Who Is On Your Top 1% Team?

“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” ~ Isaac Newton

The theme that continues to emerge in my conversations with clients is: Who is on your top 1% team and do they propel you forward?

Many of us have a team. The question to consider is if everyone on your team is a positive influence on your life? Whether you are an actor, writer, entrepreneur, corporate employee, artist, or star athlete, you need to have a top 1% team that helps you rather than holds you back. And it’s critical to continuously re-assess your “Top 1%” team to make sure you are positioned to win. As the CEO of YOU INC., you are responsible for making sure the people on your team are the best players. If they’re not, you’re not. It’s that simple. Choosing a team is your responsibility and a very important one.

Professional athletes have coaches, trainers, and nutritionists to help them operate at peak performance. Every entrepreneur, mom, and CEO needs a team as well. CEO’s have assistants, actors have managers, and moms have babysitters (hopefully to help). Your husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend, teachers, and friends can all be or not be a part of your team. I have several consultants that work on my team in the areas of technology, social media, marketing and PR. Sometimes the people add great value and bring my business up a notch and other times it’s not a top 1% effort and I leave some potential on the table.

I appreciate people on my team who are proactive rather than reactive, focus on solutions rather than problems and turn ideas into action. I value people who have a definite opinion and get excited by new challenges. I am grateful for people who can take a scoop of vanilla ice cream and turn it into an ice cream sundae. Since I have my own coaching business, it’s critical that the consultants that work with me add value at each step of the way. As a result, I’m always thinking about my top 1% team and how effective we are.

Key questions to decide if someone adds value to your top 1% team:
1. Do they understand your goals for the project?
2. Do they add specific expertise that you do not have?
3. Do they save you valuable time and free you up for other important projects?
4. Do they take ownership of the project?
5. Do they believe in you?

TOP 1% BOTTOM LINE: Even though it’s your vision, clarity, and goals that matter, positive influences around you can make a difference to reach new heights. Make it a ritual to continually re-assess your team to make sure you are delivering your top 1%.

About Alissa

Alissa Finerman is an Executive Coach and Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, speaker and author of Living in YOUR Top 1%. She works with managers, C-suite executives and teams to leverage strengths, shift beliefs and achieve meaningful goals. Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked with Ross Stores, Petco, BNP Paribas, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Brookfield Property Partners, Neutrogena, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Dress for Success. To learn more about coaching with Alissa, please visit her website and follow her on Facebook