Constructing great teams in SME’s requires compromise on all fronts – By Stephen Crowe

In theory when we choose members for a team we should only select members who have the skills and experience needed to achieve the team goals, and the behavioural traits that fit the required team functions.  But in the real world for small to medium enterprises having all the people with the required skills is often a luxury, and then  having enough of them to be able to filter on behavioural traits is just a dream.

So what do we do?

Well the reality is building teams without the ideal members requires us to sharpen the focus across a number of key areas.  Extra effort is required with:

• Defining the goals vision and goals for the team
• Defining the roles of each team member
• Defining the success criteria and critically
• Communication

We are asking people to work outside their comfort zones so to maximise the team’s chance of success we have to make sure that all team members are pulling in the same direction and are aware of all the issues that will affect them.

But there are some traits that cannot be compromised on.  All team members must have these if the team is going to succeed.  They include:

• Willingness to compromise for the good of the team
• Willing to learn
• Willingness to commit to the team goals.

In small team that is reliant on the input of every team member I believe these traits are more important than technical skill or experience.  A team that is willing to work together will gain synergy from their communal energy and drive that will far outweigh a fragmented but highly skilled group of people.