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on market demands and product response. Sales may dramatically uptick, and suddenly you’re in need of a Sales Manager. All too often inexperienced leaders will look to those with whom they were in the trenches when all this started — Don used to be in sales, hey Don! Loyal CEO’s can be an employees best friend, but if Don forgets to follow up on a valuable RFP and can’t keep track of the company pipeline, then sales and revenue will suffer. So yes, allegiance is a valuable commodity on a team, but when your competitor wins that RFP, inks an eye- popping contract and your investors want to know why that wasn’t us — not exactly the reflected glory a new leader is looking for. When executive leadership fails to recognize a team member’s ineptitude — especially if it’s a personal friend, then everyone that individual is responsible for suffers for it, and it’s possible that they put the company at risk. Teams work best when everyone knows their roles, and defining those roles falls under the rubric of company leadership. For untested entrepreneurial leaders, dialing in the right support may be the most important choice they make. Good leadership understands that their first allegiance must be to their employees, customers, investors and to the fundamentals of their business — and there may be moments where saying goodbye to a friend will hopefully not be saying goodbye to a friendship. So how do you know when you’ve got the right team around you? Your team communicates effectively and openly with each other and you. They share ideas and
feedback, freely without fear of judgment. They treat each other respectfully, even when they disagree and understand the value of different perspectives. And if you’re doing your job, the job of the leader and the visionary, they’ll have a clear understanding of their common goals and objectives and work together with you to achieve them for the good of the company. So there’s a lot to keep in mind growing as a leader in a company that, ironically, was formed in your head, even as it changes before your eyes. But a couple of things stand out. As the company grows it’s incumbent upon you to grow with it. Perhaps a better word is evolve. Leadership is not static, the best leaders never stop learning, reacting, innovating. So who you were when you started the journey will surely be different as the journey continues. Embrace not knowing. Have confidence that you will learn. And finally, in the end it’s not about the product or service you created that matters — you can’t repeat that bit of magic and many have failed trying. Rather it’s your process, the thinking, planning, inspiration and innovation that led to the first big win. If you understand that, move past the glitter and glitz of lightning in a bottle, to not just understand the process, but lead the process that created that perfect storm — it’s then that you have the best chance to make lightning strike twice. Good luck. HM
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