How to Pick the Right Team

Regardless of which industry you are in, what type of company, or where you are in the world, you need to pick the right team to ensure the company’s and your success. Finding people who are a great asset to the team is a complex undertaking. This has to do with choosing people who share the same values, vision, and goals, who are qualified to work on the tasks and responsibilities you have now or will develop in the future, who want to work to their full potential, who complement the others in the team, and who can learn and adapt quickly.

Leaders must search for a number of unique qualities that indicate which individuals can contribute to the team and work well with others. Even the most talented people might not work well in a team and so finding the right combination of skills and talent is not an easy task. And yet, it is extremely important.

How to pick the right team?

1. Define skills and requirements

The first step to pick the right team is defining the requirements and skills needed for your particular team. So you need to do the research to first understand what your project or team needs. What are the skills required, the kind of experience needed, the number of people needed, etc. Without this basic information, you can not start recruiting or putting a team together.

You need to know what talents and attributes will be vital to the success of your project long before you start interviewing or selecting people to join your team. Ensure that these professionals align with the needs of your team and project. You will also want to make sure that everyone on your team is dependable and self-motivated. Only hire the most qualified candidates for the job and the team. These are ideally individuals whose background, experience, abilities, and attitude match the role’s requirements and expectations. It is always a bonus if they have some experience using graphic organization charts, performing critical path analysis, setting goals, and other teamwork and productivity aspects like communication, creativity, drive, and motivation are all important attributes in this situation.

2. Identify team goals

The objective of a team is to achieve goals. Your team goals should give each member structure and direction, as well as an area to focus their efforts. Each employee can develop their own plans for improving themselves within the context of the shared goal, as long as they contribute to the overall success of the main aim. So build up the goals of the team and then break it down for each member. and they can further break it down for themselves.

3. Project management experience

A precursor to any teamwork or project is project management. So, to pick the right team, while team members do not need to be specialists in every methodology, or tool, having a basic understanding of project management concepts can provide them with a good foundation on which they can operate. The most effective team members will also be excellent leaders who know how to manage, motivate and inspire others so use those traits in those members to bring the team together. They can establish a vision for clients and their teams to follow in order to find inspiration. With some guidance from you, they will learn how to push individuals to work productively. This is especially helpful for you to delegate work and also during times of crisis.

4. Resourceful, reliable and proactive

If you want a resourceful team, start by looking for resourceful people. Your team should include members with professional ties to a variety of organizations, individuals, or clients. The more resourceful they are, the more reliable they also are, which means that people would see them as experts in their respective fields.

You will need to select team members who will show up every day, ready to tackle the obstacles. Consistency and being reliable is an important aspect of picking the right team. Your project deeply depends on the activity of each of your team members combined. So, you need proactive members who will take onus of tasks and work with excitement towards the project to not only get it done, but to make it the best that it can be.

5. Communication skills

Depending on the kind of team you need, they might have to interact with professionals at all levels of the company and from various backgrounds. Hence project management team members must be able to communicate with a variety of audiences both within and beyond their team and organization, as well as convey information both internally and externally throughout their job and their career. They must be able to communicate effectively with a variety of individuals, whether bosses, clients, or other senior executives, and even consumers.

6. Organization skills and self-discipline

The team needs people who are organized as well as disciplined. These traits help professionals tackle any situation with restraint and composure. Even when under a lot of pressure, these professionals will understand the importance of remaining calm and will be able to think clearly enough in order to use existing tools and procedures to remain organized and think about and formulate the next steps.

You can also nurture these qualities by building systems and processes around work and delivery. Professionals with organizational skills will naturally gravitate to these processes. This will also help the rest of the team streamline their work. This is an important point when you consider how to pick the right team.

7. Encourage new ideas and talent

Aim for a team with a mix of skills and experience. Avoid the traditional method of simply recruiting people based on their resumes, rather hire people who are a good fit for your company and offer a unique skill or a good amount of experience in their area of expertise. While it may be tempting to resort to previously explored comfortable ways, expand the reach of the team by expanding its dynamics.

8. Analyze, adjust, and move forward

Finally, before you finalize things to pick the right team, make sure to analyze and review your prospective team. Make your adjustments before you hire them. You can also consider doing trial runs if you are gathering a team for a particular project. You also need to understand that just as you are analyzing the team, so are the team members. If they don’t feel comfortable, or something about the team and the project is not according to their professional preferences, then they might want to leave too. So, keep systems in place for when one of the team members leaves.

Summary

A project is only as successful and great as the people who have created it. While it is common for executives to select team members solely on the basis of their capacity or specialized knowledge, this is not always the best approach. The team should be made up of a diverse group of people who work together to accomplish goals. So, select people who are capable of bringing something unique to the table and are always searching for ways to make things happen. That is how you can pick the right team.