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One World, One Industry: To Thrive, Surround Yourself with Good People

At various times in my career, I have been asked how to be successful or to thrive in business. There are many answers to this question, which differ depending on the situation you find yourself in. Some of the basics I have heard most often include working hard, staying focused on just a few things, always doing the right thing—it will ultimately pay long-term dividends—and many others.

But if I could pick just one thing that would make the biggest difference for your company and your individual success, it would be to surround yourself with people who are better than you are.

Sadly, there are people out there who find this threatening and who believe that if the people on their team are smarter, better, faster (cue the “Six Million Dollar Man” theme music) than they are, they will not be around very long. I believe the opposite is true. Teams that have great players on them tend to win, and people like winners. If you feel threatened by those you work with, you should think about how you can improve to become the best contributor in your area for your team. 

On the other hand, what a great joy it is to have those around you impressing you with their dedication, ingenuity, passion, and creativity. This is not only personally satisfying but tends to lead to excellent outcomes. When you get great outcomes, that’s a team worth investing in.

How do you find such great players to join your team? Well, that is the real challenge of this suggestion. It is not just about offering more money. You need to provide a vision of where you are trying to go. What is the mountain you are looking to climb? Share how this person will help to make that daunting objective a reality. When you get them on board, you need to clear obstacles from their path (and those will keep popping up internally and externally) and then get out of their way.

Clearing obstacles for great employees means finding ways to ensure that they stay, know they are valued, and that you will put the time and effort into their careers to encourage them to continue working for you. One important key to retaining your best people is ensuring that you train, retrain, and upskill them. Loyal and satisfied employees are those who have the right tools to do their jobs, are given options for growth within the company, and feel valued for what they provide to the company.

If you don’t develop, train, upskill, and offer pathways for growth to your best people, you risk losing them. Upskilling provides employees who have mastered basic skills the necessary new expertise for today’s positions and jobs. Pathways ensure that employees know that their job has a path forward and that with hard work and an openness to learning new skills, there is a clear track for career growth.  

I cannot overstate how important it is to invest in development and training for your team. It’s a clear sign that you value them and that they have an important place in your company. Building a culture of inclusion, acceptance, and lifelong learning will help your employees grow and improve your bottom line. Are you truly “seeing” your employees as individuals and recognizing what they bring to your organization? Engaged, valued employees are more productive, and less likely to look elsewhere for a new job.

Working with great talent makes the tasks before us—as insurmountable as they sometimes may seem—more approachable and achievable. When you surround yourself with great people, you will be pushed to do better and greater things. In my book, that is the secret of success.

This column originally appeared in the July 2024 issue of PCB007 Magazine.