done well and what can be improved upon. It is also beneficial to check-in in the middle of a larger project, a perfect time would be during your weekly/biweekly meetings with them to ensure that the task is on track as opposed to waiting until the deliverable is due.
This holistic approach to onboarding is to ultimately help prevent unhealthy codependent working relationships.
We believe in giving people the tools to maximize their talents which in return maximizes your productivity.
So when building your team, network, tribe, instead of only asking what is this person giving me at the end of the day? May we question how the relationship can be mutually beneficial.
The concept is wildly generous and guaranteed to bring both expected and unexpected ROI.
Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State in the Obama Administration, famously said, “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.”
While some may take offense to this rhetoric, the gumption behind really is the driving force that will foster the necessary support and celebration of more female leaders.
As a person with power and influence, there is a responsibility to improve upon the traditional, patriarchal, hierarchical ideas of how business is run.
Fostering a non-abusive and supportive working environment allows for ALL to succeed.
BHM has recently partnered with FLIK, a platform connecting and empowering driven womxn at all stages of the female founder pipeline through meaningful apprenticeships.
Our CEO, Nnenna Darlene Umelloh, recently gave a workshop on the platform illuminating how she meaningfully scaled her team on a budget as an early-stage female founder, and what key resources and operational knowledge she tapped into along the way.
Be sure to check out the recording here for more actionable ways to consciously build and reciprocate your very own Dream Team.
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