Getting the Team Together
To make any business work, you need a team. That’s right Mr. (or Ms.) Entrepreneur, you can’t do it alone.
Throughout life, starting in kindergarten when you were taught how to share, you had to work with others. Some people are better at it than others, but nonetheless, you rarely have much choice in the matter. Despite the fact that we all must work together to attain any progress in any field, it’s notoriously hard to get people to work together.
When working in a group you may find that some individuals participate in what social psychologists call social loafing. In basic terms, it means that when you get a bunch of people in a group with the intention of working together, some won’t work up to caliber. They assume that others in the group will pick up the slack.
Take a minute to remember the last time you were put in a position where you had to work in a group. Did everyone work the same amount? Was it because they were unable to? Were they simply letting you do all the work?
If you put yourself in a position where you do all of the work for someone, what motivation do they have to do it themselves?
The key to getting the team to work together is really in getting them involved. If you’re not part of something, how can you feel responsible for the outcome?
The three C’s of motivation by Alfie Kohn (source) [PDF]
Choice
The people you are working with (or are working for you) should have some control over what they do, whether it simply picking what order things are done in, or getting to do the task of their choosing.
Collaboration
The people in the group need to be able to work together effectively and efficiently.
Content
You need to give everyone something to do. You can’t quite simply say to everyone the list of tasks that need to be done. You must assign everyone a task and ensure that they complete it.
Note: Be careful you also don’t micromanage. People must be given the reigns with enough slack to do with them what they will. You must be firm enough not to let them wander but also not too firm in that they begin to despise your actions.
Finding the correct balance between helping out and micromanaging is difficult, and can only come with experience.
Everyone has to work in a group. Make sure everyone has something too do, and does it. Just don’t be to hard on them if something isn’t perfect.
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