5 Team Challenges Founders Must Resolve in 2022

The dynamics of a high performing team in the startup ecosystem has evolved in the past year. The requirements of a team that excels is something that is yet to be discovered. Founders still complain that their teams do not perform up to “the standard”. And so, here are 5 team challenges startup founders must resolve in 2022 to continue growth/scale.

1. Getting accustomed to activity, not creativity

This is a huge hurdle that teams have been facing for as long as I can remember as a business coach. The quicker a startup ramps up its systems/processes, the less teams become productive.

Let’s also note that teams struggle with productivity simply due to consistency. But consistency is one of those things that becomes a luxury when pressure is a cultural norm within the company.

Enter creativity.

Creativity is all about proactively coming up with better solutions to problems. While there are tasks that require consistency in order to hit certain goals, creativity enables the individual/team to think and behave better as the challenges arise along the way. This is where adeption comes to life.

Founders will have to put serious thought into how they’re going to enable creativity from their teams rather than demand very high levels of productivity from them.

2. On-The-Job training and soldiers

This is a great solution if the startup is lacking resources to support talent in their development journey. But over time it creates problems for teams simply because OTJ is an approach made for quickly onboarding people into the company and create quick wins.

In my experience as a coach, founders/executives who enforce quick wins as an approach to reach long term victory creates nothing good soldiers internally; that is, teams become good at taking orders. But when the time comes for individuals to be called forth for a promotion or take initiative, they fail at filling those shoes.

To overcome this challenge, founders can start to design developmental programs for emerging leaders within their team(s) to cascade management levels and close skill gaps. Upskilling doesn’t have to be for everyone at once. It can, however, be focused.

Once founders build those people up, tomorrow’s liquid force will turn into capable leaders who handle challenges coming their own and team’s way.

3. The Founder executes, but the team doesn’t

Buy-in is the catalyst here. When a founder agrees on goals with talent and discovers little to no action, it’s simply because the individual/team has not adopted the psychological desire to take founder’s motivation on board.

Dan Pink, best selling author of “Drive”, mentions in his book that there are 3 elements to evoking motivation from people:

• Autonomy — One’s natural inclination to do something
• Mastery — Desire for progress and experiencing it
• Purpose — A deep care about the outcome

This process goes beyond the simple act of agreeing on what needs to be done. The misconception here is that said process takes time and there’s little time to be wasted, if at all. On the contrary, this process does not rely on time; it relies on the founder’s evolution as a true leader.

Four: Communication issues

Teams face constant issues with communication. And it’s not always down to misinterpretation of emails, Slack messages, or phone text. Communication is very much like a contact-sport in the sense that it needs individuals to “play and exchange information” simultaneously and effectively.

When you look at American Football, Rugby, or similar contact sports you’ll notice that players:

• Exchange verbal and nonverbal information
• Provide meaningful and useful information
• Are observant, yet engaged

Staying engaged is surely the name of the game, but without effective communication in a manner that creates and enhances synergy, the team is surely to miss out on various opportunities for the company’s growth.

If the leadership find ways to involve teams in experiences beyond “team building training” that plant seeds of effective communication, they’ll overcome this challenge in mere months.

5. Unresolved conflict

This is a big one. Conflict can be one of the healthiest ingredients for developing strong teams, but what I’ve seen over the years proves that most founders and talent have a fear of conflict.

The comfort zone of any relationship involves avoiding conflict, until something blows an issue out of proportion where the individual enters the panic zone. There is wisdom in admitting that either zones are not beneficial to the growth of the company, and deciding that it is best people work through conflict. This is where the growth zone is.

Often, conflict that is unresolved for too long creeps into different departments and turns them into hostile environments. This is where the work of a true leader is required where they facilitate the change of narrative away from expecting agreement towards affirming alignment. Once this happens, it becomes less about disagreement and more about what needs to be done while focusing on the long haul; the vision.

With this mentioned, do prioritize the “people” side of business for 2022. It promises to be a year full of surprises. Well… Don’t they all? 😉