The Effective Executive…The Importance of Building a Strong Team

First of all, how cute is the graphic below? My friend George who works on The Skinny Confidential team is always finding new ways to have fun with graphic design. Remember the paper dolls he made for me?

Anyway it’s no secret that I would not be able to have the platform I do without a bomb-ass team. There are people completely behind the scenes making moves & making things happen in a way that’s always branded for The Skinny Confidential. I feel like after 10 years of working 7 days a week, I’ve really built a strategic, smart, strong team that I’m super proud of.

Being a leader wasn’t always in the cards for me. Going from a solopreneur to managing a team has been hard & I’ve had to learn along the way. Michael recommended I read the book The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker, & although it’s dry, there are lots of tips & tricks on how to effectively manage a team. One tip is that when managing a team it’s really important to take your ego out of it & that you’re creating a culture in your work environment. Sometimes this is hard because some people who work on the team are off-site. In a way, this is great- you don’t always need people sitting in an office, at their desk from 9-5. In fact, some of the most productive teammates are the ones out of office ( ahem, George, Hilary & Lydia ). Of course having people in the office is super important too, & I’m trying to create a ‘Barbie pink’ dream, which is why we have Mimi & Westin who help run things when it comes to the day-to-day.

I wanted to introduce everyone the team to you guys. We have everyone from a backend web designer, to an editor, to a graphic designer & then Mimi, who really is a jack of all trades. You’ve probably heard me to talk about Emily a lot if you listen to The Skinny Confidential Him & Her podcast– she manages my calendar which has been life-changing ( for more on my calendar, scope this post ). Time is like my currency & to have someone looking at every facet of my day has been really valuable.

Before I introduce you guys to the team, I wanted to share some of Peter Drucker’s best tips.

PETER DRUCKER’S TOP TIPS FOR MANAGING A TEAM

♡ “Effective executives know where their time goes. They work systematically at managing the little of their time that can be brought under their control.”

Record how you spend your time. Hello color-coded Google calendar. Trim the fat & set aside time to accomplish your work by time-blocking & batching. A time cube really helps with this.

♡ “Effective executives focus on outward contribution. They gear their efforts to results rather than to work. They start out with the question, “What results are expected of me?” rather than with the work to be done, let alone with its techniques and tools.”

We’ve talked about this recently & Michael is really good at this. Measure your results, not the amount of ‘time’ or ‘work’ it took to accomplish something.

♡ “Effective executives build on strengths—their own strengths, the strengths of their superiors, colleagues, and subordinates; and on the strengths in the situation, that is, on what they can do. They do not build on weakness.”

Know what each person on your team is good at & delegate accordingly. This goes for yourself as well.

♡ “Effective executives concentrate on the few major areas where superior performance will produce outstanding results. They force themselves to set priorities and stay with their priority decisions. They know that they have no choice but to do first things first—and second things not at all. The alternative is to get nothing done.”

Focus on what is most important & what creates results. I don’t want to be living in my email inbox, working off of someone else’s to-do list, so every morning I have a list of the top 7 things I like to accomplish. If you haven’t heard of The Ivy Lee Method you gotta check out this post.

♡ “Effective executives, finally, make effective decisions. They know that this is, above all, a matter of system—of the right steps in the right sequence. They know that an effective decision is always a judgment based on “dissenting opinions” rather than on “consensus on the facts.” And they know that to make many decisions fast means to make the wrong decisions. What is needed are few, but fundamental, decisions.”

Where focus goes, energy flows. We’ve talked before about ‘thinking time‘ & it’s something that is really important ( & effective ) for me. You gotta let things sink in & wrap your head around roadblocks to take emotion out of business decisions ( more on stoicism here ).

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Anyway, get acquainted with the team!!! They’re all amazing people & I LITERALLY could not run all this content without them. You should note though, that for 3 years I worked totally by myself & just made things happen. The team gradually grew slowly & strategically over time.

THE SKINNY CONFIDENTIAL TEAM

Mimi:

Hello again, I am Mimi Evarts, Creative Editor for The Skinny Confidential & beauty enthusiast. You may have seen me before in my skincare post here or on the podcast here & here where I asked Michael & Lauryn 73 questions ( a la Vouge ). I’ve been working with Lauryn for 6 years, starting out of her apartment when I was a sophomore in high school. I am now 22, living in LA & working on the creative side of TSC. Follow me on twitter @mimievartss & slightly more boring Instagram @mimievartss

Emily:

You’ve heard from me here where I briefly mentioned Lauryn and I meeting about 12 years ago at the beach in San Diego…we were laying out. Like in the sun. LOL YIKES! Since then we’ve both quit the sun and Lauryn created The Skinny Confidential. I’ve been on the team for almost 2 years and it has been an absolute whirlwind in a very good way. The community Lauryn has built is incredible to experience and I love being a part of it. I also have to mention that I cannot wait for BABY BOSSTICK and that I think he or she is going to be the most fantastic addition to the team.

George:

Hi! I am George Talavera, all the way from the Philippines! I work on TSC’s backend development. I started with TSC since ( checking archive emails… ) wow 2013! Being part of The Skinny Confidential team is a blast, and although I may be the farthest away from everyone, Lauryn and the guys always make me feel close like family.

Westin:

Hey guys, I’m Westin Mitchell – you probably recognize me from the background of Lauryn’s Instagram Stories or as the founder of WOO More Play. After working in the custom furniture business for years, I’ve since transitioned into running WOO with my two best friends and business partners, Lauryn & Michael.

Taylor:

AKA, The Bare Naked Cucumber. I’m the producer for The Him & Her podcast & work with Dear Media. You guys might remember me from the very early podcast days. ( Lauryn here. Taylor is literally the best producer & constantly makes me laugh. Like all the time. )

Michael:

I am Michael ( aka Susan ), Lauryn’s husband & serial entrepreneur & brand builder. I’m currently the CEO of the female-focused network, Dear Media, & the CEO of Bosstick Media which is a holding company with ownership in multiple direct to consumer brands and businesses. I’m passionate about helping any self-starter achieve their goals by providing honest conversation and resources for anyone looking to take advantage of the opportunities at their disposal.

Arielle:

Hi everyone! I’m Arielle Levy, a photographer for The Skinny Confidential, and ‘don’t mean to brag’ but I must mention I also have glowing skin THANKS to Lauryn’s influence. You have probably seen my work here on The Skinny Confidential over the years. Our first shoot was in December 2015, we are coming up on 4 years! Follow me on Instagram @ariellelevyphoto for photo tips.

Lydia:

Hi there! I’m Lydia Berry & I’m one of the graphic designers on TSC team! I currently live in Nebraska & started working remotely with the team a little over a year and a half ago during my sophomore year in college. I am set to graduate from UNL with a fashion merchandising degree + a business & art minor in May and am excited to move to LA or NY come summertime! You can find me on Instagram at @lydberry & check out my work at my newly created account, @the.sunday.series.

Brooke:

Hey Everyone! I’m Brooke and I’ve been designing graphics for Lauryn and the team remote from NYC for almost three years! Between Lauryn’s advice and referrals, I attribute much of my success to her as she’s helped me reach a point of quitting my day job! I now design for badass bosses like her on my own watch! My biggest role with the team is designing collages and curating the super fun IG feed for @tscbody! I also have to mention I am currently wearing my caffeinated sunscreen and sipping water with A LOT of lemon out of a Hydro Flask as I power through the next few hours that I time-blocked for designing…talk about influence.

Hilary:

Hey guys! I’m Hilary & I’ve been working with The Skinny Confidential team for about 5 years now. I’m a freelancer & for TSC I’m kind of an editor/proofreader/all around blog helper. I help the team with editing, linking, & formatting content. I love my job & working with Lauryn & the whole crew. I’m based in Vancouver, Canada but spend a lot of time in the Faroe Islands & Spain. I recently became a mom so I’m really looking forward to the content next year, as I’m sure a lot of you are too!

Mackenzie:

Hi hi! My name is Mackenzie Robinson and I’ve been on the TSC team since summer going into my senior year of my undergrad. I went to undergrad at the University of Nevada and I played D1 soccer there. I am now 22 and attending law school at ASU. I am kind of a jack of all trades for all things TSC social, and I love this position so much! I’m a total social media nerd. I’m fond of all things health and wellness but I’m also arguably more fond of a Doritos Locos Taco. Follow me on Instagram @kenzierobinson & Twitter @kenzrobinson

Erica:

& of course there is Erica. You guys know Erica from Fashionlush is my very best friend. We’ve been through school together & love each other ( & fight with each other ) like sisters. We also founded blog-doo together. If you haven’t heard of blog-doo…it’s your one-stop-blogging-shop. We always design our sites together, but Erica is the best web designer. Like, if you need a designer, she’s your girl. She really knows her shit. Anyway, blog-doo is a blogger resource to really help bloggers take their site to the next level. We have all kinds of packages, so if you’re interested in a blog facelift, you should definitely check it out.

Well, there you have it. You’ve now met The Skinny Confidential team. Like I said, they’re all fucking badass. If you like this post make sure you check out how to brand. It goes further into the business side of things.

If we decide to expand the team & hire more people I’ll definitely let you guys know on Instagram Stories.

x, lauryn

+ one thing everyone on the team has is a laptop stand ( find out more here ).

++ stalk Mimi’s skincare routine here.

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