People: Who You Surround Yourself With is Key

As Phase 2’s 25th year continues, I’ll be sharing reflections & lessons learned over the first quarter century of Phase 2. Enhance your personal business journey through this series of blog posts. Part 2 is all about the people you surround yourself with. 

Phase 2 Would Never Hire Me Today

If I applied today for a job at Phase 2 – the company I founded in 1998 – there’s no chance I would be hired. 

I don’t know how to code. I can’t design an app. I’m not even the best at business development!

And yet, Phase 2 has grown into a strong, innovative leader in technology solutions and custom software development. 

Since our early days, I have observed a few things about myself and our team I think others can learn from.

While it’s cliché to say leaders should hire people smarter than themselves, it’s really true. But the path to success doesn’t stop with hiring the best people. The real magic comes from establishing an environment of trust.

Once you’ve found the right talent, set the right goals and created the right culture, your job as a leader is to allow your people to be good at what they do. There’s no need to micromanage. When you hire people who care about their work and know how to be adults, your role is simply to support your team in any capacity needed to make them successful.

At Phase 2, setting a strong foundation and trusting our employees to execute has served our team – and our company – well. 

As a leader, I keep culture at the center of every decision I make, and it has paid in dividends, year after year. I share this with the hope that you too will see the value of this mindset and experience the same benefits as we have at Phase 2.

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Read more about Phase 2 and our culture in part 1 of Leadership Lessons. Stay tuned for my other 25 year reflections.