The film, The Social Network, is a powerful portrait of how Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his team started with a dream and a $1,000 startup to become the world’s youngest billionaire. At the time of this writing, Facebook is valued at at least $50 billion, and this would mean it is worth more than eBay, Yahoo, and Time Warner. This is a very impressive result given that Facebook was launched in February 2004.
There are also many lessons this movie can teach us about leadership and team management, and this is the final series in the trilogy. There may be some information in the film that has been exaggerated to heighten the level of excitement, as even Zuckerberg himself calls The Social Network “inaccurate.” Therefore, I would take all of this information with a grain of salt and recount most of the lessons learned, from the movie itself, and not from real life.
In this article, I will share about teamwork and how it can help you unlock your true potential as a leader.
Proper delegation of work. The entire team can only do well when they know the scope of their work. In one of the scenes in The Social Network, Mark Zuckerberg wanted to expand The Face Book and he directed his team about their roles and what they were supposed to do. And when the two ladies who were present in the room asked him if they could help in any way, he turned them down without much thought because at that moment he knew that he did not require their help in any way. On the other hand, he specifically told the others what their tasks were.
Even the Winklevoss brothers had specific roles for their team. And they knew they were missing a particular talent when their programmer left the team to focus on his studies. Therefore, when word got out that Zuckerberg was able to shut down Harvard traffic with his “prank,” they immediately approached him and shared their ideas so he could work for them.
Once you know what your team is supposed to be made up of, you can find the right person for the job. You must set broad and measurable goals for them and you must also be informed of their progress. Effective delegation isn’t just turning down jobs that were meant for you. Effective delegation is about ensuring that the person with the right skill does what they do best.
For example, let’s say you intend to increase your customer base with a promotional blitz. First, you need to know who your team members are on this project. Second, you need to identify who is doing what and their deliverables at any given time. Thereafter, Jane must devise the product packages and links with other partners, and John must reach X advertising companies with the marketing materials. Therefore, once the planning stage is over, the real action must begin so that the project begins to roll with the momentum of all parties.
Build quality relationships first, then your business. Now, not all partners will work together initially. It’s your job to settle the differences. And fast. In La Red Social, Eduardo Saverin had his own ideas to ensure the success of the company. However, Mark Zuckerberg also had his own ideas. And while Saverin was the company’s CFO, Zuckerberg proceeded to bring Napster founder Sean Parker onto the team. Parker and Saverin were portrayed to dislike each other and when their teammates distrust each other, unless he finds time to work things out, a lot of issues will just be swept under the rug and fester.
As a leader, you must take the time to understand your partners in the business because people want you to understand their aspirations and dreams. They want you to understand what they are good at and where they can fit in with regards to projects. Why would you want to place a person with zero sales knowledge without training them first? And have you taken the time to understand if he likes sales? So by investing time to understand your core team members in the business, you would be building quality relationships.
So understand your team and they will learn to understand you. It will definitely take time and that is the fun and rewarding part of building a team.
