David Cummings on Startups

Team Players that Take the Initiative in a Startup

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David Cummings

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Team players in a startup get me excited, really excited. A team player is someone who isn’t afraid to take on projects or start new initiatives outside their roles and responsibilities. In the baseball sense, it’s like a utility player who is an active self-starter. With so many moving parts and lack of resources in a startup, these team players are invaluable.

Here are a few examples of team players that take initiative in a startup:

  • Bringing ideas to the table, like the introduction of a new employee benefit, and spearheading the selection of a vendor and roll out of the new service
  • Identifying a need in the startup, like on boarding and training of new employees, and volunteering to head it up
  • Recognizing a hassle, like internal conference room scheduling, and finding a solution for it without prompting

Part of being this type of team play is having the “can do” attitude as well as awareness of what’s going on around them. Team players that take the initiative are invaluable in a startup.

What else? What are some other aspects of team players that take the initiative in a startup?

Comments

2 responses to “Team Players that Take the Initiative in a Startup”

  1. Joe Gallagher (@JoeGallagherIV) Avatar
    Joe Gallagher (@JoeGallagherIV)

    I think most high-quality talent wants to do these things, but the stigma of “suck-up”, or “stepping on toes” often gets in the way of best intentions.

    Exacerbating issue is that if the boss rewards the effort publicly/privately it perpetuates the labeling of that self-starter as the suck-up. Therefore the emphasis you put on culture at Pardot is spot on; you need to have that positive feedback loop come from peers, subordinates, bosses, all around. Then people come out of their shells and pick up work without being told.

    Had any luck with formal/informal peer recognition efforts?

    Reply
  2. David Avatar
    David

    Team players are extremely valuable to start-up companies. I think the core value that makes a “team player” stand out is that their motives are usually for the gain of many, instead of just themselves. They also allow you, as the business owner, to focus on bigger issues because you can start to build the confidence in knowing that your employees are great at taking care of the issues that arise, instead of having to always delegate issues to employees so that they can “do their job” and solve the problem.

    I would also love to know if you have had any luck with peer recognition efforts? I think you have created a great environment at Pardot. Thanks!

    Reply

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