Team-Building Lessons: 5 Pitfalls I Encountered and How to Avoid Them

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As your business grows, the excitement of scaling can sometimes overshadow the potential pitfalls that come with it. Maneuvering these changes requires careful attention to business processes, team dynamics, and leadership skills. 

To help you navigate this stage, I’ve rounded up five pitfalls with tips on how to avoid them.

1. Avoiding Hard Conversations

One of the most common pitfalls in team dynamics is a lack of clear communication of expectations. When team members are uncertain about their roles and deliverables, this can lead to confusion, frustration, and ultimately a decrease in overall productivity.

We experienced this at RealWealth a few years ago. An employee continually missed quarterly goals and team meetings and often turned in subpar projects, straining department morale and productivity. Hoping the problem would sort itself out, I held back, but eventually I had to let the person go. They were shocked, and the conversation became emotional. 

After that, I promised never to let that situation happen again. I committed to using the techniques in Kim Scott’s book Radical Candor (an excellent book!), which provides a system for showing your employees you care personally while still challenging them directly. We also improved our performance review process and now have one quarterly.

My advice: Don’t let problems fester; be clear about expectations. Onboarding is the best time to outline and discuss job expectations. When employees pass the 90-day mark, review your expectations moving forward, and ask if anything needs to be clarified. Taking the time to be candid with care will help you avoid misunderstandings.  

2. Not Having Documented Processes in Place

Assuming someone knows how to do a task can lead to misunderstandings and gaps in knowledge that can hinder projects and team performance. Before handing someone a job or project and thinking they have the relevant expertise to complete the task, create a system that provides everyone with a knowledge base. Whether you are a team of three or 50, documenting processes sets up the company and its employees for long-term success. 

Here are some key points:

• Ask employees to create documented processes for tasks they do regularly. 
• Processes need to be written down or in video form; the key is to thoroughly explain the steps of the project or task. 
• Once complete, employees have a tangible reference for completing jobs across the organization.
• Store these processes in a digital hub (Dropbox, Google Drive, Trainual, etc.), giving all employees access. 
• Share with relevant employees or new hires as needed.
• Review the processes annually, as systems used or steps taken may change. 

Having a system in place for dispersing how-tos is a valuable tool. It ensures your team has the information they need and that they won’t be as overwhelmed when an employee moves on or goes on leave. 

3. Not Being a Curious Leader

Curiosity is a powerful trait that can significantly shape a leader’s effectiveness. However, many leaders overlook the importance of curiosity and how the absence of it may be contributing to stagnation, missed opportunities for innovation, and disengaged or lost employees.

Kathy and I learned the power of curiosity early on in our business thanks to a RealWealth employee. She handled our live and virtual events and helped Kathy stay on top of pressing priorities and projects. When we discovered her passion was art, not real estate, we feared we might lose her. 

Instead of letting fear direct our emotions, we got curious. Kathy asked how we could support her in following her passions. The result was a win-win. She decided to continue working for us, and on the side, she built an award-winning app and blog about street art. A few years later, when her priorities shifted to travel, we tested working remotely. 

Our willingness to be open-minded and give employees the freedom to do things that mattered to them made us realize the power of asking simple questions to get to the heart of the issue. All it takes is asking a few questions to learn how to help your team be happier and more fulfilled.

Here are five questions to get you started:

1. What do you want? I mean, what do you really want?
2. How will your life be different when you have that?
3. What could you do to have that?
4. If there is something that could hold you back from this, what would it be?
5. How can I best support you?

4. Assuming Leaders Know How to Lead

Leaders are a key component of organizational success. As a business owner, it’s crucial to understand the foundational role that you and your leadership team play in creating an effective, cohesive organization. 

As a seasoned business coach, I’ve worked with many executives who lead by dictating and micromanaging. This style demoralizes your team. Instead of working at their best, the team’s performance is lackluster, and so is enthusiasm. 

As a leader, you must control your ego, listen, and be prepared to level up your skills. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• If your team isn’t functioning well, look at yourself and your leaders first. It may very well start from the top down. Is there a shortcoming you’re not seeing? Is there a mindset shift that needs to happen?
• Be prepared to assess yourself and your leaders critically and compassionately. What areas or skill sets can be improved? 
• Leadership is a developed skill, so provide yourself and the leaders in your company with opportunities to improve. These could take the form of seminars, reading, coaching, mentoring, and (most importantly) practicing.

When you find a leader who embraces growth and learning, they’ll get everyone excited and help take your business to the next level. 

5. Thinking My Company Vision Will Inspire the Team

One of the most common pitfalls in building a lasting team is the assumption that your vision alone is enough to inspire, encourage hard work, and foster loyalty. While a strong vision is undoubtedly essential, relying solely on it may lead to a lack of engagement. 

In the early days at RealWealth, we needed to clarify our goals, so Kathy and I created a mission of “helping 50,000 people create real wealth.” This mission inspired our team, but we decided to take it one step further by including them in the vision-making process. 

We asked our team to envision what the business looked like 10 years in the future and the positive difference it made for our clients. This process created many of the things we have in place today, like:

• Helping our members acquire over $3.5 billion in real estate assets by 2030
• Donating 10% of our profits to life-changing charities 
• Creating a quarterly profit-sharing plan for all employees 
• Helping our team invest in real estate and become job-optional 

We significantly changed team dynamics by broadening our focus from what we, as owners, would get from the business to what our team could achieve and created a company culture with committed employees.

Final Thoughts

These are just a few pitfalls I’ve encountered over the past few decades. While some may not be avoided entirely, the key is to be aware of them and pivot sooner rather than later. A thoughtful approach that includes having hard conversations, documenting processes, staying curious, promoting growth, and including your team in your company’s vision strengthens your team’s foundation for collaboration and long-term success.

 

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.