When you start a #business you are full of #positivity and #possibility – you are so driven by #passion that anything seems achievable – you operate on sheer energy. As you grow your business you begin to employ people, and you ‘hope’ that they are as passionate as you… that they truly ‘believe’ in the cause, and that they are intentional about solving customer problems and delivering incredible results.

You want passionate people.

And on the flip side, as a new team player, you want to belong – do your best work, and be able to ‘have a go’. You want people to be able to see you for who you are. You want to be a part of something bigger than yourself.

This seems like a match made in heaven – but sometimes it just does not go that way.

I had my own trials and tribulations in growing RedBalloon, (many of which I have spoken about in previous posts) when it came to creating a productive yet fun culture. I knew the importance of having people as committed as me – but every time someone joined the team I worried…. ‘Are they a team player?’ ‘Would they live the values?’ ‘Do they ‘get’ us, and would we ‘get’ them?’.

At the EY National #Entrepreneur of the Year awards last night – I heard it loud and clear – yet again… what does every business leader want? To have his or her people love what they are about as much as them; and they know if the team ‘gets it’, then they are on their way to success.

The founder of Streats, Bec Scott, added so eloquently; “It is not just about what we teach people, and the skills that they get – it is also that our people ‘belong’”. So true!

We want passionate people, and our people want to be belong…. The challenge, of course, is how you get this to happen – tirelessly, over and over again.

Becoming a ‘best employer’ five times at RedBalloon was a relentless, focused effort, making sure that everyone in the team had shared values, and that we celebrated #success. That people felt that they were making a real and valuable contribution to the ‘cause’. A clear purpose, and sharing the upside with all.

And I guess that was the genesis of Redii.com. I have seen many great business ideas not reach their potential, simply because to #grow a business means the ability to surround yourself with people who can turn your vision into reality.

As each entrepreneur winner took to the podium at the awards night – one by one they acknowledged that they could not have done it without the fantastic #team they surrounded themselves with. Yet this does not just happen… without a great deal of effort and energy. As I have always said you need the tools to get the job done – and that is no different when it comes to using cloud tools to inspire your people.

You would not try to run your business without an accounting system or CRM – and people productivity tools are just as important.

This article also appeared as part of my LinkedIn Collection