The Surprising Tool You Didn't Know You Needed: A Success Team

Successful people set goals but they also build success teams, both at a business and personal level, whether or not they do it intentionally the way I'm about to describe or some variation of it.

What is a BUSINESS SUCCESS TEAM?

A business success team is composed of the people you choose to surround yourself with who fuel your success.

There are five types of people you want on your team if you are in management or run a company:

1/ Activators. This is a person who has ideas, energy, creativity, and can get things started. This type of person is great to have in marketing, business development, or sales. They are skilled presenters, storytellers and excel at pitching to clients. They may be you or your co-founder if you run a company. I personally am an activator.

2/ Operators. This is a person who oversees processes, manages schedules and budgets and keeps projects on-track and within cost. An operator thrives in areas like business analytics, product management, project management, and account management. If you are a small business, this person may also be your assistant. You can’t get by without an operator.

3/ Executors. This is the person who can create designs and build your dreams into reality. It could be an engineer, a programmer, an architect, or any type of designer or artist. These are the doers, the creators, and the craftsmen. Without an executor, your idea stays only an idea.

4/ Loyalists. This is a person who completely believes in your company vision and cheers you on. They stand by you no matter what and give you positive energy and encouragement to keep going. This could be an investor, a partner, an advisor, a board member or a fellow business owner. Employees are often also loyalists, especially the first hires who helped build the company or product from the ground up.

5/ External Advocates. This is a current or future customer who loves what you are doing and will buy your product now and in the future. As an enthusiastic fan, they also spread the word to others every chance they get. They give you the best PR you could ever hope for since they speak from personal conviction and firsthand experience as opposed to a paid spokesperson. 

But that is not all. Even if you don't run a division or have your own company, you still need a personal success team.

What is a PERSONAL SUCCESS TEAM?

Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash

A personal success team is important for both business and non-business people. 

A personal success team is composed of the following five types:

1/ Mentors. I can’t stress how important it is to seek out two or three good mentors. A mentor does not have a fixed job description or time commitment. You can consider someone your mentor whom you only speak to occasionally. They do not have to officially become your mentor. The main criteria are that it is someone you respect and admire whom you feel has achieved great things and has the wisdom to share with you. Being respectful and appreciative of a mentor’s time and position is the golden rule. 

“One of the greatest values of mentors is the ability to see ahead what others cannot see and to help them navigate a course to their destination.” 

— John C. Maxwell

2/ Sponsors. A sponsor is someone in a position of higher power than yourself who can advocate on your behalf, introduce you to the right people, and in general ‘can open doors’ for you. One good sponsor can change your entire life. A sponsor can manifest in your life at any age and in a variety of different situations.

Mentors help you skill up. Sponsors help you move up.

-Unknown

3/ Supporters. This refers to your closest friends and family. These are the people who love and care about you and will always want what’s best for you. While they often can’t give you as valuable advice as sponsors, coaches, or mentors, your supporters are imperial to feel content and balanced. 

“Don’t make friends who are comfortable to be with. Make friends who will force you to lever yourself up.”

– Thomas J. Watson

4/ Coaches. Who needs a coach? Everyone virtually can benefit from coaching at some point and in some areas. There are sales coaches, marketing coaches, life coaches, public speaking coaches, book coaches, podcast coaches, and more. It is important to find a coach who is the right match for your needs and compatible with your personality. Recommendations are the best way to vet a coach.

“Coachable leaders are ready and willing to make the needed changes and adjustments in their lives.”

― Gary Rohrmayer

5/ Like-Minded Peers. I would be lost without my like-minded peers. We all need a few people in our lives who share the same values. This is your community. Unlike closest family and friends, these peers may be fellow businesspeople from your industry or from another common interest group. You can tell them things your family may not understand and share valuable resources.

“No two minds ever come together without a third invisible force, which may be likened to a ‘third mind.’ When a group of individual minds are coordinated and function in harmony, the increased energy created through that alliance becomes available to every individual in the group.”

– Napoleon Hill

Why are personal and business success teams so important? This was the key ingredient to my own business success and the main downfall in my personal past failures. Luckily, I assembled the key types of people for my business team. We worked beautifully together and did some very impressive things. But in my personal life, I didn’t have all the right people. I thought it wasn't important and that I didn't need them. But the results were lack of clarity at times, frustration, and burnout. Now I know the secret recipe is to build these two teams since to thrive, we need balance and support in both business and personal aspects. 

Your network helps you see your blind spots, warns you about competitors, protects your reputation, helps you keep a level head under pressure, and provides what you need most, when you need it, whether that be honest feedback or loving praise.

"Instead of better glasses, your network gives you better eyes." -- Ronald Burt

May you achieve all of your goals, set the right habits, and most importantly, surround yourself with the right people.

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