Seth Godin’s new book about the future of work is fabulous.
And coincidently, I happen to be thinking about, experimenting with, and scribbling about this topic right now. Particularly, I’ve been mulling over the art of assembling an exceptional team ready for the work of the future.
In my tenure, I’ve hired great people and missed wildly on others. I’ve successfully built great teams from the ground up and reshaped underperforming teams into great teams. You might be surprised at what I have found to be the best strategy and method for building great teams.
Key to assessing potential team members is understanding their qualities — what unique flavor they’re adding to the mix. Seth has a great little quotable anecdote:
“Hiring is not dating.”
– Seth Godin
What he means, and I agree with, is that the people you select to work on your collective mission do not have to be someone you want to spend social time together. You’re not looking for a lunch partner. You’re looking for someone who will make the team better and push it farther.
People that make the team better have these characteristics:
- Competence
- Curiosity and Excitement
- Investment
- Adultiness
- Growth
In the coming posts, we’ll take a deeper dive into each of these characteristics.
Stay tuned…
