It is much easier to believe in,be inspired by, and follow a leader who really and honestly is intowhat they do for more than just making money. (Photo:Shutterstock)

I used to think that the hard part about leading a company was understanding the market,figuring out the product to build in all its gnarly glory,building, and then selling and delivering product. I have changedmy mind. The hardest part of building a company is building out thefull “factory” behind it—the people, the processes and theculture.

Related: Is your company culture undermining employeeproductivity

Tesla may build cars, but in fact once the basic innovation was done, there are two mainproblems that still need solving:

• The obvious ones: building the productionline, the supply chain, the engineering, the design, the sales andthe marketing
• The harder ones: the team, the internalprocesses and the underlying cultural tenets that will make it continue tosucceed. As a leader that's the harder part of the work one has todo every day, “after all the hard work is done.”

Here are some of my experiences in trying to build and be a partof teams that have worked out well and ones that haven't—the thingsI believe can be taught through demonstration, repetition, andresults:

1. Work on things you believe in: It is mucheasier to believe in, be inspired by, and follow a leader whoreally and honestly is into what they do for more than just makingmoney. As a leader it's hard to fake it if you are working onthings you don't care about.

It doesn't have to be big missionary causes. For example someleaders really just love problem solving and it shows in how theyapproach problems, break them down, get into the detail, structureand create options and then make thoughtful decisions. Even ifmoney IS your product—say as an investment banker or a financialadvisor—you can be the type of leader who personifies greed as theperson ready to screw every client out of the last dollar of fees,or be someone who others want to emulate because you reallydemonstrate you care about ways to make your clients better off.Same job, huge difference in how you behave as a leader.

2. Build an “obsessed soccer team” culture:Pick your favorite team sport, and go follow some games, especiallyat the amateur level. Say high school soccer or volleyball. Thereare soccer teams that run without the ball, volleyball teams that“call” for it, fall back and pick up the load that supposedlyshould fall on another team member's shoulders. Without a singlecomplaint. Why? Because they are obsessed about one thing—doingwhat it takes to score a goal, win a point, whatever the objectiveis.

My daughter has been on two volleyball teams—this year'sresembles such a positive culture and they win games they reallyshouldn't based only on skill. Last year's was a skillful team aswell but they would occasionally point fingers, built internalcliques and fiefdoms, “people I like and don't,” curried favor withthe coach. Even at age 13 they exhibited some of the same culturalfailure points that creep into organizations, and they didn't liveup to their potential.

3. Hire well as a company, but it should feel likea “coconut”—hard to get into but fluid within. Don't hireuntil you are convinced it's the right person and then back yourteam up with all your might.

4. Always be learning—so you can solve problems with andfor your team. As a leader you are like a parent. Whenyour kids make mistakes it's likely you share the blame somewherealong the line in what you taught them, or the expectations youset, or the behavior you modeled. So help them fix it. Making loudspeeches gets you to fake leadership, solving hard problems andworking through difficult situations beside your team builds“followership.” Make your team successful and they will trust you.Independent of my title, if I am not constantly learning, therewill come a time in the not too distant future where I won't beable to help solve real problems because I am so far removed fromreality. That's a dangerous situation for any leader.

5. Build on strengths and challenge your team, don'tjust judge them:

• Hire people who are curious, like to grow and love a challenge.And give them a job they are likely to succeed at if they workhard. But by definition challenges are hard. So when they fail, aswe all do, work with them, inspire them, motivate them or teachthem – whatever place on the “skill-will” spectrum they areon.
• Give your team positive and candid constructive feedback. Butdon't constantly evaluate them. Nothing they see or hear in theirformal reviews should really be a surprise because you have takenthe time and effort to create roles that make sense for them andgiven them the time and push to succeed if they make theeffort

6. Inspire, point, delegate… but don'tabdicate: As the man said, don't hire great people andtell them the last detail of what they need to do—if you did hirethe right people for the right job and if you listen they willoften surprise you. Sometimes they will tell you a whole lot betterway of doing what needs to get done. So listen, ask, get them totell you their plan, point them to other resources, people andexperts, and then let them loose. But be there for the right drilldown conversations once in a while that are meant to solve problemsthey are facing and make sure they are on track. Because delegationof responsibility is very different from abdication—at the end ofthe day you are as accountable as any of your team.

7. Reward fairly and with an open heart: Don'tsay “good work” if you didn't mean it. And back it up with factsand the corresponding reward structure. And don't be shy aboutcandidly telling your team what needs to improve.

8. Be fair and good, not just nice: I don'tcall my team my family. The reason is that in my family if I amthat cousin or uncle no one likes, they still have to put up withme at least at Thanksgiving. In my professional team, if I don'tproduce, I don't deliver and I don't fit, I don't belong. You willmake hiring mistakes sometimes. Being compassionate can meansometimes letting people go—it's the best thing for everyone. Don'tdo it easily but if it's the right thing to do—for performance orfor cultural reasons, let them go, do it fast and do it withdignity and compassion.

9. Be a player coach—teach by doing: I have hadbosses who “told me what to do” and others who “showed me how to doit at least once”. For example model a behavior you care about like“Never ever give up”. Teach your leaders and your team this bydemonstrating that your “trampoline index”—how fast you jump upfrom a fall is the largest potential indicator of your futuresuccess.

Above all, always remember, you are nothing without yourteam.

Sanjeev Agrawal is president and chiefmarketing officer of LeanTaaS, a Silicon Valley-based innovator ofpredictive analytics solutions. He works closely with dozens ofleading health care institutions including Stanford Health Care,UCHealth, NewYork-Presbyterian, Cleveland Clinic and MDAnderson.