A few weeks ago, while working with an executive from a major medical firm, I asked him for an update on his self-discovery from our recent in-person meeting. He paused, reflecting on his approach to his staff, and realized that his behavior was markedly different from his usual interactions.

This revelation brought a wave of emotion. He felt embarrassed that it had taken him 11 years to identify what was missing. He reflected on his past success, where employees felt he always had time for them. He acknowledged that his current responsibilities and a tendency to underestimate task completion times were obstacles to maintaining this approach.

Such realizations are not uncommon for executives. They often struggle to gain true clarity on their roles and results, leading to increased anxiety and a tendency to overload themselves.

The concept of a "Teambuilder" is crucial here. A Teambuilder is someone who:

- Takes responsibility for the team

- Institutes a team mentality

- Is a good listener

- Strategically utilizes team skills

The seven core competencies of a Teambuilder are:

1. **Appreciating Others:** Recognizing and caring about others.
2. **Teamwork:** Cooperating to achieve objectives.
3. **Customer Focus:** Meeting and exceeding customer expectations.
4. **Employee Development/Coaching:** Supporting the professional growth of others.
5. **Understanding Others:** Valuing the uniqueness and contributions of individuals.
6. **Interpersonal Skills:** Communicating effectively and building rapport.
7. **Project Management:** Overseeing resources and tasks to achieve results.

In this case, the executive rated himself highly in customer focus, saying, “This may be one of my stronger areas.” He understood that customer focus is fundamental to sales, involving:

- Anticipating and understanding customer needs

- Responding with urgency

- Following through on requests

- Being patient and courteous

- Resolving issues satisfactorily

- Making extraordinary efforts to satisfy customers

- Building relationships

- Partnering to achieve customer objectives

- Advocating for customer needs

- Taking professional risks for customers

However, he realized that he had neglected this fundamental relationship-building approach with his staff, who are, in essence, his most important customers. As Richard Branson famously said, “Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.”

To address this, we began by focusing on small, actionable changes. Starting with the end goal in mind—creating an environment where his staff feels valued—he decided to implement a simple but effective change: reducing his back-to-back meetings from 60 minutes to 45 minutes.

Thus, the journey toward becoming a customer-focused Team Builder began, one step at a time.  

What about you?  How do you rate yourself as a teambuilder?  What is the one thing you can implement today that would have a big impact on your ability to make your staff feel taken care of?