The Effectiveness of Teamwork; roles and responsibilities of a leader in maintaining a harmonious/healthy work environment.
I see “teamwork” as an incredibly important tool for organisational success. I say this because except you want to remain a sole proprietor (which ultimately translates to you not wanting to be bigger than you already are), you as a creative or business will have to start thinking about building a team to compliment your own efforts in building your brand and ultimately expanding.
It is important to note that team/personnel management is an important soft skill every entrepreneur who is looking to build a brand, with the aim of expanding, should possess.
BACKSTORY:
I used to think I was amazing at team management until I discovered otherwise some weeks ago; I had a meeting planned with members of my team at OAUEVENTS and some volunteers for an upcoming event, I got there before time, as I always do, (you know, trying to lead by example) but lo and behold, almost an hour later, we still had less than 5 members of my core team present at the meeting. I flared up and declared that we’d cancel all OAUEVENTS projects for the semester if I didn’t get a certain number by 2pm. 2pm struck and I stood up to address the gathering, I declared all projects cancelled for the semester, then I left. I have to state categorically, that was one of the worst decisions I’d ever made, top three, and I promise you, it wasn’t even number three (the first two being, attending OAU and studying Nursing respectively, haha, that’s a joke), but I hope you get my point.
I didn’t realise the gravity of what I had done until much later when I spoke with a long term mentor and brother, Omolere, he made me understand that I am indeed lucky to have these guys as members of my team, truth be told, they don’t actually owe me anything, many of them are on the team because they want to gain experience in their respective fields of expertise, so they were literally doing me a favor by being a part of the team. I am not saying this is the same for all cases, especially one where your team members are being paid, which is an entirely different ball game, but I think the golden rule still applies; do unto others what you want to be done to you. Live by this rule and you’d learn to treat your team members more humanely.
There are several steps I think are best for attaining a healthy and harmonious relationship amongst members of your team, the first of such steps is to PRAY
- PRAYER:
I don’t want to sound spiritual, because I am in fact not very spiritual, like Reeky baby said “I no dey move that way” (pardon my lame jokes), but I understand the importance of committing the affairs of your brand into God’s hands, or whichever supreme being you believe in, if you’re an atheist, this is where believing in yourself should substitute for believing in God, although for people like us, we believe in ourself but more importantly, we believe in God.
Psalm 37v5 says “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do these” then it goes on to list out the various perks of trusting in God. Similarly in the Quran, In Surah Al-Muminun (23:96), it states:
“So, rely upon Allah; indeed, you are upon the clear truth.”
These texts give a clear understanding of what it means to commit to God, your affairs, especially one that concerns your means of livelihood.
2. VISION
It is important to make sure you yourself have a clear understanding of your vision, otherwise it will be incredibly difficult to share the vision with others and for them to grasp its scope. To do this, I’d advise you write down this vision as clearly as possible, be specific with the details. After doing this, it is time for you to select a team that UNDERSTANDS and SHARES your vision. You’d notice both of those words are in bold, block letters, yes, that is to lay emphasis on the importance of this particular talkpoint.
You’d only go as far as your team can afford to carry you, and if your team cannot grasp the understanding of your vision for your brand, I’m not sorry, you’d ultimately struggle with building the company. Although it is true that in most cases, the team members just need as much knowledge about your vision as they need to effectively carry out their respective duties, I personally believe it won’t harm anyone to share the extent to which your own imagination paints your vision. It most times serve as a motivation to everyone on the team, moreover, there’s no secrecy in matters like these when it comes to building a company, so please share away.
This also particularly helps to strengthen the trust between you and your team members, because now they believe you’re comfortable enough to share your vision with them from your heart, and any normal human being will do their best to bring your vision to fruition.
3. ALIGNMENT
It is one thing to understand your vision, it is another thing for your team members to align perfectly, or in most cases, almost perfectly with your vision. Part of aligning with your vision is carefully selecting the right team members, you don’t just want anyone floating around. If you need a team of two videographers, you don’t need to employ three. If you don’t need a photographer on your team, then don’t hire one.
It is very important to be conscious of this because of your team spirit, you don’t want anybody going around in your team without a responsibility. This is why it is important to keep your team as lean as possible, especially whilst starting; read The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. The book explains in details the nitty gritty of building a company from start with an incredibly lean team. Unfortunately, my team is not that lean (haha).
Point is, your team aligning with your vision is as important as them sharing your vision.
4. RECOGNITION & VALUE
It is VERY important to ensure that your team members recognise and value your input to the development and growth of the company. By this, I mean, your team members should accord you some level of respect, because I put it to you, that you will be unable to control the affairs of the company if members of your team do not trust you to lead the company on the right path.
But you cannot blame them if you yourself do not deserve to be respected, by that I mean, EARN their respects, but more importantly, don’t lose it. Get skilled up, stay up to date with recent trends especially those trends that can ultimately affect the growth of your company. Also know a bit of everything! I cannot stress this enough, because there’ll be times when you need to step in to help your team members, that knowledge you have about their niche might come in handy, I mean we all experience burnouts and creative blocks from time to time, would you leave it to them, or would you rather help them out?
5. BE A LEADER, NOT A BOSS
One of the very first lessons you learn in a leadership masterclass is the difference between a leader and a boss. You might think there is no difference, when in actual fact, they are DISTINCT, very very distinct.
A leader works alongside members of his team towards the goals of the company whilst a boss dictates to them what to do! This singular characteristics is what sets aside leaders from bosses.
To cultivate a healthy work environment, you have to, by all means act like a leader would, and not otherwise. Being a leader means more than just to bear the title, but you need a combination of soft skills like interpersonal relationship, empathy, listening skills and time management.
You have to be able to combine these set of skills for you to really excel as a leader, and part of that is building a conducive environment for members of your team.
6. DIVIDE INTO SUBTEAMS
It is very important to divide members of your team into smaller, functional teams, this will enable them complete tasks faster whilst working with like minds of the same niche, where they can share ideas and ultimately work towards achieving company goals.
I didn’t know members of the Swyft dev team until about a year after I started working on the team, I only knew the CTO. The point is members of your team can work and produce results without necessarily knowing themselves unless very necessary, but this can only work if you divide them into groups and clearly state each person’s roles.
7. VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS
From time immemorial, mission and vision statements have been used to clearly communicate the goal of a company, and I’m glad to say that in 2024, it is not yet outdated.
Clearly writing down your company’s mission and vision will help you define a clear path to achieving said goals, as the saying goes “if you are able to clearly write down your problems, best believe it is half solved” As business owners and entrepreneurs, it is important to remember that a major part of your business goal is problem solving.
Team building is an extreme sport, as it is a product of commitment, diligence, and ultimately leadership, I have learnt over the years, from a plethora of superiors I have worked with, that team building requires diligent, consistent, and empathetic efforts.
