We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nettie Sparkman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Nettie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear you experience with and lessons learned from recruiting and team building.
In my professional tenure, I have built and inherited teams. I was young when I began my management journey, and I have had the pleasure of managing individuals who are often older than me. I spend every day learning from those on my team, and the most significant takeaways, by far, are: 1. Listening to understand rather than listening to respond/refute
2. Hire people whose strengths complement your team, not reflect it (or you)
Hiring like-minded individuals is comfortable, but comfortability does not inspire growth. If you’re a small company, getting lost in the “we just need someone to cover this” mentality is easy, which can rush the hiring process. I have made this mistake, and the financial and reputational repercussions can be detrimental. Slow down, be intentional, and take the extra time to find the right person for the long haul. The temporary discomfort is worth it against the long-term pain a wrong hire can cause.
The phrase “cool people know cool people” has always resonated with me. I prefer to hire almost exclusively by referral, and I appreciate this model for two reasons. First, it brings in individuals who are more intrinsically motivated to succeed because someone in their network referred them. Second, the employer must cultivate a culture where current employees want to refer people in their network. It is a win-win.
Overall, I wouldn’t do anything different. Every success and failure has taught me a lesson. Mistakes are how you grow. Make the mistakes; just don’t make them twice.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I have spent my professional tenure focused on service. I practice Servant Leadership and function as the Integrator for companies that run on EOS. In any job role or function, my motivation is to use business as a force for good. This includes building a strong culture, achieving business goals, and cultivating a strong P&L that positively affects people, the community, and the environment. I have led two previous companies to achieve B Corp status and enjoy seeing the impact both have on the Earth and their employees. I have spent my time in startups, nonprofits, food & beverage, retail e-commerce, and promotional products, and I look forward to the future industries I will get the opportunity to dive into. People are companies most valuable asset. The problem is that most companies don’t understand their people. Hire a strong Integrator, focus on Servant Leadership, empower your teams, and you will always win.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Leadership is a funny thing. It fundamentally changes the way you see the world. When I think of resilience, I don’t think of myself, but rather of the teams I lead. In high-growth environments, change happens daily. I have been blessed with some of the best teams I could ever ask for. They show up every day to embrace change, support each other, cheerlead in times of struggle, and drive every directive we agree on to fruition. They embrace change, and it is inspiring. Their resilience directly reflects mine, and I couldn’t be more proud of my teams.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
A strong marketing strategy and a focus on customer service above all. The most success I have ever had in growing clientele, which I repeat everywhere I go, is hiring an outsourced marketing agency with a focus on SEO. Hire a partner with a proven track record, do what they say, and watch the business roll in. Once the business is in, the hard part begins. A relentless focus on customer service is how you retain your customer base and grow it. If you have a strong marketing function but a weak service or operations function, you will see your customers leave you before you make any money. Not to mention, it damages your reputation. Companies tend to overcomplicate growth. Put your customer in the driver’s seat. Treat them like partners. Work alongside them and ask for feedback. Growth will happen faster than you can keep up with it. Once you get the flywheel started, buy your operations team a drink after work hours.