“Synergy is the highest activity of life; it creates new untapped alternatives; it values and exploits the mental, emotional, and psychological differences between people.” Stephen Covey – Author of 7 habits of highly effective people
Over the last couple of days I have got quite a few emails regarding my earlier posts asking me to identify and talk about some of the major benefits I have experienced working in teams. The answer to this question may seem relatively simple, it actually is. However being an entrepreneur I used to question myself before forming teams in my first couple of ventures. The common strain of thought would be, “Why should I team up with someone to develop my project when I am the one who thought of it?”, “What if the person I partner with doesn’t perform at the level that is needed and sabotages the project.”, “What if one of my team members learns about my idea and quits the team to form his own company with the same idea.”, “How will I find the ideal partner? Its so difficult.” I have experienced all these emotions in the past and if you are just starting out and find yourself thinking along similar lines it is perfectly natural.
The topic of partners and teams was selected this week to address these issues. I feel it is a critical aspect of starting new business’s and relationships. If not done correctly you find yourself in a lot of sticky situations which have negative effects on your morale, passion and confidence in the ability to succeed. Teams are a group of people doing something together. We put a lot of emphasis on the “something” when the most important word in that sentence is “together”. Outlined below are some of the key benefits from my experience with working with lots of teams.
A. Teams improve communication. Supposing you have several people in your team and are working on developing a business model. The proposed business is an online real estate consultancy. Talking about your ideas with your team mates adds value through their suggestions and opinions. You get a flow in communication which helps you to crystallize ideas which you were having difficulty in conceptualizing. When the overall level of communication increases you will see productivity soar and you will accomplish in days what would have taken weeks on months on your own.
B. Teams increase productivity. Although this is a logical conclusion , it however depends on your ability to choose your team mates correctly. Once you have selected correctly and your team mates share the same core values and their goals are aligned with the organization, the multiplier effect will be put into play and you will find it much easier to accomplish complicated tasks by breaking them down and allowing every team member to work at their optimal level.
C. Teams result in better decision making. If you have selected correctly, your team becomes a knowledge bank which will help the business make correct decisions. When you are doing things on your own you will have a personal bias towards certain things which limit you from making correct decisions at times. When you are working in a team you can draw from everyones expertise and experience. This in turn will help you reach your goals and targets with much greater efficiency and accuracy.
These three factors are the ones which have convinced me that if you are going to be choosing the startup path then teaming up correctly is the best way to proceed. There is no doubt that sometimes team fail. There are a multitude of reasons as to why they do and I will talk about those factors in the coming weeks as well. At the moment if you are a sole proprietor looking to increase business or a someone with the next revolutionary idea to change the world, use the guides provided earlier to give structure to finding ideal team members. Then with a lot of passion, believe in your business and with a little luck you will be well on your way.