Nurturing an Entrepreneurial Spirit

Last week diamond’s Founder Kate Lester, spoke at Nurturing an Entrepreneurial Culture at etcVenues, County Hall, London, sharing her experiences on ‘How to engage a remote workforce and partners’. We thought we would share some of her tips on how you, our clients can inject the right kind of spirit into your business. Being an entrepreneur and a business leader is part creative, part visionary and part lateral thinker. But with all of that comes all the massive energy you’ll need – fuelled by passion and commitment and this is most important when you motivate a team. diamond is diamond because of the joint determination that comes from us all here. Entrepreneurism goes beyond just Kate – but the passion to grow something brilliant exists in us all. And why? Because we have worked out a formula for success, that is based on the people around us. It’s about creating a culture and a common goal for us to all follow. And this comes from the diamondvalues:

• Shared Success ©
• Be a really great company to work for, trust and belong to
• Over delivering to exceed our client’s expectations

We embed the diamondvalues into everyone that becomes part of the business. diamond was born from a commitment to help businesses grow and we want to help YOU, our clients to understand how to nurture a spirit within your team and so take your business one step further to success. Here are diamond’s and Kate’s top 5 tips:

1. Create a culture

Build an atmosphere for your team that makes them want to be there. Work doesn’t have to be work. It’s your business, you love it. But what makes all the people love it as much as you do? It’s about creating an atmosphere-one that suits you as a person, but also appeals to everyone else that is crucial for the business. Choose a personality and stick to it.

2. Choose the RIGHT staff

It’s so easy to fall into the trap of a quick hire. You’ve got a role that needs filling and someone’s willing to do the job. But wait. It’s better to find someone that fits in with your culture, understands YOUR company values and actually fits. There is no point cramming in a piece of the puzzle which doesn’t connect with the ones around it.

3. Train your staff

So you hired a great team member. But as your business grows, so should the people that are behind it. At diamond, we give all the diamondteam regular training. It’s good for them, to develop as people, but crucially, the better they become, the better the output for your business. It’s quality and efficiency. So a day out the office may seem like a big deal but the return is far greater than the resources spent on training up your team in the long run.

4. Communicate

Don’t keep secrets, don’t keep people in the dark. We’re not saying you need to share EVERYTHING, but it’s a good idea to have transparency in the business. Communicate across the chain and also, up and down it. There’s no harm in knowing what someone else is working on, even if it’s in a different remit. It might be relevant. There might be a link further down the line. It’s better that way for YOU. It’s the same for vision, share it with the team to get them excited. The only way you’re going to get there is if you ALL work towards it. You can’t do that if half of the team don’t know what it is. And don’t forget those core values. Remind people off them all the time so that they remember and it becomes natural to act in accordance with them.

5. Build Strong Support

It’s not just about keeping everyone happy, it’s about creating a culture that feels safe and secure. Supporting your team is SO important. Yes they might be competent and have been doing the same thing for years. But when was the last time you checked in to see if they needed anything? You need to make it absolutely clear that the culture in your business is one that tackles problems head on. The little dips should be shared as much as the success. Make it known that you want your team to be happy and your business is willing to help where it can. After 25 years in the business, I believe that Shared Success © is the big winner. It’s your business and of course you feel immensely proud, but don’t be precious, it’s off putting for your team. After all, they say a team is only as fast as their slowest member.