The art of Building a Successful Team

In order for your career to grow, you must demonstrate effective leadership skills. Organizations are finally beginning to realize that soft skills are just as important as technical skills and therefore, are placing more emphasis ondeveloping and rewarding effective leaders. One important skillfor leaders to master is the ability to recruit high-potentialtalent into the organization. The responsibility of recruiting these candidates doesn't fallsolely on the shoulders of your recruiter. There are many ways that you can enhance their efforts to attract the most soughtafter candidates. Recruiting shouldn't be reactive – performedonly when you have an opening on your team. It should be anongoing activity so that your pipeline of candidates is fulland you can start interviewing shortly after a need has been established. Follow these tips to make the most of your efforts: 1.Look to your existing employees for a promotional opportunity, first. You should always look within theorganization before you consider external candidates. Rewardemployees who are actively developing their skills and areloyal to the company. Is there someone who is ready to take onnew responsibilities? 2.If you are an active member of your professional community,start building a rapport with prospective candidates.Recruiting is a lot like marketing – the more positive contactyou have with prospects, the more receptive they will be totalking to you about making a move to your organization. Keepin contact with those you would like to have on your team oneday. 3.Build a reputation as a strong leader. This is one of thosetimes when you want your reputation to precede you. If you areknown for being a great leader, candidates will want to workfor you. Year after year, "lack of opportunity" is cited as oneof the main reasons for employee turnover. Judicious candidatesknow that their manager can make or break that opportunity andthey make their decisions accordingly. 4.Don't be intimidated by dynamic, high-potential candidates.I've seen many hiring managers pass over candidates becausethey were intimidated by their ambition. Instead of worryingabout someone taking over your job (if this is an issue, you'vegot bigger problems to worry about), think about who couldpotentially replace you when you move on to a bigger role. 5.Avoid the temptation of hiring someone just like you. It'sgreat when you have a connection with a candidate, but try toremember that you aren't hiring someone to be your friend.Instead, look for someone who will complement your team'sstrengths and weaknesses. 6.Select candidates who are passionate about their work.Passion is difficult to ascertain during an interview. However,there are signs you can look for and questions you can ask tobetter determine if this is someone who is passionate abouttheir work. • Does their education and work history consist of positionsthat build on each other, demonstrating knowledge in theirfield and a desire for growth? Or, have they bounced aroundwith little direction? • Are they actively involved in their professional community?Do they take advantage of opportunities to develop new skills? • Find out why they chose to get into this particular line ofwork. • Make a note of their specific professional goals. "To beworking in a position that utilizes my skills or to be amanager" doesn't cut it. Is it just about the money or are theylooking for growth or meaning in their work? • Find out what aspect of their job they enjoy most. 7.Stop settling for mediocrity. Don't be afraid to hold off onmaking a selection decision until you have the right candidate.Get creative in the way you manage your employee shortage.Consider redistributing the duties on your team and hiring atemporary administrative employee to take up the slack. This isa great time for your employees gain additional experience. http://artofbuildingasuccessfulteam.blogspot.com/