This week we’re taking a pause in our list building tips series to talk about something that all businesses need to face at one point or another as they grow: hiring and managing a team.
Since I’m still a young whipper-snapper when it comes to managing a team, and my team is also a fully virtual team, I jumped at the opportunity to interview Les McKeown.
About Les McKeown, Our Esteemed Interviewee
Les McKeown is the President & CEO of Predictable Success, where he advises CEOs and senior leaders of organizations on sustainable business growth.
Les is also a serial founder and he’s started more than 40 companies. I thought I was good at reinventing myself and switching businesses, but Les has me beat!
Managing Virtual Teams
For years Les McKeown has been studying patterns and strives to help teams work better together. In the following interview, you’ll learn the ins and outs of managing virtual teams, leading a team, and being the synergist for your company. His latest book, The Synergist: How to Lead Your Team to Predictable Success, is the inspiration for our discussion.
Click play to watch.
You can get the book at Amazon, available in print and on Kindle.
Interview Highlights
After learning a little about Les McKeown and his latest book, our interview dives right into the different managing styles. We discuss how to recognize each of the styles and how they work together, especially for virtual teams. Here is a brief outline of how the interview takes shape:
- [02:20] Overview of the different styles and how they interact.
- [04:46] How the book applies to every day life.
- [05:26] Learn about the synergist and why the style is needed.
- [08:33] The enterprise commitment.
- [10:03] How to apply these styles virtually and how the styles interact.
- [12:50] Learning by numbers how the styles interact.
- [14:44] How to have meetings with different styles.
- [18:07] Hiring with certain styles in mind.
- [21:08] Last words and where to get the book.
I highly recommend taking some time to watch the video and hear directly from the author. After watching, you will understand why you should read his latest book on learning how to better manage virtual teams, or any team for that matter!
Are you a Visionary, Processor, or Operator?
Even without the book as a reference, which of these types describes you the best? Leave a comment below, I’d love to know!
Do check out Les’ book The Synergist to get all the details, it truly is life and business changing stuff!
