The other day, Allison wrote a post about keeping employees motivated.  I thought I would follow up with a few thoughts of my own.

As I look to transform Roundpeg from an organization which revolves around me, my expertise and my reputation, to one  which exists even if I am not in the middle of it I need a strong, committed team.  While the process of building a great team  starts with hiring the right people ( and I have the right people, Allison, Jay, Rebecca and Taylor) it requires a shift in behavior from the manager.   At some point you have to let go of some of the control, let go of the need to do, or even tell and manage; and embrace the idea of serving.  To build a great  team, Seth Godin suggests :

My job isn’t to tell them what to do, my job is for them to tell me what to do to allow them to keep their promise of delivering great work.

As a business owner this transition is getting easier all the time.  These days I spend more and more time meeting with customers, trusting my team to fulfill the promises I make.  When I am in the office, I am not working on projects. I am working with my team, answering questions, bouncing ideas, solving problems, and taking care of them, so they can take care of our customers.

The result? The culture at Roundpeg is creative, fun, and interesting.  It is a place where talented people deliver great work; and I am lucky to be a part of the team.