Constructive Deconstruction

On Leadership and Communication

I recently took some time to sit back and think about why my startup has been stagnating for the past half a year or so and it’s led me to one of many conclusions. There was a lack of Leadership coupled with poor levels of communications. I’d like to share with you why these two are key not just in any startup but in any project - especially one that involves people working in a decentralised fashion(in my case, the team operates between UK and SG).

Leadership
As much as we’re pushing for a flat structure these days, it’s inevitable that in a group, people tend to gravitate to a person or two for direction. It’s only natural. The problem comes when we don’t accept this natural tendency and then try too hard to let everyone decide the direction. In the end, the team gets pulled in all directions and becomes disoriented. If you’re managing a team and you’re, expressedly or implicitly, the team leader, keep your team together and working towards a common goal. If the team’s not sure where they want to go, then set a general direction. And if you’re not sure of that yourself, then I think it’s time you think about it…

Communication
We all know this is important. So i’ll give you a peek into what the lack of it could result in. In a team where everyone knows their roles clearly, there’s shouldn’t be a problem right? Wrong. Where communication fails to happen(i.e. the proper sharing of information pertaining to what is actually being performed on a regular basis), everyone basically ends up lost. They can’t make decisions or react to anything because they simply have no idea what’s happening! So what happens? Everyone sits around waiting for something to happen. End result: Nothing happens.

Of course, a communication breakdown could lead to a myriad of other problems but that’s just one where I’d like to share with you…

What stories do you have? Do share =)

On Mocktails

Ever since I spoke to Jenn about “Jenn“, i’ve been really interested in learning more about cocktails/mocktails and stuff….Anyone can point me in the right direction?

Expecting more

I’m feeling agitated these days. I have so much to think about but I don’t seem to be able to answer it all. It’s supposed to be normal to not have answers to things but I’m expecting more from myself. So much more.

On the upside, i’m slowly finding a new source of motivation creeping in… =)