SYSTEMS are processes and procedures for decision making and conducting the day-to-day activities that team members engage in to get the job done. Consider the systems for HR, financials, customer service, and communications. For example, develop a communications plan, including crisis management and risk management strategies. Make sure everyone has signed a nondisclosure agreement, entailing the terms for employment; the work and inventions staff members produce should be work for hire, so that the company owns the intellectual property.

What other rules are in place to stay on track, and to monitor and evaluate performance? Are there checkpoints in different phases of various projects to control quality? Are you trying to avoid duplicating unnecessary work?

To improve clarity, get your staff to create standard operating procedures and develop best practices and lessons learned as they gain mastery in specific functions. The SOPs could be a simple document shared on Google doc and updated on an ongoing basis to streamline processes and procedures. The SOPs could be useful for cross-training, functioning as a template for current or future reference when employees leave the company; once they’re gone, you lose their network, along with important insight, lessons learned, and best practices for success.

STYLE. What is the leadership style of the organization? Are you democratic and collaborative with an open door policy or with a coaching and mentorship approach? Micromanagement is mismanagement. Don’t be autocratic and bureaucratic. Eliminate the culture of fear.  Never raise your voice or lose control. To lead, you must serve others--otherwise, no one will follow you. Lifting others up and increasing their self-esteem cultivate happiness, which makes people more productive at work. Management is about getting work done through other people, and to do that you need to foster high morale and make it enjoyable for staff to come to work each day. Foster growth in your employees, and empower them to contribute their ideas and talent.

Are your team members competitive or cooperative? High IQ is insufficient and egomania creates obstacles. In a startup, personality fit is crucial and teamwork requires collaboration, cooperation, flexibility, and a positive attitude where people get along. Employees with emotional intelligence are valuable. They’re often the best people who can nurture relationships, win customers, influence stakeholders, and figure out how to make everyone successful on the team.

SKILLS. What are the core competencies in the company, and how do you monitor and evaluate them? What are the strongest skills in the team and what do they do best? Do current employees have the ability to perform well?  What are the skills gap, what can be improved, and what new knowledge is needed?  What skills does the company need to reinforce?

STAFF addresses the recruitment, training, and retention of employees. It assesses the type and number of employees required in the organization based on the gaps in competencies. What specializations already exist in the teams and what positions need to be filled?

Once you finished compiling the information, decide where and what necessary changes you need to make by asking and answering whether each element aligns. Create a table with the 7 elements, YES, NO, and Align. E.g. staff is passionate and committed to excellence - NO; the structure is bureaucratic - YES; systems for HR and customer service in place - NO and so on. Look for the gaps and develop an action plan with new goals, strategies, and a timeline to close the gaps.