(This article was also published on https://www.pwfo.org/blog/entrepreneurs-whom-you-should-work-with-as-a-team)

When starting a business, a founder has to decide whether to go it alone or find co-founders / team members. As most people do not have all the skill sets needed to run a business, naturally, co-founder(s) and teammates have to be recruited. It is quite natural that the founder, without a second thought, would just open his/her address books and approach those he/she is familiar with. This could end up a disaster for the business as those friends may not have the necessary skill sets to complement one another to form an effective team. Personality compatibility may also be an issue.

Before choosing co-founders / team members, entrepreneurs should go back to the basic and ask: why the business is set up, what is it objectives, main products / services to be provided and where are the markets? Once these are clear, a list of skill sets should be formulated before talent hunt is made. When recruiting, care should also be made to consider whether the candidates can work with the entrepreneurs and other team members. If possible, people with human resources expertise should be consulted.

Conflicts among members should be minimized as much as possible. Entrepreneurs should be psychologically prepared to take action to tackle conflicts among two or more team members as well as conflicts between themselves with one or more team members. Conflicts of any kind, if not resolved, may lead to the downfall of a business. However, the inner conflict within an entrepreneur is quite often ignored. This may be most detrimental to the business as the conflict itself may not only cause conflicting directions being given by the entrepreneur, it may also cause the team members to fight against one another in order to court the favour and attention of the entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs should constantly remind themselves of the damages inner conflicts could bring. Objective feedbacks might be sought from those working closely with the entrepreneurs in this respect. Comments may also be needed from experienced mentors to identify and cut down inner conflicts. Further soft skills training could also be considered to reduce inner conflicts.

At the end of the day, entrepreneurs should constantly ask themselves: should I continue in this role?

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