The first step of building your own executive team is to determining team roles you will have on your team.  This may seem like the most difficult part of the process, but it’s not too hard.  Think about who you are, what you are working on, and what you want to be doing in the future.  To get there, who do you need to help you get there?  It might be a short list or a long list of team roles.  I’d suggest that you start with a short list, put it down for some time, and then review it to make some additions.

Where You Start on Team Roles

So where you should start on team roles?  The first one is a trusted friend.  If you ever were in trouble, who would you call?  And would they answer?  Would they come and help you, no questions asked?  If someone bad happened to you, do you have someone who would make sure your family is going to be okay?  When you just need someone to talk to, do you have someone who is willing to listen?

Once you start with this person, make a point to meet with this friend and talk about this process. You might be surprised to find that your friend can make some very good recommendations for you.  If this friend knows you well, and then understands what you need and, more importantly, who you need, you will most likely get some traction on this process.

The Players on the Team

You will most likely want to add the following people or firms to your team:

-A trusted executive at your bank – someone who can make things happen with ease and trust

-A financial advisor – someone who understands all kinds of investment opportunities and doesn’t just recommend their favorite product/service

-An attorney who specializes in litigation –  meaning someone who can do a great job in representing you in the courtroom

-An attorney who specializes in trusts, wills and corporations – someone who protects what you own and manage

-An accountant – someone who makes sure that all of your finances are accurate and put within the right categories

-A tax advisor – someone who implements the best, legally allowed strategies to have you pay as little in taxes as possible

-A marketing expert – someone who understands how to sell in your market and how to make the most of your skills and experience to sell to your customers

-A doctor – someone who is focused on maintaining and improving your health

-A dentist – someone who is committed to your oral health

-A civic leader – someone who has political connections and friendships for needs you may have in your community

-A clergy member or spiritual leader – someone who is able to provide you some encouragement and perspective

Please understand that this list of team roles is not comprehensive.  You may want to add or delete people off of this list.  If you find that you don’t need them, that’s okay.  The point of this exercise is to think about what you are missing on your executive team and to fill that need.  Just be careful about making deletions for any reasons other than that you have the need filled.  If you think that you don’t need someone, especially for the reason that you think you’re not “big enough” for that kind of help, you could be opening yourself up for some problems down the road.  These are the kind of people that you want in place ahead of time, and not when you’re in a crisis and looking for them.