“Team” is Never a One-Way Street
It is true when they say you can always remember your first day at work. Many years ago, I started my first job as a Web developer/Administrator and Online marketing expert at an international company. I already had few years of experience, both in marketing and web development. Also, I was young enough to be slightly arrogant. The first day on a new job is always pretty much the same; you go through the company procedures, get some basic information about your new role and get introduced to your new team.
After that, my new boss, my mentor (who was just a few years older than me) and I found ourselves gliding into a leisurely conversation. We were getting to know each other, talking about what sports we like, which clubs we support, etc. So, we had a friendly chat and I really felt comfortable. At one point, my mentor asked me if there was anything else he could do for me. For some reason, please note that I was a young, arrogant lad, I instantly replied -“Yes, I want you to make me a coffee.” His facial expression changed, he looked me in the eyes, stood up and left the room. I immediately knew that I had done something wrong.
Five minutes passed and as I was sitting alone in the cubicle room, each minute seemed to last at least 10 times longer. “Why was I so arrogant towards him? He could fire me instantly”. Another five minutes passed and I was getting really nervous. “I should apologize to him immediately, no matter what happens”. But I didn’t have the courage to leave the small cubicle room, which now seemed even smaller. Another five minutes passed and he entered the room, smiling and holding two cups of coffee. “One for you, one for me”, he said and sat in front of me, handing me a warm cup of coffee.
-“Do you know why I left the room like that?”, he asked. -“I did it because of you. And the reason why I made the coffee for you was because of me. This way we will always respect each other. I really hope you like the coffee.”
-“Did it really take 15 minutes to make the coffee?”, I replied looking at the table, shying away from keeping eye contact.
-“No, it took five minutes, we have a coffee machine here, you know. But I was watching you through the glass-door for at least 10 minutes, while you were sweating and contemplating on behavior. The room must have felt really small. Now I know we will create good things together.”
And we did. And I got much better. And I was never arrogant again. After some time, he got promoted to another position within the company and handed over the leadership of the team to me.
There is no magic wand. We all have to make our choices and live with them. In the end, the result of where we are in our life is an effect of the choices we once made. Working in a startup environment means being ready to change and the faster you adapt to it, the better. Change is only good if you manage to adapt to it fast. As your product is evolving, so are your goals, your team, and your character. Each startup brings many new challenges, a new knowledge set and a brand new experience.
In a team, you get a mixture of different personalities, backgrounds and ambition levels. In this perfect mix of imperfections, you need to be wise enough to optimize, in order to achieve the best possible energy. If you manage to achieve that, the deadlines will be met, the clients will be satisfied and similarly important — you will all have a great time working together.
The most successful team is never the one that is technically the most skillful, but the one that has the best cohesion among the team members.
