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IN THIS ISSUE

• How To Build A Winning Team

• FG, AfDB Launch $538m Agro-Industrial Project

DEEPTHINK

How To Build A Winning Team

As the saying goes, if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

Building a winning team requires more than just recruiting talented individuals. It means assembling people who will develop a shared vision, demonstrate unwavering commitment, work cohesively, and maintain a winning attitude.

How do you guide your team to pursue and achieve your business objectives? In this newsletter, we will share key strategies to do just that.

1. Articulate Your Vision, Clarify Your Strategy

As the leader, you must communicate your vision and strategy. This framework connects team members, defines roles and responsibilities, and brings out everyone's best qualities.

Use your vision to differentiate your business and constantly remind your team what your business stands for, where it's heading, and what opportunities await them.

Secure buy-in from your team and help them embrace your strategy. Outline the path for achieving your vision and establish clear milestones to mark progress.

Practical Tip: Create a one-page vision document that everyone can reference, and revisit it quarterly in team meetings to maintain alignment.

2. Embrace Diversity

When building your business, consider the required tasks and seek diverse talents with complementary strengths, skills, and capabilities.

A diverse workforce brings multiple perspectives and viewpoints that can be channelled productively to solve complex problems and drive innovation.

3. Keep Your Team Aligned

A diverse and talented team becomes ineffective if members aren't aligned with your business goals. Remember no individual is as powerful as a unified team.

Foster collaboration rather than competition, and keep everyone focused on common objectives instead of personal agendas.

Practical Tip: Implement Objectives and Key Results to ensure individual goals support team objectives, which in turn drive business success.

4. Hold Regular Team Meetings

Schedule interactive meetings with key team members at least weekly. These gatherings, where meaningful decisions are made and real work is accomplished, build a sense of purpose and importance within the group.

They also create opportunities for collaboration, experience sharing, and constructive feedback on ongoing projects.

5. Recognise Excellence

Resist micromanaging your team. Set clear expectations, then trust your people to deliver. Create an environment where every member can thrive and feel appreciated for their contributions.

Acknowledge team members, both individually and collectively, for their efforts, drive, and successes. Share victories with the entire team and emphasise that their collective work drives your business forward.

Practical Tip: Create a recognition program that celebrates both high-profile wins and behind-the-scenes contributions that might otherwise go unnoticed.

6. Address Negativity Promptly

Some attitudes can become significant obstacles to team building. Cynicism is particularly dangerous. While you remain hopeful about your business prospects, negative team members can undermine morale and create doubt.

When you identify a persistent critic on your team, address the behaviour immediately and request a change in conduct. If improvement doesn't follow, be prepared to remove them from the team to protect the collective spirit and momentum.

This article is extracted from The Small Business Handbook. Get a copy to get more practical insights about starting and running your business in Nigeria.

Action Steps

Building a truly winning team is not an easy task, but by implementing these strategies consistently, you'll transform a collection of talented individuals into a cohesive, high-performing team ready to tackle challenges and drive your business forward.

Learn more about how you can optimise your business team and create a customised business plan, identifying opportunities, mitigating risks and outlining a roadmap for business success.

WHAT’S NEW

FG, AfDB Launch $538m Agro-Industrial Project

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has collaborated with the Government of Nigeria to launch the first phase of a $538 million Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme aimed at boosting agricultural productivity and reducing food imports.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the project began in Kaduna with Vice President Kashim Shettima, AfDB President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, and Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani in attendance.

The SAPZ initiative is designed to significantly reduce Nigeria’s dependence on food imports, which totaled $4.7 billion last year. It aims to boost local food production by more than 60 percent, while also reducing post-harvest losses and strengthening value chains from farm to market. By creating more efficient systems for production, processing, and distribution, the programme is expected to enhance food security and economic stability.

An estimated 60,000 jobs are projected to be created in each participating state, making the programme a major driver of employment, especially for youth. The initiative also seeks to revitalise rural communities by transforming them into productive, economically viable zones, thereby addressing poverty and unemployment in these areas.

The first phase of the Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme covers eight Nigerian states: Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Cross River, Imo, Ogun, Oyo, and the Federal Capital Territory. It was initially launched in 2022 and is supported by the African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms. The project is part of a broader effort to transform Nigeria's agricultural sector by channeling investments into areas with high agricultural potential.

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