The Team is the Key

BY Hitesh Mohanlal

All business owners want to work less, earn more and build wealth. What most do not realise is that the best performing teams can help you get all three.
Let me make one thing very clear from the off: people think I am some kind of business guru.
I’m not. I can’t prepare a tax return. I cannot prepare a set of financials either. And I can’t run a payroll system. I even struggle to put into place any structure for my own businesses operations.
But I can work out and “implement a strategic framework.” And against all odds and common sense somehow my business works. And it works quite well. And that is down to one thing — my team.
Yes, yes, I might be the one with the mad ideas and the overinflated ego, but when it comes to making things happen? I’m about as useful as a chocolate teapot in the Sahara.
People often say, “Oh you’ve been so lucky with your team.” Or they mutter about good recruitment, fat salaries, or some other HR rubbish. Nonsense. Total codswallop.
The truth? It’s all about attitude. That’s what matters. You can take someone who knows bugger-all about the job, but if they’ve got the right mindset, they’ll figure it out. Conversely, you can hire the most qualified, experienced expert in the galaxy — but if their attitude stinks? They’ll crash your business so fast you will not know what hit it.
Want examples? Well, many of you may also know I am a soccer nut, and I consider running a business and sports to be aligned. So, you will not be surprised to know I got up at 4.45am to watch a European Cup Final some weeks ago which featured a team called Paris Saint Germain. This was a team that had in the past two of the best attacking players in the world – Mbappe and Neymar. They were purchased by the club for £727 Million or AU$1.490bn(!) and, whilst these 2 brilliant players were in the team the team won nothing in Europe. Nil. Zilch. Crap all.
So last year a new manager got rid of them and replaced them with 2 young players no one had heard of. And without the 2 biggest names in the world game, they won the European crown.
So motivated staff? Brilliant. They’re like turbos attached to an engine – except they are strapped to your business. Unmotivated staff? Think of them as dragging an expensive caravan uphill with an equally expensive bicycle. It might be doable but it’s a pain in the backside
It’s Also About Values (Yes, Really)
Now, I used to think all this talk of “values”, “visions”, and “missions” was pure corporate crap. Something dreamed up by men in Gucci shirts with clipboards and no real jobs. But I was wrong.
Values matter. Your business mission matter. Responsibilities matter. Having a clue who’s doing what matters. Otherwise, you end up in a meeting trying to decide who should order the coffee while your entire operation is collapsing.
Here’s the kicker: most small businesses have ten departments. Ten! But in many cases, one poor person — probably you — is wearing all ten hats. And if you keep doing that, your team won’t just lose motivation. They’ll lose the will to live.

The 10 Departments
Let me break them down. Three sit above the line — these are your high-level strategic minds. The other seven are the doing departments — the ones actually getting their hands dirty.

The Big Three (Above the Line)
1. Shareholder – Basically, the money person. They don’t do anything. They just want a return. Like a banker, but without the striped suit, fake smile and charges.
2. Director – Comes up with the master plan to keep the shareholders happy. Usually spends a lot of time on PowerPoint, Spreadsheets and talks a lot.
3. Leadership – The general manager. The person who makes the plan actually happen. In my case Ros, my business partner who can bash brains together and get away with it.

The Seven That Actually Do Stuff (Below the Line)
4. Product & Services Innovation – Decides what you should sell, what you shouldn’t, and occasionally dreams up a new product that’s either brilliant or bananas. You have probably guessed this is a department I like very much because I come up with the occasional brilliant idea after about 2 dozen banana ideas – but you will only ever hear about how I am the genius.
5. Operations – The money-maker. If this fails, everything else is irrelevant. You can have the greatest plan since the moon landing, but if this bit doesn’t work, your business dies. Quickly. You want your best person in this department which in my case is not me. Obviously.
6. Admin/IT – The background noise. Nobody notices it until it breaks. See this department as brakes on your car. You just expect it to work but when they fail you are guaranteed to notice and realise their importance.
7. Marketing – Generates leads. Without them, Sales has no one to charm with buzzwords, espresso and booze.
8. Sales – Converts leads to customers. Doesn’t make money directly — that’s Operations — but without Sales, Operations would be twiddling their thumbs.
9. HR – Hires the right people, makes sure no one’s suing you and tells you all the things you cannot do at the Xmas party. And oh yes keeps reminding you not to swear at interns or do or say anything that will upset anyone including the office dog.
10. Finance – Looks at the numbers and tells you whether you can afford a new coffee machine or if you’re going bankrupt next Tuesday.
Now, here’s the thing: if you don’t get these roles defined, assigned, and properly understood by your team, you might as well go herd cats for a living. And if you try and run them all yourself? Your business (and you) will end up looking like a Holden that’s been driven 400,000km.

How to Demotivate a Team in 5 Easy Steps
Let me list just a few of the classics. These are real disasters — all of which we as a business has stumbled into at some point:
1. Broken Promises
The fastest way to destroy morale. Promise a pay rise, training, or a new office coffee machine — then fail to deliver. It’s like saying telling me you are going to take me to the famous racing track in Nürburgring to race a Ferrari, then driving me to a car park on the Gold Coast to show me a Kia.
Worse still, it teaches your team it’s okay not to deliver. And when they stop delivering to your customers? You’re toast.

2. Insensitive Decisions
Some people are tough as nails. Others burst into tears if you raise an eyebrow. You must know the difference. Easy said than done. We fell foul of this recently and could not work out what went wrong.
One-size-fits-all leadership is like using one tyre for every car — it just doesn’t work.

3. Poor Communication
Either you don’t tell your team enough, and they think they’re just pawns in your twisted game of Risk. Or you bombard them with so many updates they feel like they’re stuck in a Zoom’s version of Groundhog Day.
Find the balance. And when something goes wrong — which it will — ask if there’s something you could’ve done better too. This was something that I got taught recently. A coach told me that if something goes wrong in my business it is probably my fault because we either gave the wrong instructions, do not train adequately or miscommunicated what needed to be done.

4. Too Many Bosses
When everyone’s in charge, no one is. It’s chaos. Like having five people steering a boat in different directions while one person yells about the sails. You need a clear chain of command. Not a hydra-headed monster of conflicting decisions.
We have a simple rule in our business. Our team are given the responsibility to make decisions, and we try to ensure those decisions are followed through and if it goes wrong, they take responsibility. There are some decisions that only I, as the majority shareholder make, but I will usually ask the leadership team of their thoughts. I then do what the hell I want but then when it goes bananas, which it often does, it’s all down to me and this usually makes Ros, my partner, very unhappy.

5. Lack of Recognition
People like to be told they’re doing well. It’s not rocket science. If you ignore their efforts, they’ll assume you don’t care. And if they think you don’t care, they’ll stop trying or caring too. Next thing you know, you’re left with a team who are physically present but spiritually on a beach in Barbados.

The Final Say….
If your team doesn’t know what the business stands for, what the mission is, and who’s actually steering the ship, don’t be surprised if they stop rowing.
Motivating your team isn’t about beanbags, ping-pong tables or branded water bottles. It’s about clarity, honesty, and occasionally admitting that maybe, just maybe, you’re the problem.