Entrepreneurs are possibly the most driven and focused people when it comes to business. However in order to expand the business, a group of people or a team is necessary.

Successful entrepreneurs and business entrepreneurs are not a lone creation. They are the product of competent business knowledge and supported by a group of people who are focused and motivated on the goals and targets of the entrepreneurs company. Great entrepreneurs are great people motivators. It is not unusual that one of the main points in an entrepreneur’s list is to create a great team.

The wrong team or the team that doesn’t work is one of the costliest error entrepreneurs make, resulting in not only lost income and time but depleted morale.

Choosing who to hire and work with in a start up is like playing basketball in the schoolyard. If you pick your friends you can play with them.  If you want to be good and continue to be on the court, you have to carefully pick your team.

It’s crucial to choose people with varying skill sets. They must also share some common values and the ability to trust each other in tough situations.

Let’s see what entrepreneurs get stuck on and should avoid on their entrepreneurs list.

1. Hiring the wrong people

It can be frustrating when you realize you may have made a bad hire, and having to constantly motivate your team (or even just one person) to complete a task is exhausting. According to a group survey, supervisors spent about one day a week managing hires with poor performance.

This means the time and energy that could be spent in other areas is wasted on a poor performer

One way to reduce the chances of hiring the wrong person is to look beyond their resume and ask questions that reveal the intangible traits: passion, flexibility and adaptability.

The one thing consistent with every start up is change, and a lot of it. It’s important that your initial hires demonstrate a healthy dose of all three qualities, since they’re needed for teams to gel and form a strong culture.

Your starting line up is to be the key players that will help jumpstart your new business and lay the groundwork for success, so aim high and identify the perfect candidates during the hiring process.

2. Lacking leadership

Taking initiative comes easily but an entrepreneur may not have the experience to hold the team up. This can be a problem when looking to earn respect from employees who may be older than and have more years of experience. The best way to find and hone leadership is by identifying a mentor or appointing a board of advisors.

Leadership mentors can originate from those that come in contact on a day-to-day basis, like prior bosses or current and past colleagues. Some of the most valuable leadership lessons learned have come from simply watching how others react to specific situations. Take a look at how another leader responds to challenges and pick up what worked and what didn’t. Remember, the answer to a dilemma is not always clear, so being observant when looking will enhance leadership style.

3. No clear cut achievable goals

If there isn’t a clear cut goal for the team, then the business is headed for failure. The entrepreneur as the team leader must always communicate the goals that must be achieved to every member of the team. This is at the low end of the scale of meeting goals and targets. At the other end of the scale it is important to also realize that goals and targets cannot be achieved all at once. Hence a more pragmatic approach is needed need to take things bit by bit with the team members. When a team is over worked to meet targets, they wear out quickly.  This will affect future target goals negatively by making the team apprehensive to being open to new goals.  People generally don’t like repeating negative experiences.  Never be over ambitious when building a team – slow and steady wins the race.

4. Not keeping the order

Managing machines has always been much easier than managing people. It is not enough to have rules and regulations in your employee handbook. The responsibility falls on ensuring that the rules and regulations are enforced.   To build a sturdy team, it’s imperative for all of the team members to adhere to the rules.  Otherwise, chaos will ensue. Some people are naturally wired to flout rules and regulations. If order to to build a successful team, there is no room to accommodate indiscipline.

5. Not prioritizing the team

The business model is important, but the people behind the company matter just as much, and maybe even more when building a business for social impact. Don’t get so focused on your business model that you underestimate the critical importance of building a team with the right cultural fit. Do make sure to carve out time to assess the skills of the people you currently have in place, understand how those skills match the demands of your market, and make plans to fill any necessary gaps. Then start to build out a culture where everyone at your company—from the management team to the front-line staff–are committed to the company’s values.

As most people know, very few successful companies have just one founder and no employees. Rather, successful companies are formed when entrepreneurs are able to expertly build and lead their teams. Successful entrepreneurs are able to methodically hire the best talent and then effectively lead their workforce. In fact, according to management expert Peter Drucker, most businesses would double their profits if they increased employee productivity by just 10%.

 

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