14 Working with others
14.1 Introduction
Famous entrepreneurs are often portrayed in the media as individual leaders, but they often worked in a team. Steve Jobs, for example, had Steve Wozniak as a partner, and Bill Gates had Paul Allen. Entrepreneurial behavior often takes place in a team. It is therefore important to have the competence to let team processes run smoothly, so that a team functions as well as possible. It is also important to compose the team as well as possible, and because ventures go through phases, the question of the optimal composition of the team comes back from time to time. Especially in growing organizations, entrepreneurial teams are often subject to change. A team that is a good fit for the start-up phase is not necessarily the best team for a growth phase or a stabilization phase. In all of this, the distinction between diverse versus homogeneous teams plays an important role. Diverse teams can either function better or worse than more homogeneous teams - it depends on whether they make the best or the worst out of diversity. This chapter focuses on collaboration within a team; for collaboration with people outside the team, see: Mobilising resources.
14.2 Insights
Advantages and disadvantages of teams
Working together in a team can have advantages. An extra team member means more and perhaps different resources in terms of knowledge, experience, skills, networks and financial resources [see: Mobilising resources]. Decisions can be discussed and the person who is best at something can perform the task in question. Team members can help each other and replace each other if necessary. Working in a team can also be more sociable. People fundamentally need social contact, and solo entrepreneurs sometimes feel isolated. However, working together in a team can also have disadvantages. An extra team member has to be rewarded, so the venture needs to generate more income. There is a chance for conflict and misunderstanding. Dissatisfaction or arguments may arise, for example, due to differences of opinion about which course to take, or because some group members seem to contribute less than others.
The trick is therefore to make the advantages as great as possible and to keep the disadvantages to a minimum when working in a team. The distinction between like-minded (homogeneous) versus diverse teams plays an important role here. In teams with others like yourself, for example a team of friends, there is less chance of misunderstandings and conflicts, you trust and like each other, and it's cosy. However, you may be missing out on the benefits of diverse teams. But what is actually meant by the benefits of diverse teams? After all, you don't want to add a stupid, lazy, lying and irritating person to your team, if you don't already have one, just because you want to increase the diversity of the team.
Diversity
Harrison and Klein write that there are different forms of diversity, and make a distinction between separation, disparity and variety (see box Further Reading [1]). They argue that the chance of optimal cooperation increases when there are small differences in separation and power within a team, and large differences in variety. Separation refers to attitude: how you view or value things. For example: do you want to work very hard on the entrepreneurial project, or do you want to take it easy? Or: do you think it is very important to earn a lot of money with the project, or is it more for fun? It is important that you are largely in agreement as a team, so differences in attitude are best kept to moderate levels.
The second dimension, disparity, concerns power, and relates to who is in charge, how decisions are made and how tasks are distributed. In general, joint owners of an enterprise, at least in the Netherlands, find it more pleasant to make decisions together than for one person to decide everything, which is why differences in power are generally preferred to be limited. Of course, the team members can decide together which team member is in charge of certain tasks and for those tasks makes the final decisions.
The third dimension, variety, relates to what each team member brings to the table in terms of resources, such as knowledge, experience, skills, and networks. Ideally, you want each team member to add something different, which is why Harrison and Klein recommend making variety as large as possible. However, it is then important to actually make good use of the variety that is present in a team. More about this in a moment.
Communication skills and social leadership
For all three dimensions of diversity, it is important that the team members have good communication skills, so that the team can function well. The value of a diverse team lies in its diversity, but it is important to know what each has to offer and to make optimal use of it. On the other hand, problems can arise due to differences in attitude and power. Within the scientific literature on working together effectively it is therefore argued that it is above all the social processes in a team, and the communication processes, that make a team function well or not [2, 3, 4]. Good team functioning is not the same as organizational success. Of course you want team members who are able to formulate and execute their tasks well. But in addition to that a team needs one or more members who show social leadership by letting the communication in the team run as smoothly as possible.
What does fostering effective social processes in the team mean? First of all, it means that team members are willing and able to talk to each other in a positive way about how they function as a team member and as a team. For example, if someone is late, plays the boss, or contributes too little, it is good to discuss these issues. It may come up that there was a misunderstanding about the time, that the person did not think or see that he/she was playing the boss, or had performed all kinds of tasks of which the others were unaware. Without communication, all such matters will not come to light. In successful social processes there is psychological safety: team members dare to give their opinion and there is trust in the team that member have the best intentions. Especially in diverse teams it is important that diversity can be expressed. Better decisions can be made and actions taken when all team members contribute in their own way. This also applies to the collaboration itself. When everyone's perspective on working together is known, agreements can be made about how to cooperate.
Working together in a team can have advantages. An extra team member means more and perhaps different resources in terms of knowledge, experience, skills, networks and financial resources [see: Mobilising resources]. Decisions can be discussed and the person who is best at something can perform the task in question. Team members can help each other and replace each other if necessary. Working in a team can also be more sociable. People fundamentally need social contact, and solo entrepreneurs sometimes feel isolated. However, working together in a team can also have disadvantages. An extra team member has to be rewarded, so the venture needs to generate more income. There is a chance for conflict and misunderstanding. Dissatisfaction or arguments may arise, for example, due to differences of opinion about which course to take, or because some group members seem to contribute less than others.
The trick is therefore to make the advantages as great as possible and to keep the disadvantages to a minimum when working in a team. The distinction between like-minded (homogeneous) versus diverse teams plays an important role here. In teams with others like yourself, for example a team of friends, there is less chance of misunderstandings and conflicts, you trust and like each other, and it's cosy. However, you may be missing out on the benefits of diverse teams. But what is actually meant by the benefits of diverse teams? After all, you don't want to add a stupid, lazy, lying and irritating person to your team, if you don't already have one, just because you want to increase the diversity of the team.
Diversity
Harrison and Klein write that there are different forms of diversity, and make a distinction between separation, disparity and variety (see box Further Reading [1]). They argue that the chance of optimal cooperation increases when there are small differences in separation and power within a team, and large differences in variety. Separation refers to attitude: how you view or value things. For example: do you want to work very hard on the entrepreneurial project, or do you want to take it easy? Or: do you think it is very important to earn a lot of money with the project, or is it more for fun? It is important that you are largely in agreement as a team, so differences in attitude are best kept to moderate levels.
The second dimension, disparity, concerns power, and relates to who is in charge, how decisions are made and how tasks are distributed. In general, joint owners of an enterprise, at least in the Netherlands, find it more pleasant to make decisions together than for one person to decide everything, which is why differences in power are generally preferred to be limited. Of course, the team members can decide together which team member is in charge of certain tasks and for those tasks makes the final decisions.
The third dimension, variety, relates to what each team member brings to the table in terms of resources, such as knowledge, experience, skills, and networks. Ideally, you want each team member to add something different, which is why Harrison and Klein recommend making variety as large as possible. However, it is then important to actually make good use of the variety that is present in a team. More about this in a moment.
Communication skills and social leadership
For all three dimensions of diversity, it is important that the team members have good communication skills, so that the team can function well. The value of a diverse team lies in its diversity, but it is important to know what each has to offer and to make optimal use of it. On the other hand, problems can arise due to differences in attitude and power. Within the scientific literature on working together effectively it is therefore argued that it is above all the social processes in a team, and the communication processes, that make a team function well or not [2, 3, 4]. Good team functioning is not the same as organizational success. Of course you want team members who are able to formulate and execute their tasks well. But in addition to that a team needs one or more members who show social leadership by letting the communication in the team run as smoothly as possible.
What does fostering effective social processes in the team mean? First of all, it means that team members are willing and able to talk to each other in a positive way about how they function as a team member and as a team. For example, if someone is late, plays the boss, or contributes too little, it is good to discuss these issues. It may come up that there was a misunderstanding about the time, that the person did not think or see that he/she was playing the boss, or had performed all kinds of tasks of which the others were unaware. Without communication, all such matters will not come to light. In successful social processes there is psychological safety: team members dare to give their opinion and there is trust in the team that member have the best intentions. Especially in diverse teams it is important that diversity can be expressed. Better decisions can be made and actions taken when all team members contribute in their own way. This also applies to the collaboration itself. When everyone's perspective on working together is known, agreements can be made about how to cooperate.
14.3 Further reading
[1] Article discussing different types of diversity: in attitude, variety, and power. Harrison, D.A., & Klein, K.J. (2007). What's the difference? Diversity constructs as separation, variety or disparity in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 32(4), 1199-1228.
[2] Excellent review of research on team functioning. Levi, D., & Askay, D.A. (2021). Group dynamics for teams (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
[3] One of the many articles showing that communication determines the success of a team.
Guillaume, Y.R., Dawson, J.F., Otaye-Ebede, L., Woods, S.A., & West, M.A. (2017). Harnessing demographic differences in organizations: What moderates the effects of workplace diversity? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(2), 276-303.
[4] Comprehensive review of research on entrepreneurial teams. Wright, M., & Vanaelst, I. (2009). Introduction. In: M. Wright, & I. Vanaelst (Eds.), Entrepreneurial teams and new business creation. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
[2] Excellent review of research on team functioning. Levi, D., & Askay, D.A. (2021). Group dynamics for teams (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
[3] One of the many articles showing that communication determines the success of a team.
Guillaume, Y.R., Dawson, J.F., Otaye-Ebede, L., Woods, S.A., & West, M.A. (2017). Harnessing demographic differences in organizations: What moderates the effects of workplace diversity? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(2), 276-303.
[4] Comprehensive review of research on entrepreneurial teams. Wright, M., & Vanaelst, I. (2009). Introduction. In: M. Wright, & I. Vanaelst (Eds.), Entrepreneurial teams and new business creation. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
14.4 Exercises for students
1) Expressing diversity
Diversity of talents, skills, knowledge, experience and networks can make a team more effective and allow it to perform better. However, it is then important that all team members are aware of what other team members can contribute.
Students take a team assignment that they are currently doing for school or need to do, they sit down with the people in their group. Everyone now has to tell four things they are good or strong at, which other team members may not have known or thought of yet. It can be anything. The rule is that everyone responds positively to each contribution, so that everyone feels free to speak up.
Explanation: Diversity can make a team stronger, but then everyone in the team should know what talents, skills etc. are present in the team. A first task is therefore to find out as a team what you have at your disposal.
2) The importance of communication
Give the students the following two assignments:
Comment: This exercise generally confirms that communication is the decisive factor for the optimal functioning of a team. As a teacher you can explain that, even in the aspects that did not get an asterisk, because at first glance they did not seem to be about communication, communication usually plays a role.
3) Making things discussible
Students work in threes or fours. One person plays the social leader. They take an aspect of a poorly functioning team from the previous exercise. The other three participants role-play how poorly they work together. Problems can be, for example, that a team reaches a solution too quickly, that a dominant member dominates the others, that there are opposing camps in the team, that team members do not stick to agreements, that team members do not contribute, contribute too little or too late, that one or more team members find something unfair (for example the division of tasks, the distribution of the reward), that the team members want to get rid of it as quickly as possible, or that team members in case of different opinions immediately start quarrelling. It is now the task of the social leader to discuss the problem and find a solution. After a few minutes, the exercise stops and the three remaining team members give feedback to the social leader on how he or she did. Then they switch roles and the team re-enacts another problem.
Comment: This exercise creates situations in which a person can practice being a social leader. By doing the exercise in small groups (possibly with a trainer or teacher), the participants can give feedback to each other about how they are doing.
Diversity of talents, skills, knowledge, experience and networks can make a team more effective and allow it to perform better. However, it is then important that all team members are aware of what other team members can contribute.
Students take a team assignment that they are currently doing for school or need to do, they sit down with the people in their group. Everyone now has to tell four things they are good or strong at, which other team members may not have known or thought of yet. It can be anything. The rule is that everyone responds positively to each contribution, so that everyone feels free to speak up.
Explanation: Diversity can make a team stronger, but then everyone in the team should know what talents, skills etc. are present in the team. A first task is therefore to find out as a team what you have at your disposal.
2) The importance of communication
Give the students the following two assignments:
- Think back of all the teams you have ever been on. These could be teams at school, or sports teams, work teams, are any other team. Picture two teams: the best performing one, and the worst performing one. Make two columns and write down what made the team function so well, or so poorly.
- Put an asterisk next to all the aspects you just wrote down, where communication played a role. For the good team, for each aspect you just gave a star, think about what was so good about the communication. For each aspect of the bad team that you just gave a star to, think about how it could have worked better if there had been better communication.
Comment: This exercise generally confirms that communication is the decisive factor for the optimal functioning of a team. As a teacher you can explain that, even in the aspects that did not get an asterisk, because at first glance they did not seem to be about communication, communication usually plays a role.
3) Making things discussible
Students work in threes or fours. One person plays the social leader. They take an aspect of a poorly functioning team from the previous exercise. The other three participants role-play how poorly they work together. Problems can be, for example, that a team reaches a solution too quickly, that a dominant member dominates the others, that there are opposing camps in the team, that team members do not stick to agreements, that team members do not contribute, contribute too little or too late, that one or more team members find something unfair (for example the division of tasks, the distribution of the reward), that the team members want to get rid of it as quickly as possible, or that team members in case of different opinions immediately start quarrelling. It is now the task of the social leader to discuss the problem and find a solution. After a few minutes, the exercise stops and the three remaining team members give feedback to the social leader on how he or she did. Then they switch roles and the team re-enacts another problem.
Comment: This exercise creates situations in which a person can practice being a social leader. By doing the exercise in small groups (possibly with a trainer or teacher), the participants can give feedback to each other about how they are doing.