Leadership
There are so many ways to be an effective leader of an early stage Tough Tech startup. Unlike in many other fields and sectors, it’s quite frequent in Tough Tech entrepreneurship to have PhD scientists take the helm of their organization. Often these folks are new to leading others and are worried they don’t have the right DNA to be in the C-suite because they are introverted and haven’t seen many leaders like them in the media.
The good news is: leadership isn’t innate. It’s a muscle that has to be toned and refined and, for better or worse, the best way to learn is through experience. As a leader of an early stage startup, you are going to need to grow faster than your team so that you can scale your organization effectively. Some of the best ways to do this is to self-reflect, to observe real-life leaders you respect, to study frameworks and best practices - and to work with a coach for individualized feedback and support.
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To be able to lead others, you first have to lead yourself. This means being self-aware and working hard to be your best self at work so you have the bandwith and capacity to support others. Here are some tools to help you manage yourself:
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Leading is setting a vision and inspiring others; managing is executing on that vision. In an early stage Tough Tech startup you have to play both roles daily. There are a ton of resources for you to explore:
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There are so many styles of leadership. We all have a default style - and then we flex other styles when situations require us to modify our approach. Here are some resources to help you better understand more about who you are now as a leaders - and some inspiration for your future.
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Change is inevitable on every Tough Tech team. People join your team, please leave your team, you may need to pivot strategic directions or realign your board around obstacles or challenges. They key to leading through change successfully is having a thoughtful process and game plan. Here are some frameworks to help you:
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Having a co-founder (or co-founders) is a lot like having a spouse. You want to make sure you are deeply aligned before you formalized the partnership and you have to invest a great deal of time into managing the relationship. Here are some frameworks and tools to help you:
