A recurring theme I’ve seen lately is executives being unhappy with the performance of their management teams. Unsurprisingly, with most startups slamming the brakes on hypergrowth, leaders have now become more aware of gaps in their organization’s foundation. Having forgotten that management is a profession, now you’re facing a rude awakening. Here are the seven […]
You can imagine I get to hear from many executives and leaders about their challenges and issues. Specifically, whenever someone shares a challenge that’s not obvious, I try to make a mental note and reach out after a few months. I love “closing the loop” and hearing how things were resolved in the real world. […]
Creating genuine autonomy in your startup nowadays is vital for any leadership team that aims to achieve something remarkable. Nevertheless, I will not be exaggerating if I say I find it in less than 25% of the companies I talk to. You might think you’re leading an autonomous team where, in fact, you merely have […]
I shudder when considering the thousands upon thousands of hours wasted by teams going through the motions and playing pretend agile. A big part of that is all the different rituals and ceremonies done without understanding what they’re supposed to achieve. When was the last time that one of your retrospectives actually resulted in a […]
As you evolve into an effective tech executive, you’ll navigate through various stages of bottlenecking. On your journey to becoming a well-rounded leader, it’s crucial to identify your current needs and equip yourself with the right attitude and tools to address the current bottleneck stage. This process empowers you to effectively unclog your organization’s pipes […]
When helping startups improve, especially when adjusting for new growth phases, I often find that leaders don’t really understand how to use coaching internally. When you don’t apply coaching properly, you miss out on the ability to have your people step up and increase their positive impact on the organization. For example, you might be […]
Especially during these times when companies are growing slowly and organically, each person on your team is incredibly important. However, I regularly see leaders shying away from providing the proper feedback and speaking candidly with their people, wasting away potential talent. For an industry obsessed with talking about (tech) debt and who makes sure to […]
If you look at the leaders under you in your organization and are unsatisfied, remember that you are what they all have in common. I’m not saying it to chastise you but to realize that you have more agency and influence than you might recognize. For example, when it feels like people don’t have broad […]
A genuinely autonomous team that takes the initiative can be a game changer for most startups. This isn’t an exaggeration. However, there are many founders and executives who routinely cripple their team’s agency “momentarily” without realizing the long-term effects. Most talented people cannot be “turned on and off” at will. Are you sucking the agency […]
So many modern leaders have gotten things all wrong. They have turned the team’s “well-being” into their primary objective, confusing comfort for success. However, the purpose of all modern perks in the tech industry should be to make everything other than the actual work comfortable, precisely so that your people can exert themselves where it […]