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Speaker: Lindred Greer Join us www.IgniterSV.com

Igniters Meetup Team Hacking: Psychology of Startup Teams

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The Psychology of startup teams

Professor Lindred Greer March 17, 2016

AGENDA FOR TODAY

� Interactive � Exercise

� Debrief and the Science of Start-up Team Psychology

Discussion Break-outs & Session Take-Aways

01 02 03 INTRO

THE EXERCISE:

INSTRUCTIONS: � Build the Tallest Freestanding Structure: The winning team is the one that has the tallest structure measured from the table top surface to the top of the marshmallow. That means the structure cannot be suspended from a higher structure, like a chair, ceiling or chandelier.

� The Entire Marshmallow Must be on Top: The entire marshmallow needs to be on the top of the structure. Cutting or eating part of the marshmallow disqualifies the team.

� Use as Much or as Little of the Kit: The team can use as many or as few of the 20 spaghetti sticks, as much or as little of the string or tape. The team cannot use the paper bag as part of their structure.

� Break up the Spaghetti, String or Tape: Teams are free to break the spaghetti, cut up the tape and string to create new structures.

� The Challenge Lasts 15 minutes: Teams cannot hold on to the structure when the time runs out. Those touching or supporting the structure at the end of the exercise will be disqualified.

SCORES

Team Height Time

The 3 Most Important Problems in

Start-up Teams (and how to overcome

them!)

THE 3 KEY CHALLENGES FOR START-UP TEAM EFFECTIVENESS

� The Composition Problem + Is the right expertise available in the start-up team?

� The Participation Problem + Is the expertise being shared within the start-up team?

� The Influence Problem + Are individuals with expertise having as much impact as those with less expertise?

High performance

The Composition Problem – From Evolution

DOES THE START-UP TEAM HAVE

Disengagement?

Similar views?

A lack of disagreement?

#$%@!!!

Images owned/created by Stanford Graduate School of Business, Barbara McCarthy

Phillips, K. W., Liljenquist, K.A., and Neale, M. A. (2009). Is the pain worth the gain? The advantages and liabilities of agreeing with socially distinct newcomers. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 336-350.

Socially similar

� Socially dissimilar

�  Members’ Perceived Group Effectiveness

Socially similar

� Socially dissimilar

�  Actual Group Task Performance - % Groups Accurate

The Composition Problem

+ Hire for task-relevant diversity + But ensure shared passion + Create ‘artificial diversity’ – embrace constructive controversy, devil’s advocacy, challenging assumptions, etc

Image owned/created by Stanford Graduate School of Business, Barbara McCarthy

Solving the Composition Problem

“80/20” rule

The Participation Problem

% Speaking Time in Meetings

THE TEAM

LEADER

EVERYONE ELSE

Hierarchy – From Evolution

Why It’s a Problem

� We lose out on the unique value each person SHOULD bring to the

+ Smaller size groups

+Solicit data in advance of meetings

+ Build trust and psychological safety

+ Proximity and body language matter

Equalizing Participation

� We ascribe people influence for qualities other than task

competence

The Influence Problem

Influence – From Evolution

Bases for Influence

Expertise

Height

Dominance

Attractiveness

Speaking Time

Familiarity

Facial features

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

Leader Selected on Other Traits

Leader Selected on Task Knowledge

� Team Performance

Why It’s a Problem

Taracki, M., Greer, L.L., and Groenen, P. (2016). When does power disparity help or hurt group performance? Journal of Applied Psychology, in press.

+ Know who knows what

+ Ensure formal leaders are team players

+ Rotate meeting control

Influence Expertise

Align Expertise & Influence

SUMMARY � What is most natural for the team is not necessarily what is best for the team when it comes to start-up performance

+  People often choose founders and early hires for reasons other than relevant skillsets

+ Team participation within the start-up is often dominated by a small minority of members

+ The people who often emerge as leaders are not necessarily the most qualified

GENERAL BEST PRACTICES FOR MANAGING START-UP TEAMS

Please take the next 10 minutes to discuss in groups of 3 changes you can immediately make in the way you run your start-up

� Manage composition +  Hire for task-relevant

diversity +  But ensure shared

passion +  Create ‘artificial

diversity’ – embrace constructive controversy, devil’s advocacy, challenging assumptions, etc

� Manage participation +  Use virtual chatrooms +  Solicit opinions in

advance of meetings +  Build trust and safety +  Use smaller groups +  Rely on evidence-based

debate +  Ensure member visibility

Manage influence +  Improve knowledge

of members’ competences

+  Ensure leaders are team players

+  Rotate meeting control based on topic expertise

Key Take-away Tips Influence Expertise

? QUESTIONS?

THANK YOU! PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT WITH ANY QUESTIONS lgreer@stanford.edu