There will come a time when you realise that you can’t do it alone. Or maybe the time has come already. While it is noble and cost-efficient to try and solve every problem and complete every task as a founder yourself, there are (unfortunately) only so many hours in the day, and at some point it’s important to eat, sleep, relax, and socialise to be productive.
So when that time has come, you might want to hire someone – for early-stage startups this often means an intern, a working student, or a part-time employee. And once you’ve found the right person and figured out all that bureaucratic stuff, it’s time to think about how to help people be the best version of themselves – and tick off all the tasks you need them to get done.
As I am currently working with a small team in a project outside of my day job, and am testing myself in motivating and leading said team, I would like to share my top three reflections with you. So here it goes:
Assign clear tasks and communicate what/how you want them done - at least at the start.
I mean, this is something you should vaguely know when you hire a new person. But it is important to be very explicitly clear what tasks your new team member should take on. Especially if they are students or have little work experience, you often have to guide them a little more for them to fulfill your expectations. I feel like often people hire another person with the expectation that they just “get it” and are able to do the tasks as rigorously, naturally, and complete as themselves. But as a founder you are likely to have thought about your business, strategy, and operations day and night for the past couple of months. Other people have not. So especially in the beginning, you need to be very explicit what needs to be done, and how. Of course, you might find a person that can quickly think on their feet and immediately understand your vision – but that shouldn’t be your expectation from the get-go.
How I did it: a detailed project management plan, accessible by everyone
To make sure everyone understands their role and tasks, I created different working packages, each of them tied to a goal and divided into separate tasks. Each working package has a “manager” and “supporters”. Each task is assigned to an individual as well as a deadline. This process is incredibly time consuming, but it makes sure that everyone knows what is expected of them, and it also is a great opportunity for you to reflect on what needs to be done by when. Obviously, as the person is getting to know you and the company, this kind of strict project management can become a lot more free-flowing, and your talent hopefully starts to come up with their own tasks, but a clear task structure at the start ensures that you can onboard people quickly – which brings me to my next point.
Invest in your onboarding process.
I heavily invested in the onboarding process and I’m glad I did. It wasn’t all smooth sailing, people often forget to check the onboarding thing and some logistical questions still arise – where do I find the team calendar, how do I sign in to Miro, when do you need this by. But I’ve received the feedback that (a) everyone understood the WHY – why are we doing what we are doing, what is the project or company all about, and what’s the strategy behind my tasks, and (b) everyone could jump right in as they had all the information they needed.
How I did it: a detailed project management plan, accessible by everyone
This is what I included in my on-boarding process:
- Personal introduction and an ice breaker for team members to get a first impression of each other
- An introduction of the company, including founding history, vision, mission and overall strategy relevant for the new team members
- An introduction of every existing team member (we are only 2 people so that didn’t take long)
- The vision and goals for each project/area the people will be working on
- An overview of important partners and stakeholders I talk about a lot, so they know from the very beginning who is who
- Rules of working together: workdays, sick days, vacation days, weekly check-ins, daily standups, triweekly team socials
- A deep dive into the individual role including a short description of the relevant project, milestones, responsibilities, and deliverables
- Tools and access – things like Slack, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Miro, the usual suspects
- A link to the working packages and project management overview
- Q&A round
Of course this will vary depending on the role and seniority of the talent you hired, but I think it’s a pretty exhaustive list for now. Or is there anything I missed?
The struggle of finding balance between providing freedom and giving directions
I once (or multiple times) was that first employee, and intern, at a startup. I remember how much it annoyed me that my manager at the time seemed to micromanage everything I did. Why wouldn’t she just let me do my thing? Looking back, I learned A LOT through that experience, and when I moved on to work under her co-founder, who was a lot less hands-on and gave me the freedom to work stuff out by myself, I was well prepared for that.
Now that I am in that position, I find it hard to figure out where my team members are at. I don’t want to be overly prescriptive and tell them exactly how to do tasks – the time of me doing that might as well be the same amount of time I need to actually do it. However, especially if you have a specific output or outcome in mind, you need to learn to share and communicate your vision, so that your talent understands and can help you realise it. It is a fine balance, and I strongly believe that every position should have aspects of both: tasks that come with freedom and the possibility to figure it out yourself, and tasks that might have a predetermined path of how they need to be done.
I think if you can strike that balance, you can find the right motivators for each person working with and for you. Do they need more freedom and thrive when having to apply their creativity and skills? Or do they feel lost and stressed when being left alone with solving a problem? Both are completely fine, you just need to understand how everyone works best, and how they fit into your strategy to get things done.
How I did it: a detailed project management plan, accessible by everyone
One way to better understand how people work, what’s going well and what isn’t is – drumroll – feedback! You’ve probably been waiting for this the entire post. And while “feedback” is the word on everyone’s lips and might be slightly worn out, it still is a great tool you should use to make the most of your working relationships. Especially when it comes to interns and working students – they are usually not the highest paid, but in it for the experience. By taking in their feedback you get to know whether they are learning and what they came to you for learning, and what you can do to motivate them to work harder. And you can give them feedback as well, of course, in a non-violent and constructive way.
And one more thing: as we are working fully remote, I set up almost daily catch-up meetings to create a feeling of belonging and the possibility to check in and ask any questions. Additionally, I am hosting regular “coffee chats” where we do not speak about work, but play some fun games online and get to know each other.
Right now, I am still figuring it out myself. If you have suggestions, feel free to shoot me an email at [email protected] and I’d love to hear your input, experience, and ideas.
The High-Tech SeedLab’s 10-month acceleration program is designed to help early-stage teams to test their idea and business model, build or finalize a minimum viable product, and successfully launch their business.
This program is financed by the European Social Fund (ESF), as well as the State of Berlin.
