5 Leadership Lessons From Successful Startups

Everyone loves a good success story, but these tales can often also impart important leadership lessons. Many of the most successful companies today are collaborative in nature, relying on talented teams, big pivots, and social capital to reach goals.

Behind every multi-million dollar acquisition is a story of smart leadership choices and innovative thinking. Even the business models of successful tech startups can teach us something about working together and inspiring a team to greatness.

Here are five success stories which can help you improve your leadership abilities and achieve your goals:

Empower Individuals To Contribute

So much more than a cab company, Uber has revolutionized the way we think about getting from point A to point B. The company has seen rapid growth recently, forging partnerships with companies like American Express and AT&T. The ride-sharing service taps into social currency, turning everyday drivers into taxi cabs.

In a professional setting, the lesson is to involve and listen to everyone around you. It’s impossible to tell where your company’s next great idea will come from, which means it’s important to listen to what everyone brings to the table. Like Uber, you should empower those around you to contribute in meaningful ways, regardless of job titles.

Before starting a big project, create an open door policy where everyone can contribute ideas. Call a brainstorming meeting and make it clear there’s no right answer, and every idea has merit. Create a culture where it’s more important to bring something to the table than to always be right, and innovation will follow.

Experts Are Still Needed

Recently, Apple surprised everyone by acquiring the Beats music for $3 billion. Why? According to CEO Tim Cook, it’s because the famous tech company saw Beats at the forefront of both music and the need for human curation. In a slight push-back to the algorithm-heavy media model predominating, human curation is having a moment. Companies like Beats, Songza, and my own company Pluto.TV are seeing the need to have expert hands in the mix when curating content for consumers.

Likewise, in the business world analytics and big data reign, but humans are still needed to make sense of all those numbers. Technology is great, but it’s not always a replacement for human expertise. Don’t rely so heavily on numbers and projections that you forget to consult the talented people around you with years of experience in the topic. Utilize technology to help your team cut through the noise and make smart choices, not to replace experts with machines.

Don’t Be Afraid to Pivot

Back before 140 characters signified a tweet, there was a podcasting service called Odeo. When the Apple iTunes store got into the podcasting game, the team at Odeo knew they had to make a change. Everyone put their heads together and out of the ashes of Odeo rose the micro-blogging service Twitter, one of the biggest social media platforms today.

Twitter found success because the founding team wasn’t afraid to take a big chance and make an equally big pivot. Not everything in your professional life is always going to work out as planned. Sometimes projects or new initiatives just won’t fly, and you need to be able to move on and make something great out of a missed opportunity. Great leaders know when to change course instead of stubbornly fighting a losing battle. Leadership often means knowing when to throw in the towel, and when to listen to better idea.

Fix What Isn’t Broken

Today, texting is one of our favorite pastimes. In fact, 91 percent of Americans have their phones within reach 24/7. Yet Whatsapp saw texting not as a fixed part of life, but as an experience to be improved. The service, which quickly gained in popularity, made communication easier with friends both near and far. Facebook noticed, and recently acquired the app for $19 billion.

It’s easy to fall into patterns of behavior and to stop questioning processes which seem to be working for your company. Yet there’s always a better way to do things, and just because something has always been done in one particular fashion doesn’t mean it’s the only way it can be accomplished. Make sure your team knows it’s essential to question everything. Break free of the way things have always been done, and make yourself open to new ideas.

Connect Others

If you’re traveling and need a place to stay, plenty of people will couch surf with a friend or acquaintance. Airbnb takes this experience to a whole new level, allowing people to rent out houses, apartments, and rooms to weary travelers. The model quickly grew in popularity;, today the company has processed something close to 15 million reservations.

The lesson from Airbnb is one of connection. The service grew because it connected people together for a common goal. As a leader, becoming a source of social connection is your most powerful tool. You need to connect those on your team to knowledge, to their goals, and to each other.

In your network, don’t be afraid to help professional connections form between individuals. If you know a startup founder looking for a great developer, and a smart developer looking for new opportunities, connect those people with each other. Becoming the bridge to lasting social connections makes you part of multiple success stories, and makes those individuals more likely to lend a helping hand when you might need one in the future.

Every successful business has an equally important leadership lesson to impart, which is why it’s essential for you to take the time to listen.

What do you think? What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned? Share in the comments!

Image courtesy of Atos; Flickr

About Ilya Pozin:

Serial entrepreneur, writer and investor. Founder of Pluto.TV, Open Me, and Ciplex. Writer for Forbes and Inc. Husband 1x, father 2x, entrepreneur 3x.

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