“Great things in business are not done by one person but by a team of people.” That was said by Steve Jobs, needless to say, he was right. Among the many factors that determine the success of a business, having the right team in place sits at the very top.  Nevertheless, not everybody gives team building the time and attention it deserves. It is almost always about having the perfect product, a good business plan, or the perfect marketing strategy. Of course, these are all important, but a lot could go wrong without the right team in place. This article outlines the importance of having the right team and how to build it. 

What is a team and why does it matter?

A team is a group of people who work together to achieve a common goal. That is fairly straightforward. Although a team is easily defined, building one takes more than just knowing its definition. Individual character, skill, knowledge, and experience are all factors that must be considered. This is why building the right team is such an important task for an entrepreneur. 

Steve Jobs is one entrepreneur who knew the relevance of surrounding himself with the right people. He went out of his way to seek expertise and stopped at nothing to scoop them even from rival companies, and guarded them jealousy. It is said that Jobs went as far as striking a deal known as the “anti-poaching” deal with Google, Adobe, and Intel. Where all four agreed not to poach employees from each other. If that is true, it only goes to show how much value Steve Jobs placed on his team of employees. 

Why the right team is important for business success

There is a popular saying that teamwork makes the dream work. This is because teams take advantage of the increased brainpower, skill, and experience of each individual that makes up the team. You have different perspectives, approaches, and ideas, tenfold increase in productivity and efficiency. Not to mention less stress and burnout since the bulk of the work will be shared by all team members. But all of these are only possible if you have the right people in your team. Otherwise, diversity which is the very thing that makes teamwork effective will become its Achilles heels. 

5 hacks that will help you build the right team

Understand the role of each team member in the bigger picture

As an entrepreneur, you need to understand that building a team is like fitting the pieces of a puzzle together. The right team is like a puzzle where all the pieces fit together perfectly. So before you start building your team, figure out the roles of each team member and find out who best fits that role.  Without knowing this, you will spend time trying to force people into roles not meant for them. This will create so much friction between team members and reduce the team’s efficiency.

Fill up areas where your skills or knowledge are limited

Surround yourself with people who are better than you. Being the founder of a business does not mean you know it all. Perhaps you came up with a good business idea but you’ll need people to help you execute your idea. The best place to start is recruiting people who are great at doing things you are not so good with. It is a simple technique that will make sure there is no skill vacuum in your business as each team member is great at something that sets them apart. 

Develop a strong personality

Steve Jobs had a way of charming people into doing things they thought were impossible at first. There was a name for this, reality distortion. Although it sounds like something from a science fiction movie, reality distortion was simply a combination of confidence and great communication skills. In an interview with CBNC, Steve Wozniak co-founder of Apple revealed that Jobs's success as Apple’s visionary leader was not because of his technical skills but because Jobs developed a strong personality early on in the business. Jobs’s excellent communication and marketing skills were not natural-born talents. He worked hard to acquire it and later, it positioned him above his peers in the tech world, turning him from just another tech entrepreneur into an innovative icon. 

Hire people who share your passion

Passion determines who gets to be on the team. When building a business, make sure you have passionate people in your team. This is because the early phase of building a business can be rough and without passion, it becomes increasingly difficult to see it through. You may be passionate about your business, but if your team members are not as passionate as you are, then you’ll have more than a fair share of work cut out for you. The good news is that you can learn to communicate your passion and drive to your team members. 

Meritocracy - value ideas over hierarchy 

In his last interview, Steve Jobs said, “If you want to hire great people and have them stay working for you, you have to let them make a lot of decisions and you have to be run by ideas, not hierarchy. The best ideas have to win, otherwise, good people don’t stay.” Your focus should be on the last line….” the best ideas have to win”. By rewarding great ideas instead of just blindly following hierarchy within the team, you will promote meritocracy and encourage team members to share their ideas and opinions. In return, team members experience greater job satisfaction and are less likely to quit. 

Conclusion

In an article titled The Seven Pillars of a Successful Startup, we talked about 7 things that determine if a business will succeed. Team building is pillar #2. Building the right team is as important as having the right idea or strategy for your business. If you fail at building the right team, your strategy no matter how great it may be would be poorly executed which could lead to failure of the business. This is why the 5 hacks discussed in this article are worth their weight in gold. For more insights on leadership and management, visit our website www.epirus.vc. 

‍Further reading: The 7 Pillars of a Successful Startup