It is common knowledge that given the small size of most startup teams, everyone has to wear multiple hats during the course of the day. This creates a lot of confusion because even though everyone is pitching in and doing their part ,no one is taking responsibility for any particular business objective.

We may be assigned roles such as head of marketing, finance ,and even CEO. These are great starting points, however, roles need to be defined a lot more specifically. If you pick up a job description of a Head of Marketing role at a Fortune 500 firm, you will see a long list of targets and objectives that the individual is responsible for. However, you rarely see any such job descriptions in early stage startups, where probably only the founders are on the team.

We need to define roles and responsibilities from the very onset of any business venture. When Individuals are not held accountable, the entire team suffers. Clear responsibilities also boost productivity and provide a sense of directiom for everyone on the team. Each individual is not only responsible for their objectives but the overall success of the business.