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Finding Partners and Building Effective Teams

During my time at a Fortune 500 company, we often discussed strengths and weaknesses from the perspective of Lominger. If you aren’t familiar with the Lominger competencies, they provide an amazing framework for workers at any level. The competency that has most stuck with me over time is the 60^th: building effective teams.

I would say most of us have dreamed up something we’d call a million-dollar idea. At the end of the day, though, you need people to help you turn an idea into something real. So, how do you go about finding those people? And, perhaps more importantly, once you’ve found them, how do you keep them involved?

Of course, no one wants to jump on board for a project where virtually nothing has been accomplished, so it’s important that you get your work done and lay a foundation before looking for help. You may not be a UX designer, but you can craft some ideas in Paint or Figma, or, better yet, hire a freelancer to do some initial mockups. As another important rule is to know where to spend and where to save, freelancers can help you do that. While this initial work may not ultimately bear much resemblance to the final look or feel of the project, it demonstrates intent as well as your willingness to put time, money, and effort into your project. It shows that this endeavor has value to you, and that helps form a sense of value for others.

As we’ve continued to work to on this project, I have come to realize that, above all else, it can be summed up in one word: iterative. I believe everything that we did in the very first days of Sundergard paved the way for where we are now. Drawings we found on Google gave “flesh” to what we’d imagined and led to sketches created by freelancers. Now, Tom, our amazing Head of Art, is helping create the world of Sundergard in ways we could have never foreseen. “Trust the process” may be an overused cliche, but, with the right team in tow, it couldn’t be truer. Once you’ve put real hours, actual dollars, and hard work into turning your idea into something more concrete (and, perhaps, even found some help along the way), you need to build upon that foundation. It usually requires further expanding the team. Where do you look for the right people? This can be a daunting task if no one in your network, extended or immediate, fits the bill. During the pandemic, there were virtually no professional meetups or networking events to attend. Fortunately, I have met some of the most important people in my professional and personal life through unconventional means. If you use social media correctly, it can be far superior to any in-person event or meetup. I was able to use outlets like Reddit and Discord to find like-minded individuals who wanted to build something outside of their normal work. I wasn’t building a world-class team by paying the best salary or offering the best benefits; not a single person from this project has collected a salary. When you have a vision for greatness and the diligence to back it up, building a world-class team starts with the extension of an invitation to be a part of something amazing.