Executives at startups tend to be average at best in managing people. At worst, startup executives are very, very bad. Personally, I’ve learned through trial and error that managing people effectively is one of the most important responsibilities of a startup executive. It is not a burden. It is an opportunity.
In a span of just a few years, I’ve had the fortune of seeing the startup journey from many different seats. The compressed timeframe has been advantageous in allowing me to compare and contrast the differing views from each seat. The most striking disconnect I’ve seen is that managers at startups undervalue managing people.
Take a moment and think about the type of executive a startup attracts. Let’s look at just five of the typical traits common to most successful startup executives.
· Do more with less. The No. 1 pre-requisite of a startup executive is his track record of accomplishing more with less. The fact of life at startups is that you never have money to do things in the “ideal” way – everything must be done in the “best” way. When you pursue an ideal way, compromises are forced and undesired. When you pursue the best way, compromises are expected and anticipated. Innovate. Remember?
· Roll up your sleeves. A startup executive is expected to lift, carry, and place heavy weights. They are not there to solely guide or supervise work. They are there to both direct and perform work.
· Super competitive. There are some crazy, imbalanced personalities out there. But, for the most part, all successful startup executives are a little overly competitive. It’s kind of the Napoleonic complex taken to an extreme. It’s me against the world … and the world is much larger, a lot glitzier … and they are arrogantly laughing at me. I will crush them because I will outsmart and outwork them.
· Self motivated. It takes a special breed of executive to get all charged up day in and day out to go to battle on a rather cloudy field, against an unknown enemy, armed with small steak knives, and knowing that any errors are oftentimes irreversible. The great startup executive does not let this situation paralyze them. They embrace the situation and motivate themselves into action.
· Workaholic. I know the favorable thing to say is that life/work balance is so important but … that just isn’t a true reflection of the startup world. If you see a room full of people, the startup executive is the one who looks like they haven’t slept in two days. Really. Big company VPs introduce themselves by talking about the size of their organization or department. Startup VPs talk about working 80-100 hours a week as an achievement and wear it as a badge of honor.
Now, let’s see how these traits translate into managing people. Let’s look at the situation from the point of view of the people working for this “composite” startup executive.
· Do more with less. My boss is always looking for efficiency. He outsources a bunch of things. He doesn’t realize that even if we outsource, it creates more work for me – not less. Additionally, we always seem to be taking short cuts. I feel like quality suffers and permanence is lacking in most things we do. Do more with less? It feels more like do less with less.
· Roll up your sleeves. My boss is a micro-manager. He’s a walking contradiction. He emphasizes the importance of agility but at the same time slows down everything by micromanaging everything.
· Super competitive. My boss acts more like an animated cartoon character than the polished, circumspective executive I’m accustomed to working under. I bet my boss has no life outside the company because his job is his identity. I wonder if there’s an OTC pill that could alleviate his oversized ego.
· Self motivated. My boss fails to regularly communicate with me. I sure could use more frequent discussions about our vision, plans, overall progress, and just simple reassurances. We know what’s “in it for him” but what’s “in it for us?”
· Workaholic. My boss fails to understand that most of us are working here because we want to contribute disproportionate and be rewarded with recognition. As part of our commitment, we hope that the startup will succeed and we’ll e associated with that success. We don’t make a lot of money out of the outcome like the executives and the VCs. By the way, if my boss is such a workaholic, why doesn’t he have enough time to give me a thorough and well planned performance review?
Does any part of this sound familiar? If any of the first set of five traits are leading to any of the second set of five feelings, you’re in trouble. It doesn’t have to be this way. Startup teams are small. Make the time to have deep, meaningful conversations about how each team member feels. If I’ve learned one thing about startups in my own career it’s that startup people are usually (very) outspoken! They don’t hold anything back.
We don’t ignore the truth. It’s just that truth sometimes scares us and we tend to avoid what we fear. You just need to ask the questions and not be afraid of what you may hear.
- John
Comments