Psychological
Intro
Founder Personality
Team Dynamics
Team-Market Fit
While each founder will have a unique position and bring their own skills to the table, all team members must acknowledge and be at peace with the CEO being the ultimate decision maker.
This is also significant to the organizational texture; employees crave an element of stability, especially those working in a startup where change and ambiguity are part of the daily routine. A strong and unapologetic CEO gives the rest of the team a sense of certainty and direction, increasing leadership respect and loyalty.
Co-founders and executives have a seat at the table and should be able to contribute to decision making, but in those situations where there is no agreement, and a clear and quick decision is necessary, a CEO’s authority will enable a team to move fast and decisively.
Co-founders and executives have a seat at the table and should be able to contribute to decision making, but in those situations where there is no agreement, and a clear and quick decision is necessary, a CEO’s authority will enable a team to move fast and decisively.
A Co-CEO situation could mean one of two things- either the expertise of the two CEOs overlap and there are no complimentary skills, or it could point to unsolved business between the two CEOs causing both to wish to be at the forefront. While one must always avoid disrespecting or diminishing the founding team members, ultimately, there needs to be one leader to set a clear vision to follow, make the final shots, and conduct the orchestra.
Four co-founders are trying to make a decision regarding whether or not to launch an investment round. It is important to the CEO to be perceived as a democratic leader who gives their co-founders’ opinions equal weight. One of the founders is strongly against launching the round at the moment. He or she’s objection combined with the CEO’s ‘democratic’ approach drags the team into weeks of endless conversations, internal negotiations and time wasting.
In a team of two co-founders, the CTO is consistently questioning the CEO’s decisions regarding the most basic issues but also regarding the strategic moves, such as whether or not to hire a sales rep or whether or not to launch a certain POC. Every small decision is discussed and approached from different angles, consuming time and mental resources from both founders and causing the CEO to doubt their judgment and execution abilities. The non-CEO founder wants to be involved in every single small decision and the CEO is not granted the right to a final say.
“People have a say but cannot always have their way. My job is to get the company rolling and balance people and business performance. Therefore, when we reach a disagreement, I collect the different opinions and make a final decision myself.”
“People and their growth always come before business. I will not make a decision that will harm an employee of mine in any level but rather find a way around problems.”
“I want to be a good manager, and to make my teammates feel empowered, yet I understand that I cannot please everyone at all times and sometimes I have to make a hard decision that not everyone agrees with.”
“I find it hard to make a decision when fellow teammates are not in agreement,” or “we make sure to reach consensus prior to executing a decision.”
“I would like to be perceived as a killer CEO, who pushes forward but is also aligned with their employee’s motivations. A CEO who knows how to leverage their team and their accumulated knowledge and expertise for achieving peak performance.”
“It is highly important to me to be appreciated and loved by the people I work with.”
