How to Build an Effective Team Within Your Startup

Startups are innovative businesses with exponential growth potential. The last few years have seen a steady rise in the number of startups across Africa, with some of them achieving unicorn status. But, data from a Startup Genome report states that 9 out of 10 startups are bound to fail, with 23% of the reason for failing to be team problems. Therefore, the need to prioritize how to build an effective team when setting up your company. 

The significance of a great team cannot be overemphasised, as analysis by Startup Genome has shown that a balanced team has 2.9x more user growth than an unbalanced team. A study by Rotman School of Management also revealed that the success of a new venture is often dependent on the ability of a founder to attract a great team. “A founder’s individual characteristics are important but what’s more important is that person’s ability to bring a bigger and more experienced team with them,” the researchers say. “And the bigger that team, the more likely the firm will succeed.”

Your dream of being the next African unicorn is valid but only achievable with the best team sharing your vision. A strong team can help you do the following:

• Improve Innovation and creativity

• Promote and scale the business

• Provide diverse ideas and creative solutions

• Execute the company’s vision

So, here are 10 tips on how to build an effective team within your startup.

• Set expectations

Define the expectations for each role and that of the team. You should clearly express the goals- short-term and long-term and the requirements of each position. Setting expectations allows for proper planning to meet your business needs and guides your hiring process as you seek a specific skill set and experience. During the onboarding process, you should also define the values and culture you expect from team members to reduce ambiguity and inform the team of the ground rules early on.

• Respect people

Nobody works well in a space where they are constantly belittled and disrespected; take it from these employees. You have to respect people and their work and create a safe space for creativity and professional development. This also extends to respecting their time and promoting a healthy work-life balance. 

• Establish trust

Trust is vital when setting up strong teams, and it increases productivity and reduces conflicts. According to Alexis Grant, “Building trust with your team might not seem like the most important thing on your agenda, and it will probably never be the most urgent item on your list. But it’s worth taking the time to establish a company-wide culture of trust if you want to keep your best people. Support them in doing their best work, and you’ll grow your company along the way”.

• Encourage accountability

Encourage members of your team to own up to their actions. Whether it’s late coming, ignoring deadlines, or slacking off, encourage them to be accountable to the rest of the team. You can promote accountability by leading by example and following through on your words with actions. Accountability builds camaraderie and boosts trust.

• Promote connection and team bonding

Connecting with team members is nice because how else do employees know the right person to carpool with? Organize team bonding activities for small and large groups and allow people to discuss their hobbies and find out who else has watched Hamilton way too many times. Connections build trust, increase job satisfaction and are a great way to boost morale. 

• Communication

Communication is a vital part of success. Effective communication relays expectations and areas of improvement, and providing proper communication channels for both parties to relate strengthens the working relationship. Encourage team members to share their opinions and ideas and promote collaboration between teams and individuals.

• Promote Autonomy

Nothing irks me as much as being micromanaged. The second-guessing, the uncertainty, ugh, the ghetto! Imagine teaching someone how to drive, but you’re constantly trying to grab at the steering wheel. Building teams requires a hands-off approach and giving people the grace to do their work without constant interruptions. Trusting people to explore, learn and get things right on their own boosts their confidence and desire to get better and take on more challenging tasks that promote business growth.

• Give feedback and reward for good work

A great way to let employees feel seen is to offer compliments, constructive feedback, and rewards. Celebrate achieving a goal of reaching a milestone and acknowledge their contributions. Recognize and validate their contributions with feedback and celebrate when you complete a goal or reach a milestone.

Recognition and appreciation are essential and can motivate employees and increase productivity. Recognition is dependent on performance and positive feedback in the form of an award or a raise. Appreciation makes employees feel valued like they are part of something grand and should be a regular occurrence.

• Promote diversity

Mckinsey released a report stating that companies with more diverse hires had more profitability. The strong relationship suggests that the inclusion of highly diverse teams in myriad ways beyond gender, such as age/ generation, and international experience, can make a key distinction among companies.

Hire across different backgrounds, skill sets, ages, gender and experiences. Diversity creates a melting pot of problem-solving skills and ideas to appeal to different demographics.

• Establish your company culture

Michael Scott is the world’s best boss, but you can try for second place by having a great company culture. Your company culture is a set of values guiding your company, and a great work culture can increase engagement and efficiency and attract the best talents.

A healthy culture will keep employees around, but it can also impact their lives. Treat employees and customers with kindness, show that you care about their welfare and physical and mental health, be inclusive and reassess your company culture as you grow.

Ultimately, Innovation and disruption are great but building great teams is equally important. As you scale your startup and launch your product, know that building strong teams is a continuous process which is beneficial in the long run.