For additional information on Small Business Grants please visit: http://www.hjventures.com/grants/government-grant-proposal.html

3. The alternative model - not new but it works!

Visualise a ‘dry stone wall' of type often used for field boundaries. Stones are all different shapes and sizes - they are selected from what is available, in right order so that they overlap and fit with each other perfectly to provide a solid fit. This means that no stone is ‘wrong' size as long as you find others to fit around it. It doesn't matter if all stones are perfectly aligned as long as they all mesh together to give wall stability. There is no mortar used in wall, it's all down to skill of bricklayer selecting correct stones in first place so that individual stones all support each other in complete wall. The wall doesn't fall down for centuries! The wall doesn't look as uniform and pretty as brick wall on surface but actually performs its' task far better. The bricklayer has to have a real skill in selecting right shaped stones to make sure they all fit together well in first place, but once he has done that, maintenance is minimal!

Key: - Stones = Individuals and their skills Mortar = support from Team Leader and Human resources ( competencies, assessments etc ) Bricklayer = Team leader The first thing that is needed before you can recruit and build a team for you project is an expert ‘brick layer' or REAL Team LEADER! ( Not a manager/coordinator or facilitator). This doesn't mean someone who happens to have been in company longest and is thought due for promotion. It doesn't mean someone who can write good reports and do all administration properly - it means someone who can LEAD PEOPLE! This is someone who can control, cajole, coerce and do anything necessary to get people to perform at their own best whenever it is required, at same time gaining respect from those around them that they have to deal with. They don't bully, shout or ‘use their position' to get things done, people respond to them naturally and TRUST them. It's NOT a promotion, it's another type of skill and you should look for this type of person in all levels of organisation. You can teach anyone to play piano, but not everyone can be a top concert pianist - it is just a skill that some people have and not others. Leadership is exactly same - you can send someone on a ‘Team Leaders' course and they will be able to go through motions of team leading, but what you should look for is a ‘natural' - someone who has ability to really LEAD people. If no one of your present employees stands out as having this ability - look outside for someone. It is not worth compromising on this all important position - remember you need someone to put that wall together effectively to get best results!

The team leader should then be tasked with putting together team - selecting strengths that are needed from individual people and making sure that their weaknesses are covered by other people in team, so that you are putting together ‘stone wall' with all members supporting each other. As team is growing, all of team members should take part in recruitment and interviewing process - after all they will have a feel for how someone will fit in with rest of them. Giving everybody some responsibility for how team is put together gives them all a stake in its success.

From start there should be honest and open communication between all of team members and team leader. There should be no need for ‘Annual assessments'. The Team leader should be aware at all times how their team members are performing in various areas, and in an honest and open environment team members themselves should be aware of any shortcomings and work towards solving them. A good team actually need very little maintenance input from Team Leader and should very quickly become self-supporting, just like stone wall.

Summary So, if you are considering building a new team, try approaching it in a different light. Think of people, skills you want individuals to have - not skills they don't have, overall skills that you want whole team to have and how they all fit together to give you a solid foundation. Choose a proper ‘Team LEADER' to maintain it and put contemporary ideas of ‘assessments' and ‘competencies' behind you! ( Don't tell your HR manager this, unless they are lying down in a darkened room ! )

Team Building part 2 - Honesty is Key! Will focus on running of team once it is built and will be published shortly

Acknowledgements Adapted from an original article by John Roberts, freelance training consultant, Director of JayrConsulting Ltd. www.jayrconsulting.co.uk This article may be freely reproduced / modified and used in any way, providing this acknowledgement is left in its entirety.