Treat Everyone with Respect

When you're building a team or company, you simply can't afford to lose great people. Treat them with respect and you're one step closer to keeping them on your team long-term.

To do great things, you and your people need to consistently think outside the box. You need people who feel very comfortable disagreeing with you, trying new things, tossing out new ideas, and being okay with the fact that several of their ideas may turn out to be outright awful.

If you are the manager, make final decisions. And to do so decisively: evaluate all the options in front of you, hear and absorb everyone's arguments, and ultimately make the final call, with arguments. 

Even if you've expressed dissent as an employee, it'll benefit you to let your manager make their call and then focus on what's next, rather than staying preoccupied with past decisions.

Your team members need to know that they are part of a larger purpose. They need to know that whatever task they're doing ties into the larger company goals. 

They need to know that their work matters. If you believe that a motivated and happy employee is a better employee, then take the time to explain to them why you are asking them to do something, rather than just asking them to do something. 

The benefits of brevity must be included in these golden rules of collaboration.

Say what you need to say as efficiently as possible. Give some color, some background, and certainly any necessary context. But the more efficient you can be in communicating what needs to get done to your team, the more likely they will know in no uncertain terms what is expected of them and why.

When someone isn't carrying their weight or is causing unneeded chaos, you need to try to remove them.

It's unfair to your truly great team members if you keep a personality on board who is inhibiting their ability to work. And if you don't have the authority to change your team, talk with someone who does and clearly communicate the problem.

You better make it fun to work with you. Let your people know why your mission is important, why it matters, and what difference your project will make in the world. Give your people the freedom to — and the support to — push the envelope and think outside the box. Make the work that they're doing for you, for the team, and for the company, fun and interesting.