70: How to Nurture & Lead a Team: Fostering Connection with Slack

And that is so much of what goes in to building camaraderie and friendships and unity around the mission that you're on.

I'm Bonnie Christine and this is where all things creativity, design, business and marketing unite. I'm a mama living in a tiny town tucked right inside the Smoky Mountains, running a multi seven figure business, doing the most creative and impactful work of my life. But when I first set out to become an entrepreneur, I was struggling to make ends meet and wrestling with how to accomplish my biggest dream of becoming a fabric designer.

Fast forward to today.

I'm not only licensing my artwork all over the world, but also teaching others how to design their creative life and

experience the same success.

I'm here to help you spend your life doing something that lights you up. I'll help you build a creative business that also creates an impact, changes people's lives, gives you all of the freedom you want, and is wildly profitable.

Welcome to the Professional Creative Podcast. I know some of you are working alone in your business and some of you may have some seasonal help or a contractor that works with you, and some of you have an entire team. And so I want to go into this episode letting you know that I know that. And I'll be working to make sure that you can use this information regardless of where you're at in your journey. But because you're listening to this episode, I suspect that many of you will eventually have someone helping you in your business, even if you don't already. And one of my promises to you here on this podcast is to bring you alongside my leadership journey. I have to say that when I started hiring, I really felt like my leadership skills were the biggest thing thing that was lacking. After all, I didn't really set out to be a team leader. I set out to be a fabric designer. And so somewhere along the way, I grew a business that really required more help than only I could do. And I let the business grow a little bit quicker than I had grown my leadership skills. And so this is an area that I've been focused on for the last several years, and it's an area that I plan to stay focused on for the entirety of my business's journey. So this episode is kind of fun. Even though we're talking about leadership, I want to talk to you specifically about some slack channels that we use in my business that have nothing to do with business at all, but how they really still foster creativity and growth and connection. But even though these little slack channels are really fun and I'm excited to tell you about them. It really goes way beyond that. I want to talk to you, the entrepreneur. I suspect that you likely are working with someone possibly virtually. And so maybe they're not, you know, right there with you every single day. And I think that most entrepreneurs, especially at the beginning, might be tempted to kind of obsess over the people hours and question whether this person really is working or not working when they say that they're working. Or, you know, being super picky about what goes on the clock and what doesn't. Like if your virtual team is taking a bathroom break on the clock, you know, do you have feelings about that? But what I want to share with you today is just because your team might be virtual or someone who's helping you might not be in front of you, it doesn't mean that every minute they log has to be productive. Because actually, the relationship building that happens in the margins is the thing that will really foster your team growth more than anything else. And so you, as the leader, have to set in place a vision for this as well. And I think it can be really helpful for you to envision your team or the people who you have working in your business or the people who you might eventually have working in your business sitting in an office building. Building. Now, I have to admit, I daydream about this sometimes. I don't think that I'll ever live in a place where I get to have a physical location with team members there. But can you just imagine how fun that would be to build and design and decorate and how fun it would be to work alongside the people that are really working in your business every day? So just imagine that you have the people who are helping you in a building together, and then it's a little bit easier to realize that they're there maybe from nine to five, and they are. They're taking breaks, they're taking stretching breaks. Maybe they're going out on a little walk, they're taking lunch, they're chatting in the hallways, Right? And that is so much of what goes in to building camaraderie and friendships and unity around the mission that you're on. And so just because the people who are helping you are out of your eyesight doesn't mean that they don't still get some of that time. So there are a couple of things that we do in the business to really, really foster this kind of flexibility and this eagerness to really get to know each other. And one of them is our slack channels. Now, we have many slack channels, and I would say you know, 95% of them are all work related. We have one for the podcast and one for our. One for our membership and one for customer service and community support. And all these different, I mean, really, so many different Slack channels that have to do with business, but we have seven that really have nothing to do with business. And oftentimes you'll find us there. Getting to know each other, number one is just called the water cooler. Now, if you're not familiar with Slack, it's just a kind of communication system. It's a software. We all have it on our phones and our computers and it's how we communicate, communicate with each other every single day about business. And so you can, you know, chat and text each other in written form. You can also send voice messages, which is what we do most of the time, and share links and things like that as well. So these seven channels are in our business Slack account, so everyone on the team has access to them. Okay, so like I said, number one, we just called it Water Cooler. And this is really just about any old thing you want to chat about. Pretend you're in an office and you're at the water cooler and you're catching up with each other. What did you do over the weekend? Right. All of those fun conversations we had. Someone on our team just hit super host for their Airbnb, and so they were sharing that in the water cooler section. Right? We're all celebrating together. The next one is called Book Club. Now, this one kind of started out with books that we wanted to read together, and we have done that a couple of times. And since it's kind of morphed into just what are you reading? We'll read something as a team, you know, once or twice a year. But also we want to hear about what everyone else is reading, fiction or nonfiction. And I, as the leader, find this as a great place to just let people know on my team, what am I learning about, what am I reading next? And maybe it will inspire them to do the same. Okay, number three is called Health and Wellness. We have a health and wellness budget on the team. Actually, in our very next episode, I'm going to be diving into all the perks that people on Team Bonnie get, which should be a really fun episode. I hope that it lets you dream about your own team as well. But one of them is our health and wellness budget. And so we have a Health and Wellness Slack channel. And this is all about, what are your goals? What are you doing to keep up and maintain your health, your wellness? Are you working out? Did you hit a new pr? Are you, you know, walking? Did you get a walking treadmill? All of these different things, anything to do with your wellness goes there and we love learning about each other from that perspective. Now the next one is just labeled AI. And in the world this is a new one. As you can imagine, in a world where AI, that's artificial intelligence, not Adobe Illustrator, this time is growing so quickly that there are just new apps and opportunities and uses for it left, right and center. And so there are a couple of us who really love to jam out over articles and new things that are coming all related to AI. And so it's a really fun place to catch up as well.

One of the biggest bottlenecks that I see creative entrepreneurs and small business owners experience is made by juggling multiple platforms trying to manage their online business. Can you relate from your website to your email list to your sales pages? It can be overwhelming and time consuming and sometimes you have to wonder are

you a creative or do you just

connect the back end of the entire Internet and hope it but it honestly, it doesn't have to be that way because I want to tell you about the platform I use called Kajabi. Kajabi is the all in one platform that I personally use to manage my membership, my online courses, my classes, my workshops, my sales pages, my opt in pages, and honestly, even my actual website is hosted on Kajabi. And let me tell you, it's a lifesaver to have everything under one roof. So my website, BonnieCristine.com and the podcasts website ProfessionalCreative.com are all entirely built out on Kajabi by me.

I didn't have to hire a programmer

or anyone else to come in because the designer is that easy to use. Kajabi honestly lets you say goodbye to the headaches of managing multiple platforms and connecting a million things. And it's like having a personal assistant for your online business because it also has a super intu intuitive interface and easy to use tools that help you manage your courses or your memberships or your digital products. Kajabi's customer service team is also top notch. They are always there, always happy to help, and they're always rolling out new updates and they're always there to help you succeed. Trust me, I've put them to the test. So if you're ready to simplify your life and take your online business to the next level, head on over to bonniecristine.comresources and sign up for Kajabi. Experience the free Trial. I think you are going to love how it streamlines your business.

The next one is called side Hustles. I think something that is unique to my business and my team is that we really celebrate everyone's side hustles. Everyone on the team is an entrepreneur at the different levels in their own life as well. And we want to hear about it. Did they launch a new skillshare class? Are they working on a book? Did they do a craft fair over the weekend? All of those types of things we want to celebrate and we would never want anybody to feel like they have to hide their side hustle. In fact, we want to know all about it. We want to know how to support you and celebrate your big wins with your side hustle as well. Now, the next one is called Summer Fridays and this is also a podcast episode that I have coming up. We've been testing out what a four day work week would look like for us on the team all summer. And so we developed this slack channel called Summer Fridays because everyone is off on Friday and it's been such a fun place to hear what you all are doing with your Fridays off. And so we always have something fun to share there and get to catch up on Monday. Now the last one, number seven, is called Watch List. Me and the team have a little bit of an obsession with really good television. So we are always on to a new show. And we, me and my husband watch just one episode of a show nearly every single night. And so I love a good show recommendation. And there are many, many, most everyone on the team is just really passionate about the shows that we love. And so we get to come here and not only recommend new shows and movies to each other, but also really talk about them and debrief like, you know, if there's a season finale that we all need to talk through together, we do it here on the Watch List. So those are our seven Slack channels that have nothing to do with business, but very much everything to do with unity on the team, how we grow together, how we get to know each other and how we are with each other. You know, I think part of being a leader is showing that you have this side to you, that you can relax and have a conversation and everything doesn't always have to be about business. And, you know, the most productive thing ever. In fact, something that I've learned really just in the last year is to really take time away from the team. And I always have trips throughout the year. And to me, in my mind, there are trips where I'm still working. And then there are a couple of trips, one or two, where I'm really actually trying to completely unplug. But what I've learned is that it actually does the team a world of good to go away. Ask the boss as the leader. Give your team time away from you. You know, the first time that I had this brought to my attention, it was really like, we did great this week. You know, it was almost like that time where your parents go out of town for the first time and you have to figure stuff out on your own and you become stronger and because of it. And that was a new perspective for me because on my side, if I ever leave town, I'm feeling kind of guilty that the team is there. And so I'm doing my best to check in and let them know that I'm here and available. And then I finally realized, actually, it does everyone a lot of good for me to just completely step away. Now, of course, I've taken care of everything before I stepped away. And, you know, I'm. They know how to get. Get in touch with me if they really needed me. But for the most part, when I'm away, I'm away. And this lets the team really figure things out for themselves. But you know what else it does? It just. It lets them kind of show up. If you can imagine a regular office building, right, let's say your boss is out of town for the week. You can imagine how some people might kind of stroll in 10 minutes late with like maybe their hair in a bun for the day. And you know what? I think we all need that. I think we all need just some time to not be so on our toes all the time. And so what if, as the leader of our companies, we knew that we were giving the people on our team permission to kind of stroll into work while we're away, not to drop balls or not do their job, but just be a little bit more relaxed. Now, I know what you're thinking. This all sounds very loosey goosey, and it's a wonder that you get anything accomplished. But the thing is that this only works when you hire people that you trust. You hire a team players. I say this all the time, that we only work with a team players. And part of that means that there is a level of trust that. That I trust my employees to not abuse this system, not abuse their flexibility and their ability to chat and, you know, show up more relaxed when I'm away and stuff like that. Right. It actually feels so good to trust someone that you're working with to this level because it's just such a gift to feel like they have your trust and you have their trust. And also, you don't have to micromanage anymore. You don't have to constantly check or be worried about those different parts in your business. And it all just kind of flows and works together. Now, of course, you always want to inspect what you expect, right? This is a saying that I got recently from Dan Martell. There are oftentimes things that we expect, things from the people who work with us, and sometimes we don't inspect that. They're doing what we expect, right? So obviously as the leader of your team, you have permission to inspect what you expect routinely, but not so much micromanage. And of course, if you figure out that someone is abusing the system or abusing that level of trust, then you've got ways to manage that, right? A conversation, coaching, mentoring. And if that doesn't work, then it's ultimately your decision on whether you keep them or not. But my goodness, how fun is it to work with a team that you trust in such a way that you can have fun in this way and really, really get to know each other and have permission to kind of let your hair down together too? So I wanted to share those seven slack channels with you that we have that have nothing to do with business. Again, they're the Water cooler Book Club, Health and Wellness, AI side Hustles, Summer Fridays and are probably our most popular the Watch list. If you are working with someone, I would encourage you just add one. And if you only add one to begin with, what I would suggest is to add the water cooler. And as you move into maybe getting more help in your business, always keep this at front of mind. How can you build trust and maintain a level of trust? And how can you make sure that you are recognizing the need for people to, you know, not be hyper productive every moment of their day as long as they're getting their work done in a reasonable amount of time. Okay, that's all I have for you today. I hope this was a fun episode for you. No matter what you are working on, create the beauty that you want to see come alive in the world. And remember, there's room for you and all your silly slack channels. I'll see you next time. Bye for now.