How many founders have become world-class leaders of large companies? There are a handful, granted, but it also took them 10 years and they had ‘all the money in the world’ at their disposal.
The simple fact is, most startup founders are primarily thinking of growing the business, and growing themselves as leaders is an afterthought.
Most got ‘hired’ into their role as founder by investors – based on their business plans, not their leadership capability. And unlike a ‘skip manager’ in larger companies, most investors will spend little to no time in the day to day of the business to give guidance around leadership.
What’s logical in terms of risk management initially tends to stay a habit over time. after all, the founder’s initial success provides great ammunition to justify all manner of habits. Eventually, it becomes difficult to reflect whether they are successful ‘because of’ or ‘despite’ certain habits, especially for founders without a significant leadership experience in other organisations where they did not have ultimate authority.
So, how would leaders who report to founders get any real indicator of what ‘good’ or even ‘great’ leadership looks like?
Most leadership ‘best practices’ were developed in and for large organisations. Organisations who are not under the constant uncertainty of funding in startups and scaleups and constant threat of innovating or dying. Yet the company and people are expected to ‘punch above their weight’ in this uncertain environment.
On top of that, you are dealing with the biological certainty of a highly neurodivergent team and stakeholders. At least 20% of the world’s population is neurodivergent – affected by conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADD/ADHD, Dyslexia, Tourette’s – and that number tends to be higher in tech and teams that successfully innovate. In fact, many founders are neurodivergent themselves, often without realising it.
Future leaders are expected to be both, high performing and inclusive. You will need to deliver results, inspire and motivate, learn how to hire and manage people who ‘think differently’, and turn people under you into leaders in their own right.
That’s a hard journey, especially if you walk it alone.
