How to choose your team?

“Work hard” is the common feedback that I have regularly heard from my parents or elders or teachers since childhood. For a bright future, you need to study hard, work hard, etc…so, the word “work hard” is infused in our brain, and when we receive an opportunity, we work hard to achieve it. I see that the people who work hard have a lot of complaints in their life. You may also revalidate it with your team members. If I fill the project with all hardworking people, trust me, that project is going to fail utterly. We can’t win a chess game with only soldiers.

I believe and follow the Von Manstein (German military chief General) method while selecting a team. There are four types of people Lazy and stupid, Lazy and Smart, Stupid and hardworking, and Smart and hard working.

You can plot a graph where how hard the person works can be on the X-axis and how they work on the Y-axis.

Stupid & hardworking : These are the people you need to watch out for. If you don’t monitor them properly, instead of construction, they create a lot of destruction. They work hard to create work for others. My suggestion is to avoid such people in the team.

Stupid & lazy working: These are no gain or no harm to the project. You can still get work from them by giving proper direction, breaking jobs down into routine tasks, creating policies and procedures. Leverage training or mentoring options to increase their smartness.

Smart & hardworking: These people can be your team leads or project managers; owns a deliverable. Let them manage working stuff to deliver the outcome.

Smart & lazy working: These people are the future leaders of a company. These people are smart, able to connect the dots, and know ways to work done without working. They delegate and trust people to do their jobs. They don’t micromanage; They avoid useless things, focus on a few key priorities.

I close my blog with my 2 cents – You may select a person for your project by checking their technical skills, but once he/she joins, please put map them into these groups, and act accordingly.