The breadth and depth of experience within a startup team have a huge impact upon the success and vitality of the startup itself.  A new study from the University of Texas at Austin reminds us that for this team to be most effective, it’s vital that a sense of collective ownership among that team is present.

The study explores how founders can go about forging such ownership, and finds that the best leaders are those that not only seek input from the founding team, but also set clear boundaries with them.

“To get others to feel like, ‘This startup is really ours,’ the team needs to have their fingerprints on the idea,” the researchers say. “Not just building it up as it currently stands, but actually shaping, maneuvering and influencing some aspects of the idea.”

Starting early

The authors refer to such behaviors as ‘help seeking’ and they believe they are crucial to getting the founding team on board with the vision of the startup.  As is so often the case however, there is a sweetspot to be reached.  If procrastination and squabbling are to be avoided, clear boundaries must be drawn when soliciting feedback so that parts of the business that are set in stone are not up for negotiation.  The authors believe that such ‘territory setting’ is not only popular with team members, but beneficial to the business itself.

The findings emerged after surveys were completed at the Startup Weekend entrepreneurship competitions.  The team also monitored the pitches of each startup and the judges ratings of the 89 competitors.

The analysis revealed that entrepreneurs typically fall into one of four clear behavior types:

• About a quarter were found to begin their journey without any initial group conversations about the idea for their startup
• Another quarter would proactively solicit input from the team about all aspects of the idea
• Another quarter would set boundaries and inhibit team members from discussing the startup idea
• The final quarter would then strive to strike a balance between collaborating on some aspects and marking other areas as not up for discussion

It appeared that those in the final group, who were able to solicit input from within clear boundaries, were most effective, both in creating a harmonious founding team, and also in impressing the judges.

The authors suggest that this process signals the willingness of the founder to invest in their team by inviting them to contribute to the direction of the business, which helps to boost morale and motivation among the wider team.

“The best entrepreneurs can strike balance,” the authors say. “It’s somebody who’s a little bit assertive and directive but not overly so, and somebody who’s a bit collaborative but not overly so. That’s really the blend that you’re trying to find as an entrepreneur.”