Build the Perfect Management Team

Building an executive team can be a daunting task, but recruiting, hiring and integrating the right people into a business are essential to growth and success. Most of the time, building the team is a strategic process - at other times, luck plays a big role. And just when the answers seem obvious something happens: Someone quits, a new competitor emerges, or the financial landscape changes. The process and adaptation to changes along the way is just as important as putting together the team. The talent leader has certain responsibilities to employees, since the people hired are a reflection of his or her leadership style, personal beliefs, values and organizational goals.

Here are 12 steps to help build the perfect team:

Step 1: Map an action plan.

Spend time planning to avoid wasting time and money in the long run, which will interrupt business operations.

 Step 2: Prepare the organization for prime time.

The most embarrassing and fruitless moments in establishing an organization or in the evolutionary phases of change in an existing organization often are the result of shooting from the hip and hiring familiar employees - perhaps those from sister companies - relatives or, worse, single-discipline focused, "pigeon-holed" individuals.

Step 3: Build organizational capacity.

Then overlay these talents with the technical skills for a specific position. This will make an organization more agile and better-equipped to share resources among departments. Job descriptions will be easily written after the talent manager thinks through the core competencies.

Step 4: Know budget and compensation specifications up-front.

Many executive placements are made via networking. Placing an ad in a trade journal or newspaper may or may not bring what the company needs in a candidate.

Step 5: Identify key management milestones early.

Once core competencies are identified, find the balance between hiring too early or too late. Knowing the milestones the company must meet will be a key factor in determining if putting in place an interim executive or outsourcing the executive's function would be better than hiring a full-time employee.

Step 6: Know it's OK to change your mind during the process.

That's the great news about planning and having core competencies established for a company: They ensure talent managers stay focused and create a framework to easily change courses should new information alter considerations about how the team should be structured.

Step 7: Stop.

Is the organization really ready to begin looking for team members? Let this process take as much time as necessary. Make sure all critical steps have been identified. If it's necessary to retool some aspect of the team-building process, now is the time to do it.

Step 8: Go.

Whatever recruiting strategy used, conducting the search and the interviewing process are the next steps. It may take a while to source candidates and schedule interviews. Be flexible. Use technology where possible - for example, webcams, video conferences and Skype

Step 9: Don't miss out on hiring opportunities.

Despite planning and searching, it's going to be hard to make a decision. Selecting a candidate means a commitment of people, compensation and personal chemistry. Choosing too soon or waiting too long will have a direct impact on the outcome of the search.

Step 10: Put your high performers together.

Don't expect new executives, whether it is one person or 10, to mesh instantly. Recruiting these people was the easy part. Now it's time to make sure they work together, share their talents and complement each other's ideas and experiences.

Step 11: Provide an orientation and training time.

Spend time with new team members, and have an orientation plan ready for them when they arrive. The plan could be as simple as spending time with some of the existing employees, or as extensive as visiting clients, reading briefs and interviewing staff.

Step 12: Remember to take care of yourself.

As the talent leader in charge, it's important to continue to develop yourself. Give a speech at a national or local conference. Participate in an industry council breakfast or lunch. Get involved in local efforts to link industry to education, such as giving a talk to high school seniors at career day.

Building a great team is time-consuming, but the organization payoffs are immeasurable. Following these 12 steps can promote success.