I used to hate working in groups until...

I remember being put in teams while in school and hating it. Usually, a group composed of a couple people doing all the work and a few other freeloaders putting in minimal effort. I then would attend lectures by experts saying how important teams were and how they were essential to success. There was a serious disconnect between what the experts were saying and what I was experiencing. It wasn't until I got out of school that I realized what was going on.

I think the best team analogy I have ever heard is a band. In school a group was a set of people clumped together randomly. On the other hand, a band is composed of  carefully selected individuals with different skill sets.  In a band the diversity of instruments and talents when properly coordinated produces the music of the band. The key is getting the right players in the band and coordinating those differences in a way that produces something beautiful. Each member has their own instrument that they are responsible for playing. It makes no sense to have a band of 6 lead guitarists. It also makes no sense to have band members who all like different kinds of music and have different ideas about what kind of music to play. The same can be said of any organization. Diversity and teamwork are only useful when you have the right team members with diverse skill sets all focused on a common goal.

I remember hearing people talk about mentors when I was in school and again naively thinking very little of it. What a fool I was! A mentor should be the first member of your team but not just any hyped-up pep talker will do. A mentor should be someone who has already walked the path your are about to go down. People starting out generally have a lot of drive, ambition and work ethic, but they should be honest with themselves and realize they probably don't have a lot of experience. This is where the mentor can help. You bring the drive, they bring the experience. The more closely they have walked the path the better they will be able to help you. Hopefully this person will have extensive industry specific knowledge to impart and will help you know about the things you don't know that you don't know. A mentor will be able to help you avoid the pain they experienced when they went down the road you are on. The best thing about mentors is they usually are free. Still, one should not blindly follow a mentor. Mentors are a great resource but with the rapidly changing world we live in you will have to gauge the mentors advice against the changing business world you live in, so be prudent.

I have come to realize that really successful business people are often very humble. Not humble in the weak or unambitious sense but they are very honest about the things they know, and the things they don't know. Henry Ford is credited as saying that he was not very smart, but that he surrounded himself with smart people. Being a "know it all" gets you no where because nobody knows it all. However, if you get people who fill in the gaps in areas where you are weak then suddenly the business or organization becomes bigger than you, greater than the sum of its parts and has the ability to exceed you expectations.

Questions for reflection

- Are you honest about the areas where you lack expertise or ability?
- Do you find and accommodate people who can fill those gaps?
- Does your team all have aligned incentives and commitment to reach a common goal?
- Does your team have clearly defined roles and skill-sets they are responsible for?
- Are you unwilling to get the wrong people off the team?
- Are you trying to build a team or trying to do everything yourself?
- Do you trust others competence?