We were lucky to catch up with Sara Mayer recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sara, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Talk to us about building a team – did you hire quickly, how’d you recruit the first few team members? Any interesting lessons?
Professionally I have always managed large teams with direct and indirect reports. When I first started out on my own, one my biggest frustrations was not having an implementation team for my wild ideas. I knew that it was not in the budget, but I also knew that I could create a plan. I started by creating a future organization chart with my future employees. I assigned job titles and even started list out tasks they would be responsible for. Next, I assigned priorities to hiring them.
When I hired my first team member, I hired her based on the needs from that org chart and I was able to easily transition the responsibilities over without thinking about what I needed her to do, it was planned out in advance.
This future organization chart planning has allowed me to focus on driving revenue so I can afford to build my team and I know I only must do the tasks they will be assigned until I make the hire.
Sara, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
When I was working at a large company, I feel into several projects that were deemed by others as “impossible” and I was able to look at the problem differently to make the impossible, possible. Quickly I realized that with the right team, looking a problem in different ways, we can create efficiencies that allow workers to get more done in less time. These projects led to the beginning of my company with some side projects. Now we focus on creating a strategy for leaders and offer implementation resources for leaders that just want it done! This allows business leaders to focus on what they do best and we can focus on the seemingly impossible.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Working with a team of people is exciting and takes intentional planning. As a leader, I get the vision, I know the goal, and I know when we are falling short. The team doesn’t always have the same drive or understanding of the goals and direction. My best advice for keeping moral high is to really learn about how my team likes to receive feedback and praise. I do a variety of recognition, handwritten cards, public recognition, days off, and verbal thank you’ s. With the goal in mind, I ensure that the team members understand their individual contributions towards the bigger goal. I also build in celebrations to ensure we truly celebrate the success of the work before simply moving on to the next goal.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I am told I am known for getting it done and the person to call when you are stuck. Helping others and connecting them with the right people has helped me to build this reputation. Often people reach out to when they are stuck or need a different opinion. Sometimes I need some time to think about it and time to reach out to others, but I always give it my best try. Being resourceful has build my reputation of getting it done! Everyone on my team is resourceful, we find a way!
Contact Info:
- Website: saramayer.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saramayerconsulting
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saracmayerconsulting
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/65367311
- Other: Podcast https://www.saramayer.com/podcast
Image Credits
Karianne Munstedlt