4 ways to build a cohesive team

for your startupBY DYLAN TAYLOR

The twenty first century has brought with it a spike in entrepreneur-driven startups, especially

among the tech world. A good number of these fail while a modest number succeed and, though not always the case — for sometimes the idea or product is to blame —, usually the downfall of a startup begins with a critical structural fault in the makeup and protocol of the startup’s team.

It is crucial, then, that the team you assemble to rise up your startup from the dust and to attract investors by the hundreds be carefully selected, groomed, and cared for. Much like an expensive clock that will hang in the foyer for all your guests to see, your team must be built so that it meshes together beautifully while maintaining functionality and timeliness. It must be lubricated from time to time to ensure the continuity of its integrity. Here’s how you can do that.

1. Be a respectable leader

As made apparent by countless inspirational box office hits, the quality in collaboration that your team exhibits varies directly with the quality in leadership that you exhibit. Be a strong leader, then. Lead by example, get involved with your team, encourage them to work together, facilitate creativity, congratulate members when due and discipline them when due and without partisan.

This — good leadership — is key to an efficient, vibrant team. Everything else just helps.

2. Choose your members wisely

A team should be wisely weighted and consistent of specialists from each aspect the team will be handling. Cut employee expenses and hire multitalented members; a programmer to build an app who can also market it well. To back these specialists up, have a few interns and generalists to bring the coffee, fax the papers, handle accounting, etc. It’s also important to not hire too many specialists for a field that requires only a few; over saturation means that you pay more for employees who will become lazy and dependent on the few who excel.

3. Reward performance

Depending on your budget, you can offer rewards to individual employees ranging anything from a free cruise to drinks on the boss at the nearest happy hour. This creates a friendly sense of competitiveness and boosts your team’s morale. Don’t just stop at individual prizes, though; throw an office party every once in a while or buy the whole team pizza on one of those late-night workdays.

You’ll gain admiration, respect, and diligence from your team in return. Plus there’re the good times you’ll all have, which ties in directly with this next point…

4. Be a family

Especially if your team is a small one, encourage closeness and personal relationships among team members. True, professionalism is valued, but humans, by fact, work harder when they care more about what they are working on. Employees who care about each other, then, will work harder for each other. It’s simple. Besides, would you rather trust with your business — a neatly written resume or a close friend who you know will not let you down? Exactly.