Aug. 21, 2017 "In entrepreneurship, opposites attract": Today I found this article by David Ciccarelli in the Globe and Mail:
David Ciccarelli is CEO and founder of Voices.com
While it can be pleasing to the ego to think that you can build an empire using nothing but your own two hands, don’t be fooled. No one reaches success alone.
The entrepreneurs who do “make it” are the ones who harness the power of others. Community is key, and most people are savvy enough to realize this.
And here’s the secret that a lot of people miss out on: Businesses that have co-founders who are fundamentally different from one another, tend to reap the greatest rewards of all.
Two is the magic number
Being the sole person at the top has allure. You get the luxury of consulting others, but at the end of the day, you are the only one who can make a decision final.
However, there is much more danger posed by being alone than there is being in a partnership. This is because another entrepreneurial trait is the tendency to fall in love with your own ideas. Without meaning to, business owners become biased, and bias means that you’re operating with blinders on.
Some entrepreneurs simply want to have a “tie-breaker” on board to help them through difficult decisions, so they adjust their structure to include three business owners. Simply stated, this is too many cooks in the kitchen without good reason.
If both co-founders aren’t 100 per cent on board with an idea, then it doesn’t move forward.
For example, for a long time, I wanted to purchase a heritage property as the site for our new office. However, my own co-founder and wife, Stephanie, had a gut feeling against the idea. And although she couldn’t articulate exactly why the move would be a bad one, she didn’t believe it would be beneficial – and that was enough.
We kept looking and, as a result, I was forced to dream bigger. Now, we’re located in a state-of-the-art, 45,000-square-foot office, which is technically the largest single floor plate in our city of London, Ont. We’re immensely proud of how the project turned out and looking back, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Complementary strengths
In order to work best, co-founders should have a baseline understanding of each other’s personalities. This can be accomplished through taking a personality test, like Myers-Briggs.
Not only will this help you understand your different personality traits, it will also help you get to the heart of what motivates the other and how you can best communicate.
Not only will this help you understand your different personality traits, it will also help you get to the heart of what motivates the other and how you can best communicate.
Here are a few examples of co-founder combinations that illustrate how this works:
Introvert and extrovert
Having both of these personality types in a founding team allows for thoughtful planning and spontaneity to arise.
Often, people mistake introversion for being quiet or wanting to be alone. Rather, as an introvert myself, I’ve discovered that it’s more accurate to say that introverts get energy by being alone. This alone time allows the introvert to recharge, self-motivate and even come up with the next great idea.
Often, people mistake introversion for being quiet or wanting to be alone. Rather, as an introvert myself, I’ve discovered that it’s more accurate to say that introverts get energy by being alone. This alone time allows the introvert to recharge, self-motivate and even come up with the next great idea.
On the flip side, extroverts are not merely outgoing people; they are outgoing because they get energy from being around other people. Stephanie is wonderful at being in a crowd, walking the conference floor, being on a panel and otherwise interacting with groups of people for hours on end. It’s an admirable trait.
The result is that I have clearly become the internally focused leader, while she is externally focused. My energy is lifted by building corporate culture, holding one-on-one meetings and exploring how our company can better boost employees’ morale.
Meanwhile, Stephanie is all about getting in front of customers, elevating the company brand in the public eye and engaging with people en masse.
Meanwhile, Stephanie is all about getting in front of customers, elevating the company brand in the public eye and engaging with people en masse.
It becomes a relief to know someone else is not only capable but passionate about building the business from a different approach.
Knowing that someone has this other side of the picture in mind can help you move forward with all considerations on the table.
Technical and creative
The complement of a technical co-founder and a creative co-founder is also beneficial. The technical co-founder will be more inclined to develop the master plan, then plan B, C, and D, while the creative is more adaptable to changes and can give reassurance that so long as we continue moving forward together, being united along the way, the best outcome will be achieved.
From business planning to product development, the technical skills only tell half the story – and, frankly, one that isn’t that interesting.
It’s the artist who breathes life into the story, developing brand narratives, establishing values and guiding principles that decisions are weighed against.
It’s the artist who breathes life into the story, developing brand narratives, establishing values and guiding principles that decisions are weighed against.
In essence, the technical mind is geared toward how to accomplish the next phase, while the creative mind is able to see the big picture and communicate why it is important – and to whom.
In short, there is a role for both technical and creative people in business, but it becomes your responsibility as co-founders to gain clarity on just what those roles are.
Decisive and contemplative
In addition to having different areas of focus and strengths, co-founders may also find that they operate at different speeds. Another way to think of this is like the fable of the tortoise and the hare.
As the hare, once a path to apparent victory opens up in business, it’s tempting to sprint forward, full steam ahead. Having a tortoise by your side means that ideas you see as a slam dunk will be subject to more thorough thought.
On the flip side, those who are prone to contemplate ideas for an exorbitant amount of time may find that they receive a little boost to their timeline, thanks to the elevated excitement of their partner.
Each viewpoint has its own advantages and disadvantages, but in the end, what ends up happening is that each party benefits from the push and pull of the other.
Where can you begin?
The place to start is really by understanding the person who is running the company with you: how they like to communicate, what energizes them, how they make decisions and what speed they operate at.
In your entrepreneurial journey, if you’re able to find great partners in the business development community and engaging mentors to provide guidance, you too will discover that no matter how your co-founder partnership takes shape, two people working together toward a common goal is indeed better than one.
Aug. 25, 2017 "Three ways introverts can be better bosses for extroverts": Today I found this article by Karl Moore in the Globe and Mail:
As introverts have become an increasing part of the leadership conversation, we are becoming more aware of their presence in the management suite, yet the vast majority of leadership literature seems to be written for extroverted managers.
For our research, we have interviewed over 300 C-suite executives and found that more than 30 per cent are introverts. At the middle- and first-line manager ranks, the number is closer to 50 per cent.
How our introverts manage has a very considerable impact on how effective our organizations can be. So this is to talk about three key ways introverted managers can be better managers for their extroverted employees.
The first is to see many traits of extroverts as considerable strengths, not weaknesses. A saying in business is that we don't value what we don't have.
Yes, extroverts can get carried away at times and suck too much oxygen out of the room, but with a bit of judicious mentoring, their energy, enthusiasm, and creativity can add a great deal to the strengths of introverts.
Yes, extroverts can get carried away at times and suck too much oxygen out of the room, but with a bit of judicious mentoring, their energy, enthusiasm, and creativity can add a great deal to the strengths of introverts.
Seeing extroverts as valuable members of the team with a different set of skills is a great start to effectively working with an extrovert.
The second suggestion is to recognize the introvert's need to take breaks when they take an extrovert approach. It is recognized in the academic literature that these breaks from stimulation allow them time to think and analyze – two of their great strengths.
Extroverts need breaks, too, but theirs are the polar opposite. After being by themselves for too long (as they would see it), they need stimulation or they get lethargic. So they head off to the cafeteria, yes, for caffeine, but even more so to chat with people, joke with them and restore their batteries. When they do this well, it makes them better managers and leaders because people share with them things that they might not learn otherwise.
Listening well is seen as one of the traditional strengths of introverts, and compared with extroverts, that's true. At the heart of my third point is that extroverts like/need a greater emotional engagement from listeners when they talk.
Whether it is when telling a story or a joke, presenting slides in a corporate board room or putting forward a new idea in a meeting, introverts need to respond to the extrovert's energy to be an excellent listener.
Whether it is when telling a story or a joke, presenting slides in a corporate board room or putting forward a new idea in a meeting, introverts need to respond to the extrovert's energy to be an excellent listener.
Although introverts are very good listeners, they can sometimes tend toward what extroverts feel are passive listeners. As an extrovert gets excited and wound up with what they are talking about, they seek more active listening. When a listener sits there quietly, not responding, not feeding energy back, extroverts may feel frustrated and assume their ideas are being rejected.
The introvert is thinking about and analyzing what the extrovert is saying, but to be a better boss and keep them on track, it helps to be a more active listener.
The introvert is thinking about and analyzing what the extrovert is saying, but to be a better boss and keep them on track, it helps to be a more active listener.
When a fellow extrovert listens, they nod, they lean forward, they smile or frown; they may not agree, but they are more fully engaged. You likely have colleagues that act like this, and at times you may feel like they are overdoing it.
But extroverts feed off the energy of an engaged audience; this sparks their energy and allows them to perform at their best.
But extroverts feed off the energy of an engaged audience; this sparks their energy and allows them to perform at their best.
In this article I have suggested three key ways an introverted manager can better handle extroverted employees. I think you will find that if they follow them, their extroverted colleagues will thank them.
Karl Moore is associate professor at the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University in Montreal.
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