Creating the right team is imperative to your success. A team is comprised of people who can bring necessary skill sets to the venture. A team is different from partners. Partners are financially and legally tied to the venture while team members are brought in to create and continue the process. Team members can be employees or sub-contactors.

These are people you can control – you get to pick them. You can use their services for as long as you like. If they don’t work out as planned, you can find a different team member or you can find a place on the team where this person can be more effective.

Creating the right environment for the team is equally important. People will give their best when they feel that their services are being valued and that they are entrusted with producing a part of the success of the venture. Team members must have the same values as that of the venture and they must follow the same code of conduct consistent with your desired outcome. They must truly want the venture to be a success and feel that they are a part of that success. They must work well with the other team members.

Differences are encouraged only if they are presented in a positive fashion, recognizing the efforts of the others. Each team member must give more than they are asked for in their areas of expertise. This does not mean extra hours; it means working with heart and soul, working with the creative minds flowing, working with a positive mental attitude, and working together with the others so that all are winners.

What ideas do you have that will create a positive, successful team? How can you create this team and have each person feel that they are as important a part of the success of the venture as you are? Study successful entities to find out how they treat their team members. Find out what motivates team members in successful entities to keep them successful – is it money, power, trust, fear, etc.? Thinking these things out before you create the team will help you in putting together the right team for your venture.

You should write out all the positions of your team and keep updating it as you grow as when you grow you will need to change out some positions on your team. This is a big mistake that people make as they grow. They keep the same team members that were effective when they were small and they do not re-evaluate the need for replacing members who have not grown to levels where they are now needed. Therefore the overall team growth is limited by the lack of ability of one or more members. Just like upgrading your peer group, always be open to and active in upgrading your team members.

You must strive to place the right people on your team. This goes for all positions you pay for, including lawyers, accountants, advisors, sub contractors etc. Be clear on what is a must upfront and make the positions open as specific as possible.

If you are just starting out then make your team as simple and complete as possible. Just be sure that your team members are able to excel and have knowledge in the industry and direction you are going in. The last thing you want to do is to have to micromanage your team members. If you find you are doing so you have made a mistake and replace them right away.

Your team members must be proactive to your needs and outcome. If not replace them or place them in a position where they can be more effective. Please always keep in mind that in most cases you are paying for their services in one manner or another. Never pay a team member 100% upfront for their services as this always gives them something to aspire to. Placing the right team members in the right place will make your endeavor soar.

David Dell, research director for capabilities management and HR at The Conference Board, has observed, “Both HR and IT have many new issues to address and many decisions to make and implement. But the speed of change in both areas makes the challenge more difficult as it increases the promise.”

Why do people resist change? Leslie Smith, a clinical psychologist and former Web designer in McLean, Virginia, outlines these reasons:

• Fear of making mistakes or looking foolish.
• A lack of understanding or confidence about the new system and its benefits.
• Anxiety about doing more. Employees often feel overworked already, and resist learning something new when it’s layered on top of their existing duties.
• Change fatigue. Once people learn something new, they’d like to stick with that new knowledge and take a rest.

Jeanie Daniel Duck, author of The Change Monster: The Human Forces That Fuel or Foil Corporate Transformation & Change, writes, “The knee-jerk answer (to failed change efforts) is the people ‘resist change,’ as if ‘resistance to change’ were some kind of sorry genetic code that, if it could be reengineered, would magically produce people instantly eager to do things differently whenever anyone asked. The ‘resistance to change’ answer… is appealing because it takes the blame off the leaders and puts it on those ‘no-good followers.’”

Leaders must take charge of change. There are many things that you can do to ensure a more successful initiative, including:
Communicate. Explain what benefits you expect from the new system and how people’s roles might change. Also make sure that change is championed from the top of the organization and communicate that support.

Collaborate. Involve prospective users in change decisions and choices. Duck says it’s not the change that’s the problem, but the way it comes down. “People are changing all the time, but those are changes of their own choosing,” Duck says. “People resist being told they have to change.”

Demonstrate. As Duck observes, people are powerfully motivated by self-interest. Technological change is likely to be more successful if people are shown what’s in it for them. “When they’re motivated, it’s amazing what people can do,” she says.

Evaluate. Look at the whole corporate culture, not just IT, to determine how many other changes people are being asked to deal with at the same time, such as a merger or reorganization. Perhaps it’s time to give them a breather.

Commiserate. Let people know it’s okay to complain, Duck advises. It provides a useful outlet. Although IT may feel like the corporate whipping boy, “that’s the nature of the beast. IT departments have a checkered past,” she says. “They must accept that and be more careful.” Further, allowing complaint and disagreement might enable you to measure resistance before you spend millions of dollars on that new initiative.

Don’t denigrate. Mary Lynn Pulley, Ph.D., is a faculty member at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina. She maintains that the learning curve is upside down: “It’s more of a valley than a hill,” she says. “Whenever you learn anything, your performance actually declines before it improves.”

She refers to that performance dip as the Valley of Chaos, and urges learners to remember that chaos and creation go hand in hand. “Things have to fall apart or disintegrate in some way so that they can come back together in a new way.” Managers must make it clear that mistakes are okay and avoid any kind of punishment for error in a learning environment.

Eradicate. “You must allow for the notion of un-learning as people abandon old ways,” Pulley says. Know that people have to rid their minds and routines of that which no longer works, but be aware that getting rid of the old and familiar can engender fear and confusion.