How to Create an Effective Team

 

Here's how to build a team that will go the distance.

 

By Bobbi Palmer, Ladies Who Launch member, Orange County, CA

 

"If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
Al Gore

 

As women, we know this. We want to build high-functioning, powerful teams that move forward harmoniously. Effective teams are composed of empowered and motivated individuals working toward the same goal. The following leadership principles show you how to start with the right individuals, then lead them toward a shared vision.

 

Define Your Team
As women, we have strong intuitive ability—and there is no doubt it often serves us well—but not when it comes to making hiring decisions. Studies bear this out.

Hiring people because we "like" them or they "feel right" carries potential for pain: 1) it has little bearing on whether they are the right person for the job or they will fit into our existing team, and 2) by the time we figure this out, the personal bond renders coaching or firing them unpleasant and difficult.

 

As women, we have strong intuitive ability—and there is no doubt it often serves us well—but not when it comes to making hiring decisions.