86 - An Organizational Symphony: Building Your Team

Scale Your Small Business

Welcome back to the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with your host, Jillian Flodstrom. Today, we’re diving into the fifth pillar of the Scale Your Small Business Process: Teams. We’re breaking down how to build a team, establish workflows, and communicate effectively and efficiently.

The best analogy for building a team is building a home. It’s not all shiny faucets and new paint–it’s about the foundation and the blueprint. From there, you set the framing and hire your contractors, and build up the walls. It’s the same organizational symphony that happens when you create a team.

The first step is getting clear on an organizational chart. Create descriptions of positions you want to fill in the future, so when the right person comes along, you’re ready to bring them on. Think about what you’d like to delegate and go from there.

Think of it as a funnel. As tasks go down the funnel, we’re going to eliminate, delegate, and automate. If you procrastinate a task, it goes back to the top of the funnel until it falls into one of those categories, or is focused on.

Finding out what team member is right for what task is as easy as asking them. Consider asking “What do you love to do? Is there something that you're not doing that you would love to be in charge of?”

Sometimes when going through the funnel process you’ll realize something would be more effective or cheaper if it were automated. Things like training and project reminders can be laid out ahead of time, minimizing distractions and maximizing communication and flexibility.

Key Takeaways

1. Building a team is like building a house. It takes a blueprint, a foundation, and a frame before the walls go up.
2. Get a clear organizational chart so you know what positions you want to fill when you find the right person.
3. Create a task funnel that allows you to eliminate, delegate, automate, or focus on.