Why investing with others may not work all the time (how to fix it!)

Some of us dread it. It’s like our worst nightmare.

When we’re assigned to work in a team in the workplace.

We would rather stay in our space, do our own thing, in our own way and at our own pace.

The dynamics of working in a team, getting members of the team to align on a certain goal, meeting stakeholder expectations and managing people is a huge stretch out of our comfort zone and we don’t like discomfort.

Investing with a group or friends works for all the right reasons when well harnessed,

However, we admit it doesn’t work all the time. When a team is formed, the members of the team bring with them multiple backgrounds, diverse perspectives, interesting personalities, belief systems and value systems.

This can make it really tough to work together, especially in a volunteer team like an investment club. I love this quote by HBR’s Diane Coutu

“I have no question that when you have a team, the possibility exists that it will generate magic, producing something extraordinary, a collective creation of previously unimagined quality or beauty. But don’t count on it.

Research consistently shows that teams under-perform, despite all the extra resources they have. That’s because problems with coordination and motivation typically chip away at the benefits of collaboration.”

The key benefits of collaborating with others to invest are simple; you can pool funds together and take advantage of bigger investment opportunities, you share the risks of your investment decisions and also earn the rewards as well.

However,this process may not work smoothly when there are problems with coordination and motivation in an investment club.

In an investment club, you can have good dynamics or bad dynamics. A club with good dynamics consists of members who respect each other, trust each other and hold one another accountable for building an effective the investment club.

Where you have bad dynamics, members of the investment club find it difficult to agree on basic decisions and thus members find it difficult to get along. Some of the reasons a club may have bad dynamics include the following;

• Work shedding – When a few members do all the work while the others simply observe from a distance
• Weak leadership – When the presiding member of the club makes decisions based on sentiments and not clear facts
• Different goals and objectives on building wealth

How do you fix this?

Identify a leader that can lead

Leadership can make or mar your investment club. A leader who considers all stakeholders and always seeks to unite the club is essential for the success and growth of your investment club. The leader needs to guide the growth of the club while also ensuring all stakeholder interests are managed.

When a team lacks a strong leader, a dominant member may take advantage of this and take charge. This often leads to disagreements and a lack of direction

Define roles and responsibilities

All roles and responsibilities need to be clearly defined and updated regularly as required. Roles and responsibilities should be assigned based on indicated interest or on a need basis. Once roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, club members will not struggle to understand their roles and how it all contributes to growing your investment club successfully.

Focus on communication

Take advantage of all open mediums to communicate freely with the members of your club. Communication mediums include group chat features on social media, conference calls, emails, meetings

Constant communication is vital for good group dynamics.

Open communication provides an opportunity for everyone to participate and contribute to the success of your investment club.

Building an effective investment club is an ongoing process.

It’s a process not a one-off task

Don’t take it for granted that the members of your club will rally together all the time.

Don’t let it stop you from starting an investment club as well.

With the right people, you have a great chance of working together to constantly unclog the wheels that move you forward as a team.

You have a great chance to build a remarkable investment club.