The place of a great team cannot be undermined in any organisation, as most of the successful entrepreneurs, despite being innovative, visionary, creative geniuses, perseverant, and egoistic, still need a team of committed individuals to reach a desired height of success.
We all will agree that coming up with a ground breaking innovation, generating a must-have products or breakthrough solutions in a start-up, takes more than just the founder. Every great idea needs a "best team," or the right people coming together to service the organization and its customers.
Having an amazing team is a crucial building block for any values-based organization, whether a well-established company with tens of thousands of people or a brand new venture with a small nucleus of talent. In fact, the team is the real make or break for entrepreneurial success.
The values-based entrepreneur recognizes the importance of having true self-confidence — knowing what you know and what you don't know. True self-confidence allows you to recognize the uniqueness of your proposition so that you can sell it with confidence and authenticity to customers.
A value-based entrepreneur needs genuine humility — affirming the importance of every single person and communicating that no one is more important than anyone else. By example, the values-based entrepreneur demonstrates "servant leadership," whereby the leader serves the team and together they devote themselves to the mission and vision of the organization.
When a team is small, fit with the organization's values is crucial. If one person is unaligned, the negative impact is exponential. On a values-based best team everyone, starting with the founder, is willing to subordinate his/her ego. It isn't about any one individual. Rather, it's all about the team that serves the enterprise.
Building a team of people who are aligned with the organization's values (and those of the founder) takes clear and consistent communication, starting at recruitment and hiring and continuing through onboarding. There is no perfect system to screen for cultural fit and often when someone is on the job and facing pressure the truth comes out of just how well aligned that person is with the organization's values. At the same time, the values should be visible in the words and actions of the team.
The team first, ego last attitude of a values-based startup remains an imperative as the venture advances through the initial growth phases and more people come on board.
In a startup, no silos can exist. Everyone must be willing to do whatever it takes in a "lean" organization. Someone might be from finance or engineering, but if a customer order needs to be packed in boxes, then everyone must pitch in. Egos that keep people wedded to their titles and selective about what they will and will not do undermine the organization.
Delivering the innovative solutions and products to the marketplace takes a great idea. But the best way to turn that idea into a sustainable enterprise is by putting the team first and egos last.