The Shout’Em team had a team building weekend a couple of weeks ago and we came out of it alive. Team building is something that corporations like to do when a new management team comes along and they need to “meet the troops”. With a couple of advisors, a good agency and several thousand dollars later, you better all be in sync. On the other hand, you can just try to improve the way you work with your team.

Remember, team management means working with people, not micromanaging them.

Take a Break to Build Your Business

Take a break sometimes!

It’s only natural for startups to work a lot. Building your company is what brings value not only to the founders, but to the team. Unfortunately, too many young startup workers get burned out. Remember, to spend energy on your startup, first you have to have it. If you and your awesome developers are tired, how is your startup going to end up looking like? Tired. Tired doesn’t get users. Tired doesn’t get venture capital. Tired doesn’t become the next big thing.

Forget Your Comfort Zone

Are you ready?

The easiest thing is staying true to old habits. It might be a specific project management application or just a routine that you’ve practiced for years… Is it the right fit for your team and your goals? There are two extreme examples of encouraging new practices: doing a lot of things at the same time and waiting forever to introduce new ideas. Both can be discouraging. Being an early adopter is great, but your team needs to get their work done.

Don’t try everything new just for the sake of using the latest and greatest. it doesn’t work for technology and it sure won’t work for your team. If you’ve found something you’d like to try, give it time and effort. Commit to just one new thing and make it happen.

Share the Good, Bad and Ugly

It's time to get it done!

Most managers will tell you they prefer to tell their employees how they’re doing at the end of the month, or even every couple of months. That just doesn’t work. For one thing, people hate that talk. They know what to expect and they won’t be looking forward to it. However, don’t be a hawk and try to control how work gets done if it’s getting done.

Every designer, developer and anyone else has their way of working. If it works for them and gets you results, don’t try to change it just because you don’t agree with the actual method. For example, some writes write a lot and others brainstorm a lot and write fast.

The Industrial age ended a long time ago and you aren’t paying for widgets. You’re paying for results. In that, try to share the good as well as the bad. Learn how to criticize – saying the right things in the right way goes along way to getting you better results!

What’s your experience?