After working with dozens of startup founders, I’m still amazed that some seem to be able to do the job easily and effectively, always in control, while others always seem to be struggling, out-of-control, and fighting the latest crisis. I am more and more convinced that it is the right founder behavior that leads to success, rather than some exceptional intelligence or training.
In that context, startup founders should carefully review the points made by Denny F. Strigl, former CEO of Verizon Wireless, in his book aptly named “Managers, Can You Hear Me Now?” He outlines the behavioral habits he has seen in managers who are successful, versus the bad habits of ones who struggle. These habits apply even more directly to entrepreneur startup leadership:
- Failure to build trust and integrity. Poor leaders often fail to build trust initially, or they erode trust during daily interactions and operations. Without trust, there can be little cooperation between team members. This results in little risk taking, diminished confidence among employees, and a loss of communication throughout the company.
- Focus on things that don’t really matter. Entrepreneurs who struggle spend too much time focused on things that don’t really matter. If it doesn’t fit into one of the Four Fundamentals: growing revenue, getting new customers, keeping the customers they already have, or eliminating costs, they should rethink what they are doing.
- Shirk accountability and role model. Founders need to realize their behavior is in a “fishbowl” and thereby highly visible for the team to see and imitate. What the founder says and does in stressful situations sends a signal to imitate that behavior, even when they are not under stress. Poor performers thrive in an unaccountable work climate.
- Fail to consistently reinforce what’s important. Managers often stress a particular message or a program for a couple of weeks, and then assume everyone gets it. When they change their message too often, team members become confused about what’s important. People perform best when what they hear is consistent and frequent.
- Over-rely on consensus decisions. Some founders go too far to become consensus builders. This takes too much time in our super-competitive environment, and the result of a total buy-in is usually a watered-down version of the original decision or action they intended. Informed decision-making is not the same as consensus decision-making.
- High priority on being popular. The first priority of a founder is to deliver results, rather than building friendships. Happy team members don’t necessarily bring you stellar results, although stellar results almost always bring you a happy team. Good managers don’t worry about shaking up the status quo, and realize that change is never initially popular.
- Get caught up in their self-importance. Many founders fail because they get caught up in the “aura” of their position, and seek recognition and glamour for themselves. They love to give speeches to groups and in places that don’t really matter. These people seldom see what is causing their own demise in their attention to “all-about-me.”
- Put their heads in the sand. Many founders struggle because they only want to hear good news. Team members quickly learn to report positives, while hiding problems. As a result, productivity suffers, employee morale decreases, and targeted results are missed. Encourage open, honest, direct, and specific communication always.
- Fix problems, not causes. Don’t fix a problem without addressing the reason the problem occurred. The most common excuses given include lack of time to immediately address the cause, lack of resources to address the cause, or problem is outside of their control. Good managers always find the means to fix the cause.
In order to stop struggling and start delivering, founders need to close the gap between what they know and what they do. Avoid the bad behaviors outlined here. Do the good things, day in and day out, until your behavior becomes habit for both you and your team. This can override pure intelligence and create real success and positive results from everyone on the team.
Image credit: CC by Bob McCaffrey
