This post was written by guest author Samantha Casey.

Having a dynamic team working with you is an incredible, powerful force which will only continue to benefit your business.  Sure, it is great to feel independently successful; to look up at your office building overlooking the Pacific Ocean, with an immaculate interior design, and a client roster so impressive Tony Robbins would be wowed and say,” That was all me!”

Yet, when having the dynamics of a team in place to help you reach and exceed your goals, you can propel your success forward in ways you wouldn’t have thought.

It begins here:  Formulating Your Power Group – creating a group of individuals you feel comfortable, inspired by, and ready to reach new levels with.  Let’s discuss the formula to building such a dynamic group:

Like Minded, Motivated, and Headed Forward

Creating your Power Group will be most beneficial when you find people who match your commitment, energy, vision, goals, and overall practice.

You may feel it best to have a Power Group of people from many different industries or backgrounds to bounce ideas, plans, and projects off of.  Bringing diversity to your Power Group can also help to gather perspectives that may have not been presented to you before.  Ideally, you want your Power Group to have the same vision for moving forward in business and to match your motivation.  This will also help you to stay on track towards your accomplishments and allow you to help your team achieve theirs as well.

Feels like Family

In my professional experience, I have found myself to be most successful when building solid relationships with those in my Power Group.  This is due to my Power Group being a group of individuals who, on top of having the same overall goals, motivations, and energy, are also helpful, supportive, and encouraging.  These are people I look to in moments of challenge for guidance, for thoughts, ideas, and suggestions.  You may find this  to be beneficial for you, too.

Also, I feel safe with this group of individuals as I trust their opinions, advice, and input.  Considering these points when formulating your Power Group can also help you to feel energized knowing you have a group of people who want to see you succeed, are rooting for you, and are there to lend a helping hand when needed.

Brainstorming and Challenge

Another great point about Team Dynamics and formulating your Power Group is not only the availability to brainstorm with one another, but also in challenging one another to reach the next level.  This is where matching each other’s energy in the group is incredible.  When all parties involved share motivation, the group’s energy becomes unstoppable.

Having your Power Group as a resource for bouncing around new thoughts and ideas, while also challenging one another, can lead to even more opportunities than you originally created.  This allows new ideas to form, new ways of breaking boundaries to generate, and creating new successes for you and your team to benefit from.

Accountability

Your Power Group is also great for creating an agenda, dividing it amongst equal parties, and creating accountability structures to ensure you are on track.  For example, you may be the Sales and Marketing expert on your team and have created a Marketing Plan.  This plan may require the design of a website for your clientele; therefore, you bring a Graphic Designer on board.  You may also look to a professional to handle your Accounting, and an Assistant to handle your daily calendaring, emails, trips, etc.

Or, in another example, you may have a Power Group that consists of people who you meet with once a week via conference call to cover a topic of discussion the group had agreed to the week before.  Therefore, every week covers a specific topic/agenda of focus and each member equally participates on the call, and with discussing the given topic.

Team Dynamics in the form of a Power Group = empowerment, progress, productivity, and comradeship.  It is a win-win situation for all parties involved and will only add to your incredible victories as a professional.

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Samantha Casey is the founder and operator of Relentless Consulting Group, a firm that helps businesses and individuals market to the world. She is a blogger, reader, and networker with a passion for helping others and building strong brands. Follow Samantha on Twitter to find out more about her.

*Photo by wishymom

We all want it–the opportunity to give less to a task or progress and to see results that can only come if we give 110%. No one would mind giving less sweat or hard work every now and then and still seeing the results unchanged.

What you think might be a delusional fantasy can actually be a reality, including when you’re working on your various social media marketing tactics. Yes, you can give less effort with the results, and profit, remaining unchanged.

It’s easy–get a team.

“Teamwork can make the dream work.” – John Maxwell

How many times have you thought that doing your job, and the job of everyone else, was too tough. In reality it probably is but that doesn’t mean you need to shoulder all of the burden.

When it comes to producing high quality results, the efforts of individuals are futile. The real action comes with teams of cohesive and highly functional people who are set on achieving a goal.

Charles Lindbergh didn’t fly across the Atlantic on his own; he had countless hours of consulting and navigators who showed him the way. Michael Jordan could never have been the greatest basketball player to set foot on an NBA court if he didn’t surround himself with team players like Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and Phil Jackson.

Believe it or not, your success as the social media manager of a big business or Twitter account manager of a mom-and-pop grocery store hinges on working with a team of people who are dedicated to striving for success.

Your dreams and the goals of the company depend on teamwork.

Dissecting the Fundamentals of Teamwork

When working on a team, there are a few things that need to happen in order to spark success. Two, three, or eight people can’t just wear shirts with the same logo and call themselves a team. Critical changes need to take place before success starts pouring in.

Ego Adjustment – All members of the team must adjust their egos in order to work well with one another. A humble approach to every situation is a great quality of a team. If a member of a team feels more entitled than the other members, nothing good can come of working together. You can’t expect to hand off a Twitter or Facebook task and think that the person needs to do it your way. That’s not how it works. Remember, it’s not about you, it’s about the team and the end goal.

Free Thinking Environment – One of the best aspects of working on a team is the fact that nothing is off limits. No idea is stupid and everyone goes. Some of the best ideas come when nothing is ruled out. When working on a team, you must be open to new ideas and ideas that might now sound good at first. Have you written off SEO or Google Analytics? Don’t. Not a big fan of Twitter? Don’t exclude it from your ideas. No member of the team can judge another based on an idea because the ultimate purpose of the team is to achieve success, not cut others down.

Shared Workload – One of the primary reasons teams don’t work is because of an unequal distribution of work. In a team environment, one person cannot do more than the others. This will generate feelings of bitterness and resentment, which will poison the team. Don’t overburden others when you’re reaching out to them for help with social media management. If you’re the team lead, make sure that you shoulder most of the tasks.

Higher Desire – The most critical aspect of working in a team is the mentality of every individual. Each person needs to know that they are working toward a greater good or goal and not for personal gain. Yes, personal gain may be a result of working well in a team environment, such as a promotion, but it isn’t the sole reason for joining together with others. Everyone must be clear on your goals and dreams for your social media campaign and they must work toward that each day or you’ll be coming up empty.

Dispelling Your Doubts

Working with teams can create a lot of doubt. Heck, even setting up teams can cause tension, fear, and anxiety for everyone involved. You might even be thinking to yourself, “Eric, my company doesn’t have the resources to put more than one person on the social media team. We’re just not that big.” Sure, your company may not be able to assign anyone else the duty of managing Twitter and Facebook but that shouldn’t stop you from forming a team.

People fear teams because people fear open communication. With teams you need to be honest and you need to work together in a timely manner to produce a desired product or achieve a goal. This requires good communication and people fear communicating. Although communication can be scary, the end result is worth the effort. Remember, think big picture, not “me” picture.

If your company is like most, they don’t have the resources to have a big social media marketing team. They don’t need one. Instead, pull from the resources and connections you have already established. Do you maintain a blog? Could someone else write a post every other week to free you up to do something else? Do you schedule tweets in HootSuite or TweetDeck? Could someone else create the document of all the tweet you’ll send and you can put them in the application? Simple, little tasks can help facilitate a team. Not every member needs a title. If someone else can do something for you, they are part of your team.

Today’s Action Steps

Teamwork is the only way to success. History shows us that nothing great is ever accomplished by one person; instead, a team is needed to pull everything together and produce excellent results. To get you started on forming or managing your social media team, here are some action steps:

- Brainstorm at least 10 ways that other people in your business can help you manage your social media profiles more effectively? Start by thinking of their talents and areas or interest and then move to the skills they want to develop.
- Reach out to one person on your list and see if they’d be willing to partner with you in your efforts. Stay excited and see where the conversation goes.
- Pick up a copy of John Maxwell’s Teamwork 101. It’s a powerful read for anyone who is on a team or leading a team.
- Share this article with other people who can begin to produce the same results, or even better, with less effort.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on teamwork and hear any success stories or tips you may have. Feel free to leave a comment below or email me.

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by lumaxart