These lessons I have learned the hard way… we have learned the hard way. It is trial and error, and it is also constantly looking at every aspect of our lives and how we are functioning to make sure we are maximizing output! I am pertaining this to not only my business partner which is like having a marriage in a sense, but this is applicable to team members that you work alongside even a spouse as you work together as a team or you should be! For example purposes, I am going to relate this to Jenny.
If you don’t know this my business partner lives across the country from me, literally she is in Oregan and I am based out of Georgia, which presents even another layer of the importance of all this! If you want to know how we got STARTed you can read this blog post HERE. But know it has been full of highs and lows and frustrations and victories. We have learned so much not only about each other, but how to effectively work together. The biggest thing you always have to remember is the word TEAM. The end goal of any situation is to work through things together to receive the best possible output for the greater good. Here are 5 Ways to Work Better as a Team!
- Communication – It is the baseline for any relationship. But it is communication about ALL things. Especially in circumstances with a business partner or a marriage. It is making sure everyone is on board and decisions that are being made work for everyone. If something is not working, if you have an idea, if something doesn’t feel right you must communicate! It is also important that with moving parts you are summarizing things so everyone is on board. There are even ways to communicate and Jenny and I communicate really through 5 different forms of communication and for most, you have in-person interaction but we rarely do. Know this is the current forms of communication that works best for us, but we are constantly having to look at this and evaluate what is working or what needs to be adjusted.
- iMessages – This is quick answers needed to move forward. We try to avoid this unless it is needed. For me, it triggers me to do something immediately so Jenny and the team know to only use this if needed otherwise emails are better served so I can respond in front of a computer and not from my phone. My messages are synced between my phone and my computers. So everything is always accessible on all devices to reference and to quickly communicate about important things.
- Emails- I am diligent with emails and this is a great way to break up specific tasks and prioritizing them. Making sure to cc involved parties on all emails and replies to keep everyone in the loop on projects that are moving forward.
- Team To-Do List – We have a team to do. The top is used for team things for everyone to see. We then each have sections and we can apply different things to each person list. We have a color coding system so that when things are added you know who added it. I will add a graphic at the bottom to reference this! We just use Evernote and make it our own.
- Video Chat – We use zoom… often! This is great for working or talking through big things and using it to screen share as well.
- Marco Polo and Phone calls- These are the other two forms of communication we use to just communicate. Marco Polo is great for random videos to talk and show but with no sense of urgency like zoom/messages/phone call provides.
2. Schedules – This is a huge one. Jenny is on time zone for three hours different. Which even brings up a different hurdle to work over. To top it off I am an early bird and now a single Mom. My goal is on the day I have my kids to be home when they are home. So I will be starting my workday by 5 am which is 2 am for her! You see what I mean. Having schedule and times to meet specific tasks is important. I am someone that loves working independently to rock through things but team meetings are essentials to keeping everyone on the same page!
3. Responsibilities – We have distinct skillsets but what evolves all the time is the workload and current needs. Our business shifts between heavy operational times and then creative and content creation times. It is important we are communicating and always looking at responsibilities in relationships to schedules and other team members to make sure there are no break downs anywhere. There are some roles that will never shift and we know who owns that responsibilities but tasks and others can vary. Making sure this is clear for everyone is essential!
4. Organization- You cannot work without it. Systems and workflows so that there are organized methods to the madness. If you are not organized and the team is not on the same page you will waste so much time searching for documents and executing documents. Making sure to take time to train and communicate these systems and workflows is essentials for an effective working environment.
5. Personal Goals- This is not the normal thing but to me, business is personal and personal life is intertwined into my business decisions. Jenny is someone that knows me the best. We are making some pretty big business decisions right now that will affect the landscape of our business. Not only are we together but personally I am making decisions as well. For instance, www.DickersonHill.com will be a new business I start this year! This is a company I will 100% own but it affects Jenny with her being my partner and it is we also plan to do some business retreats out here. It is important to me that she knows this and is on board with it and sees the vision. We are also looking at all companies and roles and responsibilities right now with such a major shift in my life to make sure all new companies and decisions align and be executed at the level we need too.
Yes, I feel lucky we have found each other. It was a relationship and circumstance that was supposed to happen without a doubt! We are SOOO different from our skillsets and even personality but two things are the same. 1. Our work ethic. We both will do the work that needs to be done, to get it done! 2. Organization and Workflows. Although Jenny is creative, she worked remotely most of her life so she is really good with organization. I am very detailed and the ONLY way we are able to make all this happen across the country is having a baseline for organization and workflows/systems that support that.
Keep hustling friends!
xoxo
KD
