5 Principles For Building A Productive Team
- Jan 16, 2025
- 3 min read
Elena Volk is a speaker, entrepreneur, blogger, and author of business articles. She has over 8 years of experience running businesses, including an IT recruitment agency and an online school for IT recruiters. Elena also helps others start working for themselves through mentorship.
I truly believe that my superpower is creating amazing teams that achieve outstanding results. To back up my words, I’d point out that over eight years ago, I founded an IT recruitment agency and built the team from scratch. Since then, we have been successfully helping numerous businesses find their ideal employees. Today, I want to share my principles and explain how I select people for my teams.
1. Focus on results
I need people who clearly understand how their contribution impacts the overall result. This could be an assistant, a recruiter, or someone at the C-level, but a results-oriented mindset is essential.
How do I assess this? By asking questions about their vision of results, discussing cases from their past experiences, and understanding how they evaluate the success of their work.
2. Responsibility
I look for individuals who are ready to take responsibility, even during challenging times. These are the people who don’t shift problems onto others but instead generate ideas, seek solutions, and work toward the goal. Such individuals form the foundation of a resilient business.
3. Growth orientation
It is very important to me that everyone on the team has a desire to grow. In our fast-paced world, flexibility and a willingness to learn are what enable businesses not just to survive but to thrive. These are the people who are ready to adapt, move forward, and lead others along the way.
4. Balance of interests
The goals of the team and the business must align. I understand that people don’t stay forever, and that’s okay. But while we’re together, the company should help the person realize their ambitions, and the employee should contribute to the business’s growth. If this balance is disrupted, it becomes difficult to move forward together.
5. Shared values and principles
Values are the foundation. I don’t engage in micromanagement, and every team member has a significant area of responsibility. That’s why it’s important to me that our fundamental principles and approaches to work align. This helps build trust and tackle any challenges together.
The result
Yes, mistakes happen sometimes not everyone turns out to be a perfect fit, and parting ways is possible. But right now, I truly enjoy working with the people in my teams on two projects. I see their potential and feel how we’re moving together toward great goals. I always strive to find the best people and create space for their growth, and I genuinely believe this is one of my strengths.
Read more from Elena Volk
Elena Volk, Founder & CEO of EvoTalents Recruiting Agency
Elena Volk founded the IT recruitment agency EvoTalents and the online school for IT recruiters, EvoTalents.School.
8 years ago, she made one of the most challenging but best decisions of her life — to leave her job, move to London, and start working for herself, first as a freelancer and later as an entrepreneur.
Over these years, she built a team and established an agency that is now among the top IT recruitment agencies in Ukraine.
