Team Building and Pivoting

“Creating the perfect team may never happen. However, fielding the best team you are capable of and coaching them can happen.”

Bringing on new members can only be done with an open willing mind.

Let me be honest with you – you’re never going to have the perfect team. I’ve been chasing that dream for years, and I’ve learned that perfect is the enemy of good. But here’s what you can do: you can field the best team you’re capable of and coach them to excellence.

The key is understanding that teams are living, breathing entities that need to evolve. Sometimes you need to add people, sometimes you need to move people around, and sometimes you need to pivot entirely based on market conditions or new opportunities.

Next Level Upgrade

When your team recognizes they need a new associate or an upgrade to the next level, that’s when you know you have a real team. They’re not threatened by new talent – they’re excited about what additional skills and energy can bring to the group. But getting to this point requires careful communication and leadership.

Let’s say your current team is getting overwhelmed and you need to bring in someone for social media and marketing. The existing team needs to understand that this isn’t about their inadequacy – it’s about growth and opportunity. They need to know that social media is a way to make the company more visible, to compete better, to reach new markets. If your competition is kicking your ass online, you need to explain this clearly when bringing in new talent.

Pivoting requires an open, willing mind. You cannot approach change with a closed, ignorant, or careless attitude. I’ve seen too many leaders who resist change because it’s uncomfortable, because it threatens their established way of doing things, or because they’re afraid of admitting they need help.

Here’s a practical example: maybe your company needs to pivot quickly to compete in digital marketing. Take one of your existing staff members who doesn’t know much about social media but has deep product knowledge. Pair them with your new social media expert. The existing employee can guide the new person on what’s lacking and what the company needs, while the new person can launch your digital attack with a clear budget and timeline.

This approach works because it values both experience and fresh perspective. Your seasoned employee feels valued and included rather than replaced. Your new hire gets the context and support they need to be effective quickly. Everyone wins.

But this only works if you approach it with the right mindset. Bringing on new members requires you to have an open, willing mind. You can’t be defensive about your existing processes, territorial about your current team structure, or resistant to new ideas and approaches.

The boss, leader, CEO, or owner ultimately makes the decisions, but they need to see the team from a helicopter view. You need to assess your competition, check market conditions, and be willing to steer the ship left or right based on what you discover.

A bad decision is better than no decision. Any decision can be corrected, and yes, it might cost money now, but it could save much more money down the road. The companies that thrive are the ones willing to adapt, pivot, and evolve their teams as needed.

Once your players are on the field, they need to know that each member has support. They need to know that calling for help, asking for a timeout, or suggesting a different direction is not just okay – it’s encouraged. Even during the game, you can call a huddle to make sure you’re going in the right direction.

Creating the perfect team may never happen, but creating a team that can adapt, grow, and excel together? That’s absolutely possible. It just requires leadership that’s willing to coach rather than control, to pivot rather than stay rigid, and to see team building as an ongoing process rather than a one-time event.

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