You’ve got a big goal in mind and you need some help, but you don’t know who to ask. Or you do know who to ask, but you’ve convinced yourself they’re too busy…

You once had a group of ride-or-die career comrades but years have passed, people have moved on and now you don’t know who you can count on…

Your squad has just helped you with a big transition or project. You’re 100% grateful but aren’t sure what to do now…

There’s one topic that my community just can’t get enough of. They love the module on it in my course and the chapter on it in my book. And when I stand on stage and talk about it, everyone starts scribbling really hard in their notebooks. Yep, squads. And with good reason. Squads are a core element of your WorkJoy and your career progression. You don’t just need a squad; you need an engaged and nurtured squad, and it’s gotta be the right size, with all the right roles filled. As effort goes, it’s pretty fun, and reaps mega rewards. And I’m here to show you how to do it. 

How to use this guide

There’s a lot to say about squads, and if you’re starting from scratch I recommend reading this guide from the beginning, pausing where you need to do some IRL work, and then picking up again for the next bit. If you’ve already got a pretty super squad, that just needs a bit of right-sizing or attention, use the links below to zoom straight to those sections.  

Contents

Don’t do it alone
The Six Cs of a great squad
How to: Build your squad
Right-sizing your squad
How to: Nurture your squad
Know this: Asking for help is one of the bravest things you can do
WorkJoy community story: Activating my squad
Next steps: Squad-building support
Spread the WorkJoy

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Don’t do it alone

There’s a great saying. Have you heard it?

If you want to go fast, go alone. 
If you want to go far, go together. 

To create and maintain WorkJoy, you need people around you who can provide you with high levels of support and great challenge to keep you growing and moving forward. These people are your squaddies. If you invest in these relationships, they’ll help you create a working life that is truly full of joy. 

Your squad isn’t about who likes you or who your work friends are. Better labels might be ‘professional partners’, ‘active allies’ or ‘constructive colleagues’.

Want to switch industries? You’ll need your squad. 
Want to retrain? Again – look to your squad. 
Is it finally time to go self-employed? S.Q.U.A.D. 

I credit my squad with enabling me to be brave and ready to take on any challenge life throws at me, including leaving the world of employment. When I was ready to go it alone, I chatted to everyone in my squad, laying out what I thought I wanted to do, how I thought I might go about it, why it was important to me and why now. Then asked everyone for one piece of advice to help. Here I am, years later, with a thriving business, a book, a podcast and a kick-ass community to my name. 

My advice? Whatever it is you want to do (and we all have something – even you in the back there), don’t even think about doing it without your squad. 

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The Six Cs of a great squad

Your squaddies don’t have to be people you work with. They can be family, friends, colleagues, ex-colleagues, etc. There will be squaddies who know you deeply, with years of shared history, and others who may only know you vaguely but can give you fresh perspectives and deep knowledge. 

One squaddie may be on a similar career path to you (alongside, ahead, or even chasing your tail) and another may be from a totally different industry. By including people from outside of your organisation or industry and beyond your role or team, you’ll bring in the brilliance of the naive expert. 

Of course, it’s very useful to have people who are there alongside you, as that shared knowing can be a powerful source of support. But you can make your squad a richer source of support by stepping out of your own demographic box. A diverse squad can help you understand dynamics at play like power and privilege – opening your eyes to previously unnoticed elements.

Let’s work through six squad roles as a starting point. You may find you’d label them differently or add additional roles to meet your unique needs. 

As you read these roles, you’ll immediately recognize the positions some people in your life are playing. It’ll be obvious. Other squaddies may be quietly supporting you without you even recognizing it, and you’ll likely have roles without a person and people without clear roles. For now, that’s all good. In fact, it’s great! You’re here to do this work and I’m here to help you. Here we go. 

1. Cheerleaders

A cheerleader always sees the good in you, focusing their attention on your strengths. They build you up and openly talk about what you do well. They are who you go to when you need a pep talk or a self-belief boost and they don’t have to be ‘in it’ with you, they can stand apart from your work.

2. Challengers

A challenger gives you the feedback and advice you need to grow, learn, and change. They look you in the eye and give you the home truths, hold you accountable for making progress and are your point of call when you need no-holds-barred guidance. 

3. Comrades

A comrade is in it with you, right by your side, experiencing the same things as you. They offer unwavering commitment to you through good times and bad, and are always there for you, whatever you need. They are your first call when you succeed and when you have a crisis. 

4. Creatives
A creative helps you to spark ideas, consider alternative options, and define solutions. They offer questions to get your brain engaged, and share their insight from a different viewpoint, expanding your thinking. Creatives are who you call when you’re stuck in a rut or in a set way of thinking.

5. Connectors
A connector locates the people you need and introduces you to them. They have a radar for who could help, support and guide you, and generously use their vast personal network to enhance yours. They are the person you go to with the question, ‘who can help with…?’

6. Conjurers
A conjurer creates the magic that makes you feel optimistic, determined, and brave. They have an indescribable quality that emanates warmth and strength. They provide you with the tools to do what you need, even when it’s hard. They appear and disappear in a puff of smoke when they have worked their magic.

Every person in your squad will bring their own personality and style, so two people who play the same role may give you very different types of support. You might not need all six roles and you’re unlikely to need all of them all the time. 

There are also rarely spotted squaddies who, by the nature of their role and their personalities, may pop in and pop out of your life at opportune moments. Some squaddies may know each other, and others may never meet. Unlike a work-based team, the various levels of interaction between the players can be of benefit.

Some of your squaddies may be specialists, with skills aligned to a specific role, and others may be more generalist, switching hats as they go. Like any great team, they will bring their individual strengths and be able to complement each other’s skills. When a squad is well enabled, it will provide support that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Reflection questions:  Where do you have strength in your squad right now?  Where could you do with more support? Who might you want to add to your squad?

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How to: Build your squad

When reviewing your squad, you may have noticed that you have some gaps or need a boost of different energy. It’s time to actively search out and recruit some new members for your squad. Here’s how:

1. Pick a role you would like to bolster in your squad and define the skills you are looking for.
2. Identify some people who might fit the bill – your active network might be a good place to start.
3. Book in time to meet with them and talk.

Many people find asking for help to be awkward, yet it is something we often admire in other people. The worst that can happen is they say no. They might:

• Be having a bad day (we all get them)
• Not have any time to give support (a full schedule and working on their boundaries)
• Think someone else is better placed to help (ask them who and for an introduction)

It’s unlikely that someone you have a limited relationship with right now will go straight to a core squaddie. Start by asking them for their help in something small, something specific, and something simple for them to do. Try this three-step process:

1. Share the context and where you see their strengths (share your feedback).
2. State the challenge you need help with (declare your goal).
3. Ask for what you need (remembering to keep it small, specific, and simple).

For example: You want to build your challengers and are keen to be better at speaking up in meetings (a development goal). You’ve identified someone who you admire for doing this well. When you meet with them, you might say something like this (after you’ve warmed up with the normal social etiquette and in your own words!):

1. I really admire how you always speak up in our meetings. The way you structure your thoughts and share them in such a concise way is where I want to get to

2. I often leave meetings wishing I’d said something, and I’ve made a commitment to say at least one thing in each meeting going forward.

3. Would you be able to share with me how you structure and share your thoughts whilst in the room?

FREE DOWNLOAD If only there was a downloadable, printable, ‘Mapping Your Squad’ template you could use at this point…Hmm. Maybe click here and see what happens.

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Right-sizing your squad

A great squad is not set in stone; it can – and should – flex. Some squad members become central characters in the story of your working life. Perhaps you’ll have three or four core people who play multiple roles and stick with you. These are your lifer squaddies. 

One challenge you may come across with your lifers is that they become very close to you, which can lead to issues like making assumptions and being overprotective. Watch out for this in your squad.

You may bring people into your squad for a specific reason, perhaps supporting a transition point in your life or an essential skill to help with a particular challenge. Maybe you bring in a mentor to help you connect across your industry. Or you need more challenge than you can get from your lifers (because they love you too much), so you invest in a coach to get that external perspective. 

Squaddies can be like fixed term contractors; they come for a specific season and head off once things change. I call these your ‘reason and/or season’ squaddies. Instead of lamenting their loss, be grateful for their presence.

It’s worth doing a regular squaddie audit. Perhaps someone who was once a comrade is now better placed as a challenger, for example. It can also lead to bringing new people into your squad when you identify a gap and are craving a different type of support. There will be times when you need to say au revoir to squaddies, due to a change in situation or circumstance – like moving jobs or becoming someone’s boss.

Too big a squad is unwieldy, and you won’t be able to pay as much attention to everyone. Too small and you might end up asking too much of some people or needing a different skill set. It’s a fine balance of small enough to develop and maintain relationships of trust and care (which take investment) and big enough to fulfil the roles you need. 

If you’re in a status quo phase, you might want a small, core squad. If you’re looking to make a career move, are going through a challenging time, or are making any kind of transition, you may want a larger squad. The more you work with your squad, the more experience you’ll have of finding the right combinations of people for the right moments in time. It’s not an exact science, it’s a fine art! 

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How to: Nurture your squad

Once you’ve identified your squad, it’s time to make sure you nurture your relationships. Practising gratitude can make you happier and it encourages your squaddies to know that their efforts aren’t wasted. Pick one person with whom you want to nurture your relationship. Set up a time to meet or talk – a quick coffee on Zoom would be sufficient. Then share directly with them how they have helped you and the impact they have had. 

Try this three-step method to structure your feedback:

1. Thank them for what they give you – being specific.
2. Share how it made you feel (yes – feelings!).
3. Describe the impact their support has on you.

Here are a couple of examples: 

‘Thank you for advocating for me to take on that project. You made me feel confident to take on a new challenge. My boss has now seen my leadership skills in a new light.’ 

‘Thank you for telling me what I needed to hear. You made me feel empowered to make changes. I’ve now upped my game.’ 

This is a great place to pause and fire up a podcast. When I interviewed legendary Rugby Player Shaunagh Brown they reminded us all how important it is to ask your squaddies for what you need! 

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Know this: Asking for help is one of the bravest things you can do

So you’ve built your squad. You’ve identified gaps and invited new squaddies into the fold. And you’ve become adept at nurturing your squad and making everyone feel valued. What now? Now you lean into it.

This isn’t a theoretical exercise. Your squad is designed to help you, so ask. To nudge you to do this (because I know it can feel super vulnerable), I’ve assembled some helpful counter-arguments for all your reasons why you shouldn’t ask for help. 

Because they’re so busy
This isn’t 1931. Everybody’s busy. Everybody’s got a to-do list. But I know when someone asks for my help that becomes a priority, because I’d rather do that and get all the warm fuzzies it brings, than attend to my inbox, my accounts, my dog…okay not my dog (Mabel, if you’re reading – mummy ♥️ you). 

Because they’re really important
It’s tempting to discount certain squaddies because they’ve got a big job and/or work long hours. But let me ask you this: How do you think they got where they are? I’m guessing it was with the support of their own squad, and with more than a little bit of reciprocity. Besides, the big guns are doers. They’ll have your request nailed by EOW I bet. 

Because they’ve got their own stuff going on
Yep, everyone does. Demanding jobs. Crazy kids. Ageing parents. The godforsaken cost of living. But in my experience, people that have a lot going on also have a lot of experience and goodwill to offer others. Just don’t forget to drop this in after your request: ‘If there’s any way I can help with <insert thing>, just let me know exactly how and I’ll get straight on it.’

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WorkJoy community story: Activating my squad

When I moved into a more senior position at work, I felt I really needed to make a mark, so I embarked on a change management project that would make a huge difference to my team at the hospital where I work. I wrote an action plan for what I needed to do and realised it was all about identifying and mobilising my squad. Reviewing my squad was really interesting. I quickly identified who had my back, but I also found that there were a lot of repeated names, including one who came up three times. Luckily, I was able to work out what role this person would work best in. I also saw I was lacking a conjurer. Someone to really help me bring things to life!  There was one person whose name came up three times; in the end I decided she had equal qualities to bring to each squad role so actually used her for several different aspects of my project…she has so much experience and I think using her in this flexible way means I have learnt more from her than I would have if I had tried to keep her in one role alone. In order to move my project on and deal with problems as they came up, I literally wrote a list of who in my squad I needed to speak to each week and worked through it systematically. I’m a methodical person so I knew that approach would work for me. The project was a great success. I ended up merging my ideas with a different team who were working on a similar idea and together we managed to implement the changes I had envisaged.

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Next steps: Squad-building support

If you’re a people person, you’re probably relishing the idea of building and nurturing your squad (you might even have a thriving squad that just needs a bit of attention). If you’re more of, say, a cat person, perhaps not. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it (like I said at the start, ‘to go far, go together’) but you might just need a bit more support. Here’s what you can do now.  

1. Grab a book
My book, WorkJoy: a toolkit for a better working life, has a whole chapter on squads, as does my 21-day GloomBusters audio guide. Minimal effort for introverts. 

2. Book a 1-1 coaching session
If you’ve got a big goal and you know your squad is going to be vital to achieving it, book a 1-1 coaching call and let’s get cracking. 

3. Dive into the archives
An hour or two rootling around in the archives of my WorkJoy Jam podcast, will turn up some absolute gems on the subject of squads, networking and more (try this one, this one and this one for starters).

And don’t forget to follow me on Linkedin and Instagram for regular updates, new content, Q&As and general joy. 

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Spread the WorkJoy

Know someone who needs to get their squad in order? Be a great squaddie and share this article with them.