Entrepreneurship is a team sport, and effective collaboration is critical for success. Entrepreneurial teams face unique challenges, such as high levels of ambiguity, resource constraints, and competing demands. While many entrepreneurs focus on developing their skills and expertise in product development, financing, and customer satisfaction, they often forget that investing in collaboration, development, and team cohesion is equally important. Approximately one-third of start-up failures are linked to executive or entrepreneurial team conflicts.
Team coaching can help entrepreneurs strengthen their collaboration, decision-making process, and conflict management, empowering them to achieve their vision, goals, and objectives.
Based on my experience as a coach working with many entrepreneurial teams, I’ve identified three key areas that strongly impact team performance:
- Goals and priorities: Team members need to be 100% clear about their goals, priorities, and purpose. They often think they are aligned and may be on the surface, but when asked in detail, a more nuanced picture often emerges. This often leads to important or strategic decisions taking a long time or being put back up for discussion after a supposed decision has been made. Which in turn leads to frustration in the founding team and confusion throughout the company.
- Clear roles and responsibilities: Regardless of the type of company, from start-ups to large corporations, this is a factor that, if not present, will inevitably lead to conflicts. Therefore, establishing clear roles and responsibilities is the core of every team coaching initiative. Lack of clarity results in duplicated efforts, missed deadlines, frustration, and conflict.
- Interpersonal relationships: Many well-known studies on successful collaboration conclude that trust is the basis of every good partnership. Often, understanding the personality differences and motivations of entrepreneurs is crucial. When team members do not trust or respect each other, it creates a toxic work environment that hinders productivity and innovation.
As Coaches, How can We Support Entrepreneurial Teams?
1) Strengthening Interpersonal Relationships
First, team members should jointly identify and understand differences in interests, perceptions, and personalities. Tools such as questionnaires (e.g., for team alignment), personality tests (my favorites are the DISC personality test, StrengthsFinder, and Profilingvaluesã), as well as interviews (e.g., team members, clients, etc.) can be used to sharpen understanding for each other and build mutual appreciation. Trust, open communication, and fostering a positive work environment have been extensively discussed elsewhere. The more diverse a team is the more potential for conflict as well as increased creativity and innovation. Diversity is a strength that should be appreciated – no one said it would be easy!
Exercise: “Personal Maps” – Each team member creates a visual representation of their personal and professional life, including their hobbies, family, education, and career. The team then shares their maps, allowing everyone to learn more about each other’s backgrounds, interests, and experiences.
2) Clarifying Roles and Responsibilities (as well as Goals and Priorities)
This may sound self-evident, and anyone reading this will say, “Yes, of course, that’s logical.” Yet, time and again, whether in entrepreneurial teams or large corporations, I have seen this clarity lacking. It is within these gray zones where stumbling blocks lead teams into conflicts.
Exercise: Role and Responsibility Mapping – First, team members describe their own roles, responsibilities, and expectations. Then, they describe the same for their colleagues and formulate their expectations for that role. In the third step, the team discusses the similarities and differences and agrees on a shared perspective.
3) Improving on Communication
Communication is essential for any team, but it is especially critical for entrepreneurial teams, which often face complex and high-stakes decisions. Working on active listening skills – I prefer Bohm’s model for dialogue – and giving and receiving feedback can help reduce misunderstandings, improve decision-making, fostering a more collaborative work environment.
Exercise: “Mirroring” – In pairs, have one person speak for one minute on any topic. The listener’s role is to actively listen and summarize what they heard without adding personal opinions or interpretations. After the summary, the speaker provides feedback on the accuracy and completeness of the summary. Switch roles to sharpen active listening and feedback skills.
Coaching entrepreneurial teams to foster clarity and mutual understanding unlocks their full potential, propelling them toward sustainable success.
