Our culture likes to celebrate the individual. There is nothing wrong with that. Individual people can do great things in life, inspiring the rest of us to change how we live.
But when it comes to companies, it’s teams that really matter, not just one person. Steve Jobs did not build Apple, and Elon Musk did not build Tesla. Instead, these leaders rallied thousands of people to successfully do their bidding.
The Value of Teamwork
The value of teamwork, though, doesn’t just come from the extra hands available to do work. It comes from the complementary skills that people have, and their willingness to combine them with the skills of other people.
The size of teams seems to matter, too. If you want a team to be successful, you want at least six people working together in a structured way. Less than that, according to research, the complementarity doesn’t work quite as well. There simply aren’t enough people to effectively share the load and fill various niches.
How to build the right team for a startup company, though, is a perennial challenge. Most firms fail, which is why so many people go under. So what can you do to get ahead of the pack?
Hire People Who Take Action
Startups need a different type of employees from regular, established firms, just as they need different kinds of leaders. Conventional businesses are fine employing rank-and-file staff who do the same thing, day in, day out and wait for instructions from management. Startups, though, need people who are willing to take independent action to pursue the firm’s objectives. You don’t want to hire people who just wait around, waiting for things to happen, without being proactive.
Hire People Who Know How to Run Business Basics on Auto-Pilot
You want people on your team who really understand how to manage basic business processes common across all firms so you, as a leader, don’t have to worry about them. Hiring an accountant, for instance, deals with your firm’s finances. Once you have a professional working for you, you don’t have to think about them.
Having a lawyer on your team also helps. This individual can provide constant advice and updates on what you should be doing next in terms of legal matters.
It also helps to have a marketing professional. This person must instinctively understand what kind of outreach your startup needs to do and work to get on with it.
Choose the Right Personalities
Unfortunately, when it comes to teamwork, choosing the right personalities matter. You could have a group of technically proficient people in your firm, but if they only care about their own work, the “team” will never happen.
Get to know your team, find out their traits, and then use personality tests when hiring new candidates. Look for people who are more likely to slot into the workings of your firm and get on with other people, rather than individuals who will start conflicts and problems that you have to deal with.