7 Leadership lessons from successful serial startup founders - and none of them is Steve Jobs

I am tired of everyone quoting Steve Jobs, Ray Dalio or Bill Gates, so I recently posed this question to some of the well accomplished serial startup founders in my network:

" At what point in your startup did you wish you had better Leadership or People Skills? Did you at all?"

I am not surprised that everyone of them admits that its endless process that they wish the had started earlier. However some of their confessions were very unique and personal so i couldn't help sharing them ( for privacy protection I am not quoting anyone verbatim and not sharing the names).

…" it was different at every one of my startups,... till I realized who, and what kind of leader I am"...

…" everytime I look at my failure I wish I had more time, I had been mentored or coached by other great leaders"…

…" I still realize that every evening " …

…" the toughest point for me was when I had to lead through others - delegate the power to my first line managers "...

…" all business problems usually stem from Management or Leadership issue"…. 

..." feedback can hurt, but the more it hurts the better it can be...

…" sometimes I get mad at myself for not being better , and other days im happy with my progress - it is a never ending journey "...

Early stage entrepreneurs often fall in love with their brilliant innovative ideas so much, that they forget about the fact that with the startup launch they are embarking on a very serious and challenging journey. Once the idea is materialised and the bedroom or garage based business begins to grow, there is a need to hire specialists, manage a team and take the responsibility for other people careers and happiness. 

With that, leading a startup becomes really hard and stressful. Reading articles, listening to podcasts and taking online trainings is seldom helpful because, ironically the theory of leadership is not difficult to grasp, and it fools us thinking that "now we've got it". Unfortunately it's damn hard to practice everyday because it requires some self awareness, self discipline, curiosity and humbleness that allow us accept feedback and learn from little daily mistakes.  

So, if you ask yourself : "Where do I start? How should I set some strong leadership foundation? Where do I find people for my team? How do I get them help me grow my fantastic idea into a big business? Can I do it myself? etc…." you can keep trying to find the answers by yourself, or contact me for a free chat when you can get a simple advice, feedback or learn a few people and culture principles. 

If you think you have no time for that … just look up again :)

Chat later!