Starting a new employee? A new process or procedure? Or a new product? Or office? If you are, please remember, new people and new processes need more attention and more frequent check ins from you! That’s because even if the new employee has previous experience, they don’t have experience in your organization following your standards. And they don’t have the confidence that comes from being a seasoned part of your team. New processes, products and offices also need more of your time and attention because more problems and inconsistencies will most certainly occur. If you aren’t there, you won’t be able to catch them early, improve then quickly and support the people doing those processes. As a leader, when you have a new employee you have a great opportunity to help them get started on the right foot and create a trusting relationship by spending extra time with them. Your time will help them go from feeling like a newbie to a valued team member! And spending more time checking in on new processes, procedures and procedures and offices will show how much you care about the people involved and prevent small problems from getting bigger. Your time is precious, so please remember spending more time with new people and new things isn’t a waste. It’s an investment that will pay off in many wonderful ways over time!

This is one of the secrets that make organizations grow and it goes beyond research, communication, or strategy decks. Connecting beyond office work. If all your employees do is come in, do what they were asked, and go back home... trust me, there will be a problem. It may not show immediately. But as time goes on, you will notice it. There is a psychological connection that just happens when people genuinely buy into something together. You cannot manufacture it. You cannot schedule it into a meeting. It either exists or it doesn't. I have team members I work with where we are still on calls by 9 or 10pm talking strategy, structures, systems. Not because anyone forced it. But because we actually care about what we are building. And by morning, we resume. That energy does not come from a job description. It comes from people who feel like they are part of something... not just employees filling a role. This is what drives results. Not the 9 to 5. Not the KPIs alone. Not the fancy org chart. It is the conversation that happens after hours. The buy-in that nobody forced. The team that does not need to be reminded because they already feel it. If you are building a team right now, ask yourself... do they feel like they belong to something? Or do they just have a job? That answer will tell you everything.

Your team doesn't need another ping-pong table or a fancy office redesign. They need to actually feel like they matter. I've watched small business owners pour thousands into perks and culture initiatives that fall flat. And I've watched others build teams that are genuinely engaged without spending a dime on aesthetics. The difference? It's not about the environment. It's about how people feel when they're doing their work. Three things unlock real engagement. Autonomy—let your people make decisions without hovering over every move. Mastery—create space for them to grow and get better at what they do. Purpose—help them understand why their work matters beyond hitting targets. When you get these three right, something shifts. People stop clock-watching. Ideas flow. Problems get solved because people actually care about solving them. This is what separates teams that are just going through the motions from teams that are genuinely invested in what they're building together. What's one thing you could do this week to give your team more of these three? I'd love to hear what's working for you.

I’ve noticed this morning that LinkedIn yet again seems to be full of quick fixes for ‘how to build an effective team quickly’ or ‘how to be a better manager instantly’. Heads up: there is no instant or even quick fix to today’s complex world. Everything takes work, introspection, connection and consultation (amongst other things). It takes time to build trust. It just takes time. Slow is ok. Slow is sustainable. So go slow if you need to, as long as you go. We’re only as busy as we convince ourselves to be. Edit: post may be for me as much as you 😂

Why do some leaders feel triggered when team members raise concerns? Open question: is it about ego, communication style, or workplace culture? Curious to hear different perspectives—what’s been your experience?

The foundation of building and maintaining a successful team is communication, staying connected with your people, seeing how they are doing, and letting them know how they are doing. It means asking them what you can do for them and how you can help, whether it’s with day‑to‑day operations, career pathing, or sometimes simply asking, “How are you?” We continue to embrace technology as a way to communicate: messaging apps and video chats are key tools in our daily connections. However, what cannot be replaced is face‑to‑face interaction. Many of us work remotely. Many of us have team members in other states or even in other countries. That reality creates challenges for in‑person meetings. How much I would have loved to travel overseas to meet teammates in France, Germany, London, and so many other locations. Unfortunately, that isn’t always possible often due to cost or limited budgets and that is understandable. What troubles me is the lack of attention leadership gives to this area. While everyone agrees that seeing their people matters, there is often no funding allocated for it, or it feels like you need an act of Congress to get approval. Face‑to‑face connection should not be this difficult, nor should it be an afterthought. I have tried to work around this when I can by taking advantage of nearby locations for day trips or planning a weekend with my wife in areas where I can meet with a team member and a client on a Friday, spend Saturday exploring, and drive home on Sunday. It’s doable if you can manage it and afford it, but that’s not always the case. I don’t have the personal funds to make these trips often, but I do them when I can. So yes, while it’s disappointing when companies don’t fully support site visits and travel, we can make some of it happen if we try, and if we truly want to. I want to. That’s why I make it a priority to talk with my team every day, both as a group and one‑on‑one. This is the investment I make in my teammates, because I care. So, I’ll ask this: How often do you talk to and see your team? If you have to pause and think about it, then it’s not often enough.

Hiring when you’re a small team hits differently. Every person you bring in isn’t just filling a role, they are shaping the business. They impact client relationships, team dynamics, and the overall vibe (and clients pick up on that). We’ve made hires that looked perfect on paper and felt off within weeks. That part doesn’t get talked about enough. In a big company, one “off” hire can get absorbed. In a small one, you feel it everywhere. In 2026, we’ve made two strategic, high-level hires, which, for a team our size, feels big. Really big! And beyond the financial investment, it’s a bet on trust, chemistry, and energy. The kind that either elevates everything ... or doesn’t. A few things we know for sure: - Skill gets you in the door, but accountability is everything - Experience matters, but passion is mandatory - No amount of talent makes up for a negative mindset Everyone is contributing to culture, whether they mean to or not. So hiring becomes less about “Can they do the job?” and more about: - Will they elevate our clients? - Will they inspire and lead the team? - Will they care about the details when no one’s watching? Because in a small business, culture isn’t a talking point, it's the heartbeat. And the right hire doesn’t just check a box. They shift the energy in a way you can feel almost immediately. What’s been your biggest hiring lesson?

Over the course of my career, I’ve had the opportunity to build four different teams 🚀 Each one was unique, but they all taught me the same important lesson: I don’t hire for technologies. I hire for thinking 🧠 When I interview someone, I’m far less interested in whether they know a specific language or framework. What I care about is how they approach problems: – How do they think in unfamiliar situations? 🤔 – Can they adapt when things change? 🔄 – Do they show curiosity and ownership? 🔍 Are these always the “perfect” candidates on paper? Probably not. But I chose them because they demonstrated something more valuable: a willingness to learn, improve, and grow 📈 And interestingly, that mindset doesn’t just benefit the team — it pushes me to improve as well. Of course, the market is full of highly skilled, “ideal” technical candidates 💼 But the real question is: 👉 Are they the right fit for your team? 👉 And how long are you willing to wait for that perfect match? ⏳ In my experience, potential, mindset, and adaptability often outperform a perfect CV 💡 What do you prioritize when building a team?

Belonging in a team doesn't just happen. It has to be created deliberately, and it has to happen early. When someone new joins, there's a window where they're deciding whether they actually fit, whether their presence is genuinely valued or whether they're just filling a seat. Most organisations leave that window completely unattended. The person figures it out over time, or they don't, and by the time you notice it's gone the wrong way you've already lost something. I see the same thing in hiring processes. Candidates form a view of whether they belong at a company before they've even started. The way they're communicated with, how they're treated when they have no leverage, whether anyone bothers to explain what's happening - all of it signals whether this is somewhere they'll be seen or just somewhere they'll be employed. Telling someone clearly that they're wanted, that they earned their place, that their contribution matters - it sounds almost too simple. But most teams never actually say it out loud, and the ones that do tend to get a lot more back.