BUSINESS PRACTICES & STRUCTURE
TEAM BUILDING
surveys to optimize the composition of the team and maximize the contribution of each team member.
vitally important to hold to the standard of only finding team members who are the “perfect” profile match. This is proba- bly the hardest of the three best practices to implement and requires the greatest discipline. The rewards of having a win- ning team will be worth the sacrifice. One of the major drawbacks in using assessments is that finding the ideal profile match once you have identified it is more difficult than many leaders can handle. Finding the right match may be more time consuming than selecting team members based on more subjective observations like resumes and interview responses. FINALLY, STAY THE COURSE. Some of the immediate benefits of using the three best practices will be: • Team members will be better suited to play to their strengths. • Hiring success typically increases from 50/50 to greater than 80 percent. • Communication improves between team members since personal communication styles are known. • Team member weaknesses are exposed and more easily dealt with. • Your systematic selection process is more easily repeated and more predictable than subjective methods. • A common workplace language is created. The late Steven Covey’s teaching on enduring principles and ever-changing practices can be summed up in the adage,
FIRST, DETERMINE THE ROLES IN THE BUSINESS. Leaders must know what positions are needed on their teams to fill those posi- tions effectively. For example, a basketball team needs five players in specific spots to play the game. Similarly, a buy-and- hold real estate investor needs a team of certain players including: someone to find properties, someone to negotiate deals, someone to close transactions, and someone to manage the properties post- close. Of course, one investor can play all of those roles, but in most cases your performance and your returns will be bet- ter if you clearly identify all the moving parts beforehand rather than discovering them “on the fly.” Plan out the structure of your team in advance even if one person performs more than one role. tant need? What about a sales person? How about a CEO? In the buy-and-hold example, the negotiator will likely have different traits than the post-close manag- er. It is the leader’s responsibility to pre- determine each profile so everyone knows what the best person to fill that role looks like from a personality-perspective. This planning will not only enable individual contributors to perform better, but also the team as a whole. You may wish to get input from multiple individuals on this topic, then reconcile those perspectives to establish your ideal profile. Lastly, leaders must filter candidates and current team members for the ideal positional profile. Once you have defined your profiles, only fill those positions with people who possess that ideal profile. It is difficult but NEXT, DELINEATE THE IDEAL PROFILE FOR EACH ROLE. What personality traits does an accoun-
3 Best Practices to Maximize Your Team’s Productivity START OUT RIGHT AND THE RETURNS WILL FOLLOW.
likely to love working in their job with us.” Good profiling tools assist leaders in getting the right people in the right positions within a company. Currently, there are several assessment resources available to entrepreneurs, managers, and team builders. These assessment tests, which are now big busi- nesses in their own right, include some of the following proprietary systems: • DiSC Profile • Kolbe Assessments • Strengths Finder (now CliftonStrengths) • Enneagram Institute • Culture Index • Predictive Index Regardless of which system you choose to employ, adopting certain best practices will optimize your chances of getting accurate, effective results that you can put to good use. I’ve itemized the three best practices for using assessment
by Douglas Skipworth
I
the best team is by utilizing personality profile assessments. These short, stan- dardized, and objective assessments enhance the hiring and development process. Specifically, they help employ- ers, managers, and team captains assess whether current and potential team members have the aptitude and or/affinity for the specific tasks, projects, and roles they play. In his recent book, Quench Your Thirst, Jim Koch, the creator of Sam- uel Adams beer, writes, “The profile test helps us determine what activities people enjoy doing, and hence whether they’re
t is hard to argue with the idea that the key to success in any
PERSONALITYPROFILE ASSESSMENT: A short, standardized, objective assessment designed to help employers, managers, and team captains assess whether current and potential team members have the aptitude and affinity for specific tasks, projects, and roles in the company and on their specific team.
business, including real estate investing, is getting the right people in the right seats. Best-selling authors from Jim Collins to Gino Wickman teach this in business books. Posters with expressions like “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work” hang in break rooms and locker rooms all over the world, encouraging teams not to forget that people matter most. It is almost universally agreed upon that with- out the best people, it is hard to win. One of the most effective ways to build
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Douglas Skipworth, CPA, CFA is the Co-Founder and Principal Broker at CrestCore Realty in Memphis, TN. CrestCore manages over 2,500 units for approximately 500 individual investor
clients, of which Douglas and his business partner Dan Butler are the largest. Connect with Douglas at douglas@crestcore.com.
36 | think realty magazine :: january 2018
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