Team discussion facilitates reaching a more accurate result than by a monologue with yourself. And the key factor of a team is mutual support and help. In her blog, Victoria Butelenko, a member of the MSIE6 group form MSc in Innovations and Entrepreneurship, shares how a young entrepreneur can overcome internal fears and conflicts when building a team.
Apparently, at some point in life, everyone had an idea that he had been crystallizing and bringing to the gloss for months, thinking carefully for a long time. But, nevertheless, he or she did not start doing anything, or realized that it was necessary to act much earlier. Nothing drives in the development of ideas and projects as much as a team does. You build a business from different sides, and in all aspects of the work the add-ons occur evenly. “How a young entrepreneur can overcome internal fears and conflicts when building a team?” is the question which the participant of the program MSc in Innovations and Entrepreneurship Вікторія Victoria Butelenko discusses and writes about.
1. I do not have money to pay salaries, so nobody will join my team.
It is worth looking for “your” people. Who are “your” people? These are people who believe in the same as you do. They are motivated to work side-by-side with you for the sake of the idea. So many well-known companies today, such as Facebook or Airbnb, started like that. To better understand what people are “yours” and where to look for them, start with yourself. Analyze which values in life are key to you? What skills, knowledge and experience you have to share with the future team? Do you have a vision of where your project can move? If you have this vision, share it with everyone, do not keep ideas in a drawer. No one except you can realize your idea. It is worth something other than air only when it ignites more than one person, when, at least on paper, you have formulated it. People who are “yours” will be found, and they will want to join you because the idea is not words, the idea is not money, the idea is the people who embody it.
2. I will invest my time to train employees, but they will quickly switch to another job.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Partly, this situation can be avoided during an interview, choosing a reliable and motivated candidate. Compile a value proposal of the employer. It will help formulate the correct expectations about the work and responsibilities of the future member of the team. Do not conduct a traditional interview, just talk with a person. Sincere, true, friendly conversation will replace 100 interviews. You are looking for a partner who will work with you, and not the person who obeys you (even if you are the boss). And remember: not only you choose, but you are also being chosen. The persistence of a person (in terms of work) is hardly visible in a resume. Open, deepening and clarifying questions will help you learn about previous experiences and competencies. Intuition should tell you who can be engaged in long-term cooperation.
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3. I’m afraid that a new person in a team can break our cultivated harmony.
This fear blocks growth. A new person in the team is always a fresh look and new ideas that will lead to the improvement and optimization of a number of things. At the same time, a new person is an impulse that will definitely influence the team. To a certain extent, this person will have to go through the path of initiation from the beginning. But this path does not necessarily have to last for years. Help the new person and team adapt to each other. Tell the beginner what he will do, introduce him to the company’s culture and values: from common coffee breaks to training opportunities. Try to predict possible questions from both sides. To some of them, provide answers immediately, to the others – gradually, while the person is adapting.
