Have you invested in your Start-up’s Culture?
How do you create a great work culture in your workplace (or startup)? Have you successfully fostered one at your workplace?
Epilogue: this story was first published on LinkedIn here with the purpose of starting a dialogue on the often neglected & most critical aspect of a new business.
I am trying to find a solution to this mystery. An attempt of mine failed to make an impact and I was frustrated (to say the least).
Incidentally, I came across this great weekly newsletter by Robert Glazer (sub: Friday Forward — Good Sportsmanship). Within the email was a link to a recent incident at a local sports event. You should watch it too:
I was amazed by the empathy, the sports(wo)manship! My dream will definitely have people like her!
Sadly, most organisations forget to build a team like this and end up loosing its character (the very thing which attracted talent in the first place). A team which brings pride & demonstrate grace.
I have seen more new businesses perish because of this (lack of talent acquisition or retention, lack of leaders, etc) than just cash crunch or market traction. In a way, latter reasons are actually the result of a ‘lost team’ in most cases.
While time is the precious commodity in a new venture, focus is always on a short term goal — usually sales or to meet investor targets. Naturally, there is no investment in terms of time to build teams. This will only lead to:
- Loss of work ethics & vision
- Lack of leaders to lead & grow projects, thus grow companies
- Stinking politics & discontent
… to list out a few.
After talking to few trusted & successful peers, and lots of reading — what I have learned so far:
1. Focus on communication & transparency
This is probably the most crucial point & would need a book (if not a whole stack of books) to explain. However, to crunch it into few sentences, start with an internal communication tool. Growth of a company is inversely proportional to the time in hand with an entrepreneur. A communication tool should help address many concerns & keep you approachable.
While on-boarding the tool, ensure a high level of transparency. In spite of all your efforts, no secret can remain a secret for long in an organisation — why waste time securing it? Unless of course you are bounded legally or it is a very personal information.
2. Empower founding team to learn & lead
One of the eCommerce start-up that I worked with had 3 key team members (founding team). In spite of their exceptional ownership levels, the business went under for a while. Today, all three of them are entrepreneurs in their own domain.
As an entrepreneur, the key skill that you should seek is a team with an entrepreneurship spirit. While you unravel the mysteries of investors & growth, you need a team who can understand your vision & passionately pursue it. With a bit of training & freedom (trust), they can take decisions for you and save your time.
3. Define what a company DOESN’T stand for, along with their vision & mission
Every investor/sales pitch I made had the first few slides talk about mission & vision. For a new business, this is never constant as the journey is a classroom in itself. We learn & unlearn, align & change, sometimes even pivot!
All this while, the boundary lines can be defined by the entrepreneur when it is a small team. For a large team, I suggest the opposite, define what you should not be. It’s easier and gives space for ingenious ideas & growth.
Lastly, I believe that the office boy who serves tea to my guest, is equally important as the tech lead. Both play an equal role in the work culture of my organisation. If an entrepreneur understands this and demonstrates the respect towards all team members, the team will follow-through to make it a desirable place to work.
Share your thoughts and feel free to add or criticise. Connect with me on LinkedIn if you would like to take the conversation one-on-one
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com on July 5, 2018.
