Building the Team

Attracting people who share your vision is always a good start.

Sub-contractors are a good way to bring in resources while the scale of growth is uncertain.

They have probably been a feature of the start-up phase and can continue to be important as the business grows.

Using sub-contractors can keep your fixed costs down which lowers your break even point.

As you build a team think about the vision and style of the business. Good teams have the following characteristics:

• Clear objectives

• Good decision making processes

• Trust, co-operation, support and (constructive) conflict

• Clear roles, responsibilities and leadership

• Sound relationships with other groups

As the founder you will build the team for scale up as well as manage the team. Be aware of potential problems:

Stifling of individuality

Cost in time and effort of building a team

Decisions may be made on basis of keeping team members happy rather than being critically examined

The dangers of group pressure and group think

This can lead to:

Roles and relationships are unclear – members are not sure about expectations of, or obligations to, others

Members are suspicious of each other’s motives and play their cards close to the chest

Objectives are not met – members tend to stick to traditional ways of doing things rather than display initiative

Unhelpful competition flourishes, and energy is dissipated on grumbling and scoring points

Members are frustrated – their potential is not developed

These are all issues that can have a negative impact on the efforts to scale up. In fact they are factors that have  a negative impact on any organisation.

The role of leadership has a big impact. John Adair proposed the idea of “Action Centred Leadership” which reflects the three key elements in any team:

• The Task

  • Forms the reason for the team’s existence; people respond to clear targets, standards, responsibilities.  Adequate training, resources and systems also help create satisfaction in the job.

• The Team

  • A feeling that everyone is pulling in the same direction, that people are growing and developing as a unit, and there is a supportive climate and common identity.

• The Individual

  • Needs to feel accepted and valued by their manager, and by team members. The contribution is invited and respected by others.  There are opportunities for personal development.