Gathering the team (all hands on deck!)

Artem Pron, Head of Talent Acquisition

As we mentioned in our previous publication, the main factor for a company’s stability and survival in the face of rapidly changing conditions is a cohesive and motivated team. Today, we will start with cohesion – defining what it consists of and figuring out how to achieve it.

The basis of cohesion consists of two main factors – trust and respect, in that order. They create an environment in which effective communication (the third factor) is possible, which in turn ties together the nodes of the company’s structure and makes this structure stronger – increasing trust. This is similar to building a molecule from several atoms of different elements. Between the atoms, there are forces of mutual attraction (our team’s shared goals) and repulsion (our different communication styles and values), and the electrons, which are common to different atoms (our communication among team members), actually balance these forces and unite the atoms into one molecule.

The fourth and fifth factors are the presence and understanding of a common goal and the motivation to work towards it. These factors are built on top of communication and are not possible without it, as they are created through the exchange of information between those who already see the goal and have the motivation to work towards it, and those who do not yet see or have it.

The first four factors form a pyramid of trust towards a common goal, all levels of which have a positive feedback loop: better understanding of the common goal and higher confidence in its existence lead to higher trust, which in turn positively affects all subsequent levels. Motivation is an integral factor created from all previous ones.

In our view, it is better to start with trust. Without it, it will be quite difficult for you to build all the next levels of the pyramid.

Trust arises when you understand your conversation partner and can confidently predict some important part of their behaviour. Usually, such an opportunity does not appear immediately, even if you know a lot about your conversation partner in advance. Time and experience are needed to observe decisions and actions that confirm the available information. In fact, trust is the confidence that you do not need to control certain aspects of a person’s activity: “I can rely on him; he will handle this task” – this is the manifestation of trust.

How do you create an atmosphere of trust? You must be transparent, predictable and consistent, and cultivate the same throughout the corporate environment. People should know what values, beliefs and aspirations form the basis for the actions of all other people in the company and regularly receive confirmation of this by observing decisions and actions around them. Remember that one decision made in opposition to declared values can destroy the entire system of trust, which will take years to rebuild.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to select people in a large team in such a way that all values and beliefs completely coincide, so it is advisable to create a corporate code that specifies the values that are most important for the company, adhere to it strictly and make sure that everyone in the company (including management) accepts everything that is set out in the code (for this purpose, it makes sense to create such a code through public discussion).

If there are people whose values differ from the company’s values in such a way that they cannot accept the code, it is best to part ways with them honestly but quickly, because further cooperation will not bring any benefit or satisfaction to either party, especially in stormy seas. Most likely, they are already suffering by working for you, but they are holding on for some reason (for example, you pay a high salary, and they have a large car loan). However, their productivity and efficiency in this case are much lower than they could be, which is bad for both parties, because in the end, it can contribute to the sinking of your ship – and then everyone will suffer.

We hope that your team has already been selected in such a way that basic values are implicitly aligned and declaring the company’s values will not cause significant problems. But if you find that a large number of members of your team do not share what is important to you and the business, the news is bad – it may be time to prepare a lifeboat and look for another ship. With such a team, you will not weather the storm. In any case, finding out about this in advance is better.

There is much more to be said about trust and the mechanics of its creation, but experience has repeatedly shown us that the simplest things that are easy to implement work best, while beautiful and highly scientific methodologies, if they are too complex, die before they can take root in your company. This is especially relevant during a storm.

Stay tuned for more publications in this series. More to come.