Quick snippets from our morning read on Wednesday, 13th January 2021
Today’s morning read explores the different kinds of startup leaders. Many promising new ventures struggle to get off the ground because their founders fail to cultivate a sense of collective ownership — a feeling that the venture idea is “ours,” and not just the founder’s — in their teams. When teams feel ownership of an idea, they are more collaborative, they take more risks, and they make more personal sacrifices to support the shared goal — and when there’s a lack of ownership, team members quickly become demotivated and unproductive. So what can founders do to foster that all-important sense of collective ownership?
Based on our research, we discovered that founders tend to adopt one of three styles — and which style they choose can have a major impact on their success:
The Delegator
The first type of founder actively seeks input from their team not just on questions of execution, but on their entire venture idea. For instance, one founder we interviewed, Sam*, was the head of a medical device startup focused on developing a surgical tool for kidney transplants. Rather than just having his teammates implement his idea, he frequently asked them to consider how the tool he had already developed could be redesigned. In response, one person suggested a design change to make the tool adaptable for other surgical procedures, which expanded both the company’s potential market and its social impact.
Proactively engaging your team on shaping the core idea is an effective way to build ownership — but only to a point. In our interviews, we found that if a founder encouraged too much feedback, the team was liable to lose focus and motivation.
In addition, these founders often fail to set clear boundaries around what is and isn’t up for debate, creating conflict when team members suggest ideas that the founders don’t like.
Getting your team involved by delegating important decisions is a great way to cultivate a sense of ownership — but without clear boundaries, you risk losing both your own interest in the venture and the support of your team.
The Dictator
The second type of founder is much more territorial about their ideas. In some cases, this approach can boost collective ownership, as clear direction can reduce ambiguity, minimize potential conflict, and ensure people are focused on the same goals. As one team member reflected when discussing her experience with a dictatorial founder, “She shared with us her personal connection to the idea. After that we knew where she wanted to go with it, so we really didn’t try and change it. It helped us understand the strategy and where the product fit in. Having something tangible helped everyone get excited about it.” A passionate, dictatorial leadership style can in some cases increase collective ownership, because clarity around who is in control can help things run more smoothly.
The Designator
The final type of founder we observed struck a delicate balance between the two approaches described above. These flexible founders clearly designated which parts of their original idea were “off limits,” and which parts were open for discussion. As one team member described, “He told us there were two core things [about the venture idea] he was not willing to give up, and that those core elements would remain in place. But he also said that [for] other things, like the target market, he wanted input from the team.”
This blended approach captures the benefits of the other two styles while minimizing their downsides. By asking for help in some areas and articulating clear boundaries in others, these founders are able to bolster engagement while keeping their teams from taking the venture in an unwanted direction. For example, Alex worked for a founder who had specified that he wasn’t looking for new feature ideas, but he was very interested in exploring new markets or other business-side changes: “We knew the core technology was ready,” Alex explained, “and that our efforts would be spent on developing the business model for that technology.”
Takeaways for Founders
So what does this mean for startup founders? Ultimately, there’s a time and a place for both delegation and dictatorship — the important thing is to designate clear boundaries between the two. Based on our research, we suggest a simple three-step plan for founders looking to help their people foster a strong sense of collective ownership:
- Start by cataloguing the various elements of your business idea, such as the core technology, target market, product/service design, financial projections, and customer acquisition strategy.
- For each of these elements, determine for yourself whether they are fixed or open to change.
- Clearly (and consistently) communicate these distinctions to your team.
It’s natural that there will be parts of your idea that feel sacred, and other parts in which you will be happy to welcome feedback. To keep your team engaged and your business on track, what matters most is that you clearly designate which is which.
Read the full article here
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