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How to Build the Team of Your Dreams

The best team isn’t the team with the most people or even the one with the most experience. The best team is the team of talented people who are believe in each other and the team’s mission. Build a team of people who will use their gifts to go above and beyond to achieve their team’s goals. This is the kind of team you want for your chapter.

Teamwork and friendship photo by rawpixel (@rawpixel) on Unsplash
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To build the team of your dreams, think about what you want the team to achieve. Are you building a team to plan the most epic food event your campus has ever seen? Or are you trying to build a team to create relatable food content?

Then, determine what skills your team needs to have in order to accomplish that goal. Hard skills like writing, photography, and social media marketing are important, but don’t forget to consider soft skills such as communication, time management, and empathy.

Once you know what skills your team should have, start looking for people with those talents. Be sure to expand your search outside of your personal network. 

For example, if you’re looking for a great writer, don’t limit yourself to students majoring in English and journalism. What about folks in history, business, or biology? Writing is a skill that people across your school have. You’ll miss out on some incredible writers if you only recruit English majors.

Hand, cup, coffee and drink HD photo by rawpixel (@rawpixel) on Unsplash
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After you’ve found potential new members to join your team, chat with them in person to get to know them and see how they’d vibe with the rest of your team. This is a good time to explain your goals and get their buy-in. Talk about your mission and discuss how potential new members can contribute. 

If they believe in your mission and want to contribute, invite them to join the team. If they’re not so sure about your goals, you’re probably better off looking for someone else. Instead, focus your efforts on finding people who are willing to use their gifts to benefit the team.

Golden Hug photo by Helena Lopes (@wildlittlethingsphoto) on Unsplash
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Once you have your team of talented, passionate members, get everyone together to start developing relationships. The more your team communicates, the more they’ll trust one another and work together.

Jocelyn was the Community Success Manager at Spoon HQ, where she worked closely with chapter leaders across the network. She also co-founded the UC Berkeley chapter in December 2013. Dark chocolate is her first love, but boba and baking are close behind.