Startups require a lot of hard work, with no rest for the
weary. And, since you need to be moving
at light speed to gain first mover advantage, it often means a lot of late
nights in close quarters alongside your fellow team members. Not everyone can thrive in that type of
environment. But, it is important the
founding team can, as capital will be tight, and you will need to stretch your human
resources as far as you can, without breaking the bank.
RECRUIT THE RIGHT
PEOPLE
You want a hard working team? It all starts with recruiting the right
people out of the gate. In addition to
seeing if they have the right skills for the job, you have to see if they have
the right attitude and hard work ethic for the job. And, don’t take their word on it, as everyone
will say they have the “right stuff”.
You have to talk to their former employers as references, and have them
give you real examples of how they have functioned in that capacity in the
past.
FOSTER THE RIGHT TEAM
CULTURE
Once you have the right people, now you need to surround
them by the right types of hard-working peers.
Create a culture of “all for one, and one for all”, prepared to do
whatever is necessary to help the company win the race. Create realistic targets for them to hit by
certain dates, and create a competitive spirit within the company, where people
can show off their skills.
REWARD DESIRED
BEHAVIOR
When people are showing your desired hard-work ethic
behavior, reward them. Give your key
team members a piece of the equity. Give
them a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant. Take them to a ball game. Create an employee of the month program. Do whatever you need to do to make sure they
know their hard work did not go unnoticed, and was appreciated by the team.
BE SENSITIVE—DON’T
PUSH THEM OVER THE EDGE
All work and no fun, makes Jack a dull boy. Working around the clock can be
exhausting. And, you don’t want the team
to burn out. After a big sprint, let the
team take a day off to catch their breath, and spend time with their friends
and family, away from the office. People
are human, and you need to foster
an even work-life balance, to retain your team for the long run.
DON’T TELL THEM, SHOW
THEM
When you have something that needs to get done, it is
important you show the team how to get it done, as opposed to simply telling
them to do it. Don’t leave anything
ambiguous, that will leave the team spinning their wheels in frustration, not
clear on what you exactly need. When you
show them what to do, that leaves nothing up for interpretation, and will more
quickly get you to your desired end product.
HOOK THEM WITH YOUR
DAILY BEHAVIOR
And, it all starts with you.
If your employees do not see you putting in the hard work you are asking
of them, they will never give it to you.
So, roll up your sleeves, tell your spouse you may be late for dinner,
and jump into the mosh pit with your team.
That will help you gain credibility as a leader and camaraderie as one of
their colleagues, prepared to jump into the trenches of battle.
So, as you can see, if you are complaining about not having
a hard working team, you really only have one person to blame . . . yourself!!
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