Though at this point in my life I have been making a living as an executive recruiter longer than anything else, I had another career before this one that I believe has turned out to be a great segue: newspaper journalism. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was fortunate to start my post-college career at what may be one of the few remaining small-town daily papers with a spirit of bulldog-like tenacity in producing rigorous and responsible journalism.
With an additional 85,000 people joining the ranks of the unemployed in December, more than 15 million Americans are currently looking for work in a marketplace that is growing exponentially competitive, especially when it comes to the top two percent of jobseekers—executives. Used to corner offices, high pay, and lavish perks, they’re now facing a harsh reality in which many are unemployed for months, if not more than a year, and the jobs are harder to find.
The New Year is a big motivator to take action on projects we’ve been putting off for a long time – both business and personal. Why does it seem that we need something as momentous as the start of a new calendar year to get us going? The real question, however, is what was preventing us from taking action in the first place?
Most folks have a positive attitude most of the time. Obviously, right now while the American consumers, citizens and voters are feeling the pain of the mortgage crisis, banking fall-out and the recessionary changes and the tinge of cynicism has increased and spread like the plague throughout our society. However, when building a team, you must focus on the attitudes of the individuals on the team.
Some companies are at the top of the food chain and they are screaming in the market place, as they are truly the team to beat. However, just because you are number one in your market or industry does not mean you can rest on your laurels now. Having run a company for 23-years, well we were always number one, but it was not without work.
Teams of people that are dedicated, committed and focused are a force to be reckoned with, and they cannot be stopped or beaten unless there is another team that is more skillful, smarter, technologically advanced, and has the same attributes to win. So, the question is how to do you build a winning team?
Most people would probably say that the best time to build a team is when things are really looking up. But that is not true, as the strongest bonds on a team amongst its members are with things are as tough as they can get, adversity has stress at redline, and life and death is on the line. You see, that is what bonds people together.