3 Lessons for Building and Maintain an Awesome Team!

3 Lessons for Building and Maintain an Awesome Team!

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Hey everybody! Welcome to "You Know Ted," where I share business lessons I've learned over the last two decades running my own digital marketing agency. I thought I'd share three lessons I learned in 2023 about building and maintaining an awesome team. Before we begin, remember to like, subscribe, and share this video. This really helps me build better content for you in the future.

Lesson One: Hiring is a TEAM Game

In 2023, it was a tight labor market, and I fell back into that scarcity mentality. We had more work than people at times in the year, leading us to hire desperately and just hoping for the best, which unfortunately caused a kind of revolving door.

  • Don't hire on the spot! I was infatuated with one candidate, but I didn't let my HR team do their job thoroughly, resulting in a short tenure for that hire.
  • Have senior production members interview candidates to ensure they can actually do the job the way we do it.
  • Be upfront with candidates about our processes and structures to ensure a good fit.
  • Get feedback and alignment with candidates before bringing them on to ensure they see themselves growing in the direction we envision.

Lesson Two: Course Correct Faster

Be more assertive about course correction. I tried to give hints to an individual about how they might improve, but as the boss, my hints were taken as orders. This situation taught me to:

  • Hire a coach if possible, to provide clear and receptive communication.
  • Focus on one thing when coaching team members to avoid overwhelming them.

Lesson Three: Provide a Safe Space for Radical Candour

We aim to create a safe space for radically candid conversations at Ballistic Arts, allowing us to care personally and challenge directly.

  • Be open and receptive to feedback from the team to understand and address any valid concerns.
  • Find out what's really going on with them, whether it's a personal issue or something related to work.

Summary and Outro

Those are the three hiring lessons from 2023 to build a better team:

  1. Hiring is a team game.
  2. Course correct faster.
  3. Provide a safe space for radically candid conversations under pressure.

Let me know what you think in the comments below, and remember to like and subscribe. Thanks for watching. I'm Ted Lau, and this has been "You Know Ted."