Most of my life I have been self-employed, but only in the last six years have I had a substantial staff. It’s been a crazy, intense, rewarding, and gratifying job.
The beginning of it was a bit like the wild wild west as I tried to figure out how to manage and lead them. I worked hard at it. I read books, got coaches, did a lot of soul searching, and hired a COO who specialized in communication. That effort paid off. In the last several years, leading my team has been truly rewarding. I’ve seen myself grow so much over a short period of time, but more importantly, I’ve seen incredible advancements from them.
I’m truly impressed by the magic that happens when an individual is empowered within their role. When they know their work makes a difference in others, it makes a difference in them. We have 16 people on our team who come to work every day with purpose. They enjoy their work. They work like a team. They help each other when their teammates are down. They encourage each other. They collaborate and develop new ideas together. They create greatness every day in the work they do.
I find that it takes attention to them as individuals to grow a strong team. It takes open and honest communication. Often, it is the willingness to be silly or carefree in your acts of kindness to them that makes the difference. It’s giving them the benefit of the doubt when something goes wrong. It’s committing to developing them instead of replacing them whenever we aren’t pleased. It is giving them freedom to be their own person.
Some may say that I’m not as strict as I should be. After all, management is about having control, right? I challenge that thinking. I was doing an exercise in our staff meeting recently where I was talking about each of us working in this organism that is the FBA. I drew a circle on the whiteboard. I explained that we are each a unique cell in the organism and we each bring both leadership and the willingness to follow. We all bring our own expertise and, collectively, we make an extremely effective organism.
Joel Cruzada helped me graphically depict it on the white board and then Amy Schultz said, “You are a different kind of leader, Sabrina. Here we are not in a pyramid where the leader sits at the top. Here we are a circle where we all play a part in making this business great.” Folks, it doesn’t get much better than that.
Our careers can be an incredible area of personal development, improvement, and fulfillment. Managing this team has made me into a better person and I am tremendously grateful for their loyalty and love.