{"id":6520,"date":"2020-11-12T15:24:55","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T20:24:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liongard.com\/?p=2623"},"modified":"2020-11-12T15:24:55","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T20:24:55","slug":"leadership-with-structure-part-1-using-core-values-as-your-foundation-for-greater-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/64.4.160.99\/liongard\/blog\/leadership-with-structure-part-1-using-core-values-as-your-foundation-for-greater-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"Leadership with Structure, Part 1: Using Core Values as Your Foundation for Greater Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"

WHEN YOUR TEAM AND CULTURE ALIGN TO YOUR CORE VALUES, THE SKY\u2019S THE LIMIT.<\/h3>\n

Are core values and company culture a top priority at your MSP, or an afterthought? For companies focused on hyper growth, having your core values not only firmly cemented but also applied and embodied on a daily basis should be a top priority.<\/p>\n

Liongard founder and CEO Joe Alapat recently discussed the importance of living and breathing your core values with Sunny Kaila, founder and CEO of IT By Design. The two-part conversation provided a number of takeaways for MSPs looking toward sustainable growth. Listen to Part 1 ><\/a><\/p>\n

The Role of Culture in Hyper Growth<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Alapat\u2019s previous experience running an MSP taught him valuable lessons about the importance of culture in a company\u2019s overall growth. In Liongard\u2019s infancy, a few mismatched hires early on were the catalyst for him and the Liongard leadership team to really dig into how they would define the company\u2019s culture\u2014and then use it to hire the best fits, who would play a role in reinforcing that culture every step of the way. This groundwork surely helped the company en route to becoming Houston\u2019s fastest-growing company<\/a> of 2020.<\/p>\n

Kaila agrees that if you don\u2019t have your culture right, you won\u2019t be able to build the dream team that\u2019s required for 10X growth. The first step to doing that? Defining those core values.<\/p>\n

For IT By Design, that means HAPPY: <\/strong><\/h4>\n

H<\/u>umility
\nA<\/u>ccountability
\nP<\/u>assion
\nP<\/u>ositivity
\nY<\/u>our community<\/p>\n

For Liongard, those core values are:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Listen & Learn
\nAdapt & Automate
\nExecute as a Team
\nFocus on Visible Progress
\nTeach and Lead<\/p>\n

No matter the specifics of your company\u2019s core values, it\u2019s essential to continue beating the drum and making them a part of everything you do\u2014otherwise, they\u2019ll just become empty promises.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

How Core Values Can Guide Your Recruiting Strategy<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Culture, based on your core values, plays an important part in the recruiting process. When hiring, Alapat evaluates how individuals embody Liongard\u2019s. For example, do they \u201clisten and learn\u201d humbly, or is it all talk from the get-go? Are they willing and able to \u201cadapt\u201d as roadblocks come up? Would they be able to \u201cexecute as a team,\u201d so everyone is rowing in the same direction? Using core values to guide how you recruit and hire helps avoid bringing in the wrong fit, whose personality or actions can disrupt and derail the entire vibe of the company.<\/p>\n

For Kaila, the keys to success and sustainable growth come down to being intentional about each step of the hiring process: interviewing, onboarding, promoting and retaining people based on your company\u2019s core values. Doing this makes it much easier to go out and accomplish your mission and make your vision a reality.<\/p>\n

Strategies for Using Your Core Values in the Hiring Process<\/strong><\/h3>\n

How do you bring your core values off the page and into your everyday operations? Alapat and Kaila use a number of strategies to help them figure out whether a candidate would fit in with their teams and cultures:<\/p>\n