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The Leader’s Evolving Role in Working Through Others
August 13, 2020
There are no leaders without followers. It's about leverage
The Leader’s Evolving Role in Working Through Others
In the beginning, during the organization’s early stage of growth, the leader may play many roles. It’s quite natural to wear many hats and attempt to take on a wide range of responsibilities, and for a while that may work. It may be both expedient and cost effective in the short run, but not in the long run!
You can’t do everything. As the organization grows, you will come to the realization that you can’t be an expert in all the areas essential to the growth and effectiveness of the company. You can’t take charge of engineering, sales, finance, product, marketing, and so on. It’s neither effective, nor, as the organization grows, possible. Entrepreneurs must get beyond the belief that they can and should have their hand into every part of the company. You need to bring in people who have expertise in different domains and let them lead those teams and functions.
Grow from working in the company to working on the company. In sports terms, players sometimes go from being a player, to a player-coach, and finally to being the coach. You may start out writing code, continue to lead product development, but also facilitate teamwork, build a company culture, begin to give people direction and devise and implement a strategic plan, negotiate additional funding with venture capitalists for the destiny of the organization: you are working ON the company rather than IN the company.
This is a huge transition for most people, and it is not easy. Many young tech entrepreneurs, accustomed to working creatively on their own, have never had the experience of working on a successful team or working with an effective leader. Many derive their sense of self-worth from being a “doer” and accomplishing something tangible every day. This could make it difficult to let go of details and tasks that make you feel you have done something concrete and useful. This feeling can make you reluctant to let go and “just lead”. So, to shift from being the one who is focused on task accomplishment, who solves tangible problems and makes all the decisions to seeing yourself as the one who facilitates change and works primarily or even completely through others is a major step. As leader you must accept that you are no longer just a doer but instead, someone whose role is motivating, focusing and involving, getting input and buy-in and working indirectly to get things done.
“Roberto needs to move from a position of chief doer to a position where he guides and facilitates teams and groups to proactively drive the business using team member’s own expertise and giving them a high degree of autonomy.”
In short, as the organization evolves, the leader’s role also needs to evolve. The leader continues to play an important role but his or her individual contribution is increasingly replaced by team building skills and facilitating the collective contributions of the team.
I remember well a coaching session with a very young, inexperienced CEO who started a company that had only 11 people when I began our engagement, but who saw his company growing dramatically. He opened our conversation by saying, “I’m depressed because I don’t know what I should be doing. I don’t feel I’m adding value anymore. I used to write code and get involved in managing projects but now my team has grown and I’m spending my time doing things that I don’t see as having tangible value.” I pointed out to him that his role was now to be the leader, the direction setter, the motivator, the communicator, the facilitator of teamwork and the builder of culture. I said, “It’s not the same mountain, but a different mountain to climb, and a whole new challenge in learning to play a new role.”
His self-esteem had come from being a doer, and he had no concept of what it meant to be a leader and a CEO. It was a whole new ballgame now. But he learned well: The company, that he started with college roommates, now has 400 employees and is highly successful. They’ve had seven rounds of funding that brought in over 200 million dollars. (it’s now seven years later.)
Evolution of Your Role as Leader. In their book, Leading at the Speed of Growth, Katherine Catlin and Jana Matthews delineate four main stages in the growth of an organization:
- Startup
- Initial Growth
- Rapid Growth
- Continuous Growth
At each stage, the role of the leader shifts. In the Startup phase, you are an active Doer and primary Decision Maker. But as the fledgling organization starts to take off in its Initial Growth phase, hires more people and expands, you need to cut back on some of your “doing” activities in order to become the chief Delegator as well as the Direction Setter. In the third stage, as the company scales due to Rapid Growth, your role must shift to being a Team Builder, Coach, Planner, and Communicator (both internally and to the public). Finally, in the phase of Continuous Growth, the leader becomes Change Catalyst, Strategic Innovator, Chief of Culture, and overall Organization Builder.
These roles are qualitatively quite different. To maintain effective leadership as the organization progresses from one stage to the next, you’ll need to change with it, being willing to leave behind attitudes and behaviors that worked quite well at one stage but are no longer optimum as the organization scales.
Become a facilitator of collaboration and success. Use your team for collaborative, synergistic problem-solving. Stop trying to control every decision. The leader sets the tone on an executive team. As the leader, you must help the team work together effectively, resolve conflicts, support one another, solve problems, and make decisions efficiently as a group. For this, team members need to trust each other and communicate openly. As the leader it’s your role to make this happen.
If the leader has surrounded him/herself with team members who have complementary skills, strengths, experience, and perspectives, great things can begin to happen. A key role of the leader is to guide, support, and facilitate effective team processes and interactions to get the most out of the synergy from the team. The leader needs to be sure the team is focused and aligned.
Get everyone aligned around a common sense of purpose. It is also vital to foster a common sense of purpose and identity around the mission and create a safe, supportive, open environment where differences are resolved, and problems and decisions are worked through effectively. It’s the leader’s role to get everyone working together and not let competition, ego battles and silo mentality destroy teamwork and hamper the organization’s ability to grow and thrive.
Challenge people to be and do their best. Along with fostering a supportive work environment, the leader needs to challenge individuals and teams to raise the bar, not to settle for mediocre or “okay” but to be the best they can be. He or she has to walk the line between being supportive and encouraging on one hand, and challenging people to be accountable for outcomes. Not everybody is going to produce top-quality results. Some people are lazy and want to just "get by," but as the leader that has to be unacceptable to you. Ultimately, you will be held accountable for what the team accomplishes or does not accomplish. So sometimes you may need to put on a taskmaster’s hat, express the expectation that your people will put forth their best effort, and be as demanding of results as the situation requires. The best leaders I have worked with over the years have been a blend or combination of demanding and supportive.
Respond to the need of the time. The best leaders are also attuned to the ever-changing business climate, as well as the social, macro-economic, and political trends, any or all of which could influence the direction and success of the business. Different times and conditions call for different styles of leadership.
For example, in recent years, Andreessen Horowitz co-founder and CEO Ben Horowitz drew a useful contrast between what he called a Wartime CEO and a Peacetime CEO. In Peacetime (by which he means when the company has a strong competitive edge and its market is growing) leadership can afford to deploy the company’s strengths to expand in creative directions. When Google found itself with a near-monopoly in the search market, they asked employees to spend 20% of their time on creative ideas to grow the company in new directions. Peacetime leadership can comfortably allocate time to nurturing team cohesion and individual creative expression. These are times when “delegation,” “don’t micromanage,” and so on can be emphasized by the leader.
In Wartime, however, when the company is under pressure to become profitable, or it is facing severe competitive threat and its very survival may be at stake, the entire focus has to be on alignment behind the organization’s mission. Horowitz cites the example of Steve Jobs’ return to a struggling Apple, which was literally a few weeks away from bankruptcy. Jobs “needed everyone to move with precision and follow his exact plan; there was no room for individual creativity outside of the core mission.” Wartime conditions can come even to well-established, strong companies, but for startups and their leaders, it’s Wartime 24/7.
However, Horowitz’s advice for the Wartime phase can be quite extreme. Clearly, leaders need to act decisively, and especially with start-ups, they often need to decide quickly and sometimes unilaterally, especially if there has not been enough opportunity to gather a team of seasoned professionals, as I will discuss in the next chapter. But Horowitz implies that you need to stay in Wartime mode until you do have a strong competitive edge. That gives permission, and even encourages leaders to behave in a controlling and autocratic way, exercising top-down leadership rather than seeking buy-in and consensus.
This is problematic in the long run. As you begin to bring in more senior people, who expect and deserve to have a level of autonomy and a voice in decision making, if you stay in Wartime mode too long and are too controlling, you will fail to leverage the synergy of your team. You won’t be able to benefit from hearing voices and opinions that prevent you from falling into sunflower bias or confirmation bias. After all, the benefit of involving a group in decision making is to gather diverse and creative perspectives on how to deal with problems and questions.
In situations that require fast, decisive action, it may occasionally be necessary for a leader to either make a decision without input or to seek input but not have the time to reach consensus when it comes to choosing a course of action. This would be a case of, “Thank you very much for your input, I’ll let you know what I decide.Be careful not to operate in Wartime mode as a default, but only when it is truly necessary. Be adaptable. Adjust the amount of participation you allow and input you ask for, based upon the maturity and expertise of the team around you.
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Let's talk about the elephant in every startup room: trust. As a founder, you're a visionary, a risk-taker, a relentless force of nature. You've battled against impossible odds, fueled by ambition and a singular vision. These very traits, which propelled you from an idea to a burgeoning business, are often celebrated as the hallmarks of entrepreneurial genius. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: those same strengths, left unchecked, can become the insidious forces that destroy the very trust your startup desperately needs to survive and thrive. Research reveals a stark reality: trust isn't a "nice-to-have" soft skill; it's the indispensable capital that underpins every successful venture. It's the bedrock of high-performing teams, the fuel for innovation, and the hidden engine of organizational resilience. Ignore it at your peril, because the cost of low trust isn't just a dip in morale—it's a direct hit to your bottom line, your talent pipeline, and your legacy as a leader. Trust: The Unseen Currency of the Startup World In the chaotic, high-stakes environment of a startup, trust is amplified. It’s the "first step of genuine and effective leadership” , and without it, people simply won't follow you. This isn't just about warm feelings; it's about hard business metrics. Companies with high trust factors report a staggering 74% less stress, 13% fewer sick days, and 40% less burnout among employees. Employees in high-trust organizations are also 50% more likely to stay long-term , drastically cutting turnover costs and retaining invaluable institutional knowledge. When trust flourishes, collaboration ignites, leading to more innovative solutions and superior problem-solving. Google's own Project Aristotle, a deep dive into team effectiveness, concluded that high-performing teams are simply impossible without trust. This is the "Founder Effect" in action. Your behavior, whether positive or negative, is magnified due to your central, often singular, role in shaping early-stage culture and strategy. Unlike larger, established corporations, your startup's very DNA is a direct reflection of you. The Three Pillars: Your Trustworthiness Litmus Test Research consistently points to three fundamental pillars of trustworthiness: Ability, Integrity, and Benevolence . Here’s the critical, often misunderstood, part: trustworthiness is a product of these three, not a sum. A zero score in any one pillar results in zero trustworthiness overall . Let that sink in. You can be a brilliant strategist (high Ability), but if your team perceives you as dishonest (zero Integrity), your trust account is empty. You can be the most ethical person in the room (high Integrity), but if you consistently fail to deliver on promises (zero Ability), trust evaporates. And perhaps the most insidious blind spot for many founders: you can be competent and honest, but if you lack genuine care and kindness for your team (zero Benevolence), you will not be trusted. Authenticity is the bedrock upon which these pillars stand. It's about transparency regarding intentions, a willingness to admit mistakes, and an unwavering adherence to your core values. Without genuine authenticity, any attempt at building trust will be perceived as manipulative, leading to skepticism rather than genuine trust. The Startup Crucible: Why Founders Fall Into Traps The startup environment is a unique pressure cooker. High uncertainty, relentless pressure to scale, and limited resources create a volatile landscape. This constant flux demands rapid iteration and quick decision-making. But this urgency can lead to "hasty decisions" and "sub-optimal risk-taking behaviors". This is where "Founder's Syndrome" (or "founderitis") often takes root. It's a pathological pattern where your initial strengths, vital for launching, transform into weaknesses that hinder growth. It's an "autoimmune disease" that ultimately undermines the very organization you worked so hard to build. The journey is often lonely, exacerbating stress and leading to mental health struggles that are 50% more common for founders than the general population. This pervasive stress "clouds judgment" and "hampers long-term planning," directly eroding trust. When you neglect your own mental health, you inadvertently "undermine the importance of the mental health of the people you are leading". The Trust Builders: Founders Who Get It Right Despite the inherent challenges, many founders successfully cultivate deep trust. They understand that it's a deliberate, multi-faceted process rooted in specific leadership qualities and behaviors. 1. Demonstrating Ability and Adaptability: Founders build trust by consistently delivering on promises and demonstrating competence. This means being agile and willing to pivot when necessary, learning from mistakes, and adapting to market shifts. Positive Example: Daniel Dines of UiPath. UiPath, now a $10 billion company, wasn't an overnight success. Founder Daniel Dines navigated multiple major pivots, from an outsourcing company to a consumer products foray that "didn't work," before finally productizing their services into what became UiPath. His willingness to learn from "early missteps and failed attempts" and adapt the business model demonstrated his ability and built trust through resilience and consistent effort. This adaptability reinforces the "Ability" pillar, showing stakeholders that the founder can steer the ship through turbulent waters. 2. Upholding Unwavering Integrity: Integrity is non-negotiable. Founders who "walk the talk"—consistently upholding values, maintaining honesty, and ensuring fairness—build profound trust. Positive Example: A Transparent Tech Startup. One tech startup embraced transparency from day one, openly sharing both successes and challenges with all team members. This commitment fostered a culture of trust, attracting and retaining top talent who valued an environment where their voices were heard and contributions recognized. This transparency, rooted in integrity, empowered employees to propose bold solutions and challenge the status quo, driving sustainable growth. Investors also explicitly expect founders to adhere to both the "letter and the spirit of the law" and to behave ethically. 3. Cultivating Benevolence and Psychological Safety: Trust is deeply relational. Founders who show genuine concern for their team's well-being, demonstrating empathy, respect, and kindness, foster psychological safety. Positive Example: Airbnb's Foundational Trust. When Airbnb launched, convincing strangers to rent out their homes was a massive trust hurdle. Founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia tackled this head-on by prioritizing trust and safety. They implemented rigorous verification processes, secure payment systems, and user reviews. These measures, born from a deep understanding of user concerns and a commitment to their well-being, were crucial in building a safe and reliable platform, fostering a vibrant community, and ultimately disrupting the hospitality industry. This commitment to user and host well-being exemplifies benevolence. The Trust Destroyers: Traps Even the Best Fall Into Even with good intentions, founders can inadvertently erode trust. These behaviors, often amplified by startup pressures, can be catastrophic. 1. Lack of Transparency and Inconsistent Communication: When your actions don't align with your words, credibility fades. Information silos and inconsistent messaging breed distrust. Negative Example: Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook's Data Scandals. Mark Zuckerberg, despite his vision, faced significant trust erosion at Facebook due to a perceived lack of transparency and inconsistent communication regarding user data. Revelations about Cambridge Analytica exposing personal data of 87 million users, followed by admissions of hackers accessing 50 million users' information, and investigations revealing data sharing with major companies like Netflix and Amazon, shattered public and investor trust. This "say-do gap" between stated privacy commitments and actual practices profoundly undermined integrity and transparency. 2. Compromised Integrity and Unethical Conduct: This is the most catastrophic trust destroyer. Unchecked ambition and intense pressure can lead founders to believe "the rules don't apply to them". Negative Example: Elizabeth Holmes (Theranos) and Trevor Milton (Nikola). Elizabeth Holmes's ambition to revolutionize healthcare at Theranos morphed into manipulation and deceit, fabricating capabilities her technology couldn't deliver. This led to investors, employees, and patients suffering the consequences. Similarly, Trevor Milton, founder of Nikola, succumbed to pressure to deliver on promises, leading him to "embellish—no, outright fabricate—the capabilities of Nikola's technology." When the truth emerged, his reputation crumbled, and investors lost millions. These cases vividly illustrate how a fundamental compromise of integrity, driven by ambition and pressure, leads to "shattered credibility" and "burnt bridges". Misleading investors about revenue isn't just unethical; it can be criminal securities fraud with severe legal implications. 3. Absence of Benevolence and Empathy: Neglecting the human element—empathy, respect, and genuine care—is profoundly destructive. Negative Example: Travis Kalanick at Uber. Travis Kalanick, Uber's co-founder, was ultimately forced to resign by an investor revolt due to his "brash and at times inappropriate behavior" that "repeatedly raised eyebrows" and was blamed for creating a "toxic culture". This lack of benevolence, characterized by disrespect and a disregard for employee well-being, directly eroded trust and led to significant talent drain. Publicly humiliating team members, disengaging emotionally, or adopting a "one-size-fits-all" leadership approach with diverse teams all signal a profound lack of care. 4. Micromanagement and Control-Freak Tendencies: This signals a fundamental lack of trust in employees and creates a vicious cycle of distrust. Negative Example: The Bottleneck Founder. Founders who feel the need to oversee every decision create significant bottlenecks, disempowering employees and stifling creativity. Talented team members often leave because they don't feel trusted or valued. Micromanagement explicitly communicates, "I no longer think you are the right person to do this job". This toxic behavior destroys morale, causes employees to delay decisions, and withholds valuable insights. It's a direct attack on the "Ability" pillar of trust, implying incompetence and leading to lower performance, decreased morale, and higher turnover. 5. Impulsivity and Resistance to Adaptation: Constantly shifting priorities or clinging rigidly to outdated methods undermines trust in your ability to lead effectively. Negative Example: The "Analysis Paralysis" Founder. Some founders, despite the need for agility, are "incredibly rigid," preferring "familiar methods" and struggling to let go of past successes. They may suffer from "analysis paralysis" when faced with incomplete information, a common occurrence in startups. This rigidity can manifest as dictatorial behavior and a struggle to accept alternative viewpoints. This stifles innovation, as employees hesitate to propose new ideas if they believe the founder won't be receptive. The Path Forward: Rebuilding and Sustaining Your Trust Capital The good news is that trust, even when broken, can be rebuilt. It requires deliberate, sustained effort and a profound commitment to self-awareness. Lead by Exemplification: Your actions must consistently align with your words. Admit missteps openly and share the steps you're taking to rectify them. This consistent "say-do" message builds profound credibility. Prioritize Open and Consistent Communication: Establish platforms for transparent dialogue, like town hall meetings and regular updates. Actively seek input, schedule regular check-ins, and create safe spaces for genuine dialogue. Cultivate Self-Awareness and Mental Well-being: Address your own fears and psychological traps. Prioritize your mental health, as it directly impacts your judgment, empathy, and ability to lead effectively. Foster Psychological Safety: Normalize failure as part of growth, encourage open dialogue, and reward calculated risks . This creates an environment where employees feel secure enough to challenge the status quo, admit mistakes, and contribute new ideas. Empower and Delegate: Move beyond micromanagement. Clearly define ownership, empower teams to make decisions, and model trust by delegating effectively . Embrace Adaptability and Humility: Be willing to pivot and learn from mistakes. When you demonstrate the humility to adjust strategy, it reinforces trust in your leadership and judgment. The Ultimate Competitive Advantage Trust is not merely a desirable attribute; it is the fundamental bedrock of high-performing, resilient organizations. Unequivocally demonstrates that founders who prioritize and actively cultivate trust unlock unparalleled levels of employee engagement, productivity, innovation, and overall organizational success. Your journey as a founder is fraught with challenges, but the most formidable ones often come from within. By consistently embodying competence, upholding ethics, and demonstrating genuine care, while actively mitigating the psychological traps and pressures inherent in the entrepreneurial journey, you can build and sustain the high-trust environments essential for navigating today's complex business landscape and achieving long-term, sustainable growth. Trust, in essence, is your ultimate competitive advantage. Are you ready to wield it?
The Trust Advantage: Build It or Break It
