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WTeam with hands together showing value of picking the right teamhat’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

I ask this question in every podcast interview and the answers are always SO good!

In my upcoming podcast with Travis Parman, Chief Communications Officer of AppHarvest, he shared the advice that shaped his career: “Pick your team and be loyal to them.”

He said that so often when we are young, we see our peers as opponents rather than the best teammates ever. But in Parman’s words, “Working WITH the most talented folks possible is the Holy Grail.”

When you surround yourself with talented skilled people, you learn and develop the most You feel the most gratified with your work. You’re better prepared to take your career to the next level. These teammates will become your friends and your champions for years to come.

Parman’s story reminds me of one of the best jobs I ever had working for CRI, a small recruitment process outsourcing firm out of Los Angeles. I was one of five managers and we each had recruiting teams scattered across the country supporting our largest client at the time. Every day I would marvel at just how good my peers were at their jobs. Just how good the recruiters were as they consistently brought in great talent. And just how grateful I was to be among them.

Like Parman, I cherished the fact that I picked a great team – and they picked me, too. To this day, I count many of those former colleagues as friends.