#91- Building championship teams
Unlocking success: Building a winning team for Indian startups
Investing in early-stage startups provides a window to witness quite a few entrepreneurial journeys. In this post, I’ll share some valuable insights I’ve learned from founders I’ve interacted with in these past few years. These insights can help you build a championship team, navigate your long-term journey and overcome some pain points you‘ll encounter along the way.
I’ll cover practical strategies to build a winning team, embracing pressure and continuous learning. You’ll realize how transparency, collaboration, and operational improvement can propel your startup towards success.
Embrace the Championship Mindset
As a startup founder, it's crucial to foster a culture of excellence and aim for greatness. Building a championship team requires a clear vision and a commitment to continuous improvement. Understand that not everyone is cut out for this level of dedication and performance. Communicate your expectations and make it clear that your startup is on a mission to achieve extraordinary success.
Do this!
Talent Assessment
Develop a kickass talent assessment framework
Look for folks with a hunger for learning, resilience, and a growth mindset
Don't settle for conventional hiring processes.
Collaboration & Competition
Create an environment where teams collaborate and compete
Encourage knowledge sharing, set personal performance goals, and organize fun challenges or workshops for innovation and a championship mindset.
Run with purpose
Clearly define your startup's vision and communicate it effectively to your team.
Ensure everyone understands the larger purpose and the goals you aim to achieve.
Thrive Under Pressure
Pressure can be a powerful driving force for growth and innovation. Embrace the concept of pressure as a catalyst for improvement. Set high standards for yourself and your team, expecting near perfection. Create an environment where projects are executed swiftly, goals are clearly defined, and progress is regularly monitored. Encourage a mindset of constant iteration and improvement, leaving no room for complacency.
Do this!
Agile Performance Management
Ditch those old-school annual reviews. Please go agile!
Set short-term goals, review progress regularly, and provide timely feedback.
Be open to course correction and experimentation.
Break down tasks into smaller, manageable chunks and establish short-term goals to keep the josh high.
Employee Wellness
Remember, balance is key.
Go for a hybrid workplace wherever possible.
Promote mental and physical well-being.
Flexibility, wellness programs, mindfulness workshops, and access to mental health resources are a must.
High performance needs a healthy foundation.
Celebrate the smaller wins - publicly
As shared by Alvin Foo: https://twitter.com/alvinfoo/status/1628565603794694144
Align Competence, Reliability, and Motive
To drive performance throughout your organization, ensure alignment in three key areas: competence, reliability, and motive. Openly communicate your involvement in projects and explain the reasons behind them. Evaluate whether team members possess the necessary skills and capabilities (competence), deliver on time and meet deadlines consistently (reliability), and share the same motives and goals (motive). Encourage transparency, communication, and a shared focus on the most important metrics.
Do this!
Continuous assessment
Conduct regular skills assessments and identify competency gaps within your team.
Provide targeted training programs or assign mentors to help individuals improve their skill sets.
You succeed when your team succeeds!
Communicate!
Foster a sense of reliability by establishing clear communication channels and ensuring deadlines are consistently met.
Implement project management tools and workflows to streamline coordination and increase accountability.
Propagate a Performance-Driven Culture
As a founder, you have a significant influence on shaping the culture within your startup. Encourage your senior team members to embody the principles of performance management. While they may bring their own perspectives and expertise, ensure that their actions tie back to driving performance. Recognize the value in diverse viewpoints, but ultimately align everyone towards the common goal of operational excellence and continuous improvement.
Do this!
Gamify & incentivize performance
Implement a performance management system that recognizes and rewards top performers.
Create incentive programs or gamify certain aspects of work to drive motivation and healthy competition.
Encourage cross-pollination in the team
Encourage cross-functional collaboration and knowledge-sharing.
Arrange regular team-building activities (without your or management's presence) or brainstorming sessions to foster innovation and boost collective performance.
I asked Arindam Paul, Chief Business Officer and Part of the Founding team at Atomberg, one of India's largest and fastest-growing digital-first consumer brands for his views on building a performance-driven team.
He shared:
These are the things we do at Atomberg:
Obsessive focus on input metrics and controllable outputs( Eg- for field Sales team the input metrics are visits/beat adherence, controllable outputs are availability and visibility)
First principles thinking as a hiring filter. Ensures that people question age-old ways of working
Taking big aspirational targets. A culture of aiming very high and 80%achievement rather than conservative targets and 110% achievement
Flat organization, fast-tracked careers linked with performance
Operationalize Key Metrics
To achieve operational excellence, identify and define key metrics that are crucial for your startup's success. Whether it's understanding the customer journey or measuring project performance, having clarity on the metrics that drive improvement is vital. Operationalize these metrics throughout your organization, coordinating the actions of different teams and departments to ensure a cohesive and effective approach. By aligning efforts around performance metrics, you can create momentum and achieve meaningful operational improvements.
Do this!
Measure what matters!
Identify the critical metrics for your startup's success, such as customer acquisition cost or conversion rates.
Implement data analytics tools and dashboards to monitor these metrics in real-time and make data-driven decisions.
Review periodically
Establish regular performance review cycles to evaluate progress against key metrics.
Provide constructive & quantitative feedback and guide employees on how to improve their performance based on these metrics.
Gaurav Munjal of Unacademy shares his thoughts on the above:
Link: https://twitter.com/gauravmunjal/status/1669316260205850625
Foster a Learning Culture
Encourage a culture of continuous learning and improvement within your startup. Emphasize the importance of learning from mistakes, seeking feedback, and adapting to changing circumstances. Create opportunities for professional development and provide resources for skill enhancement. By fostering a learning mindset, you can empower your team members to grow and contribute to the overall success of the startup.
Do this!
Let employees become principals
Encourage employees to participate in industry conferences, workshops, or webinars to stay updated with the latest trends and best practices.
Sponsor their attendance or provide internal knowledge-sharing sessions to facilitate continuous learning.
Open feedback channels
Create a feedback culture where employees feel comfortable sharing ideas, suggestions, and concerns.
Regularly conduct retrospective meetings to reflect on past projects and identify areas for improvement.
Please, do not take punitive action against employees providing feedback!
Lead by Example
As a founder, your actions and behaviours set the tone for the entire organization. Lead by example and demonstrate the qualities and values you expect from your team. Be transparent, communicate effectively, and show genuine passion and dedication. Your leadership style and commitment will inspire your team to strive for greatness and contribute their best efforts towards building a championship team.
Do this!
Show them why you are leading!
Set clear expectations and communicate them consistently.
Be accessible to your team and provide guidance and support when needed.
Be a coach!
Leader, not Boss
Showcase your dedication and work ethic by actively participating in key projects and demonstrating a willingness to learn.
Lead with transparency, integrity, and humility to inspire your team.
Remember, building a championship team requires commitment, dedication, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. Embrace pressure as a tool for growth, foster a culture of continuous improvement, and align your team around common goals. By implementing these learnings, you can set your startup on a path towards success in the increasingly competitive Indian startup ecosystem.