The first step in developing leadership skills is to understand that as a startup CEO, you have two different tasks: being a manager and being a leader.

The CEO as Manager

1. Define a strategy - setting the vector (direction) for your company
2. Recruiting the right team that is best positioned to execute the strategy
3. Setting goals that steer your team in the right direction and then letting them ‘run’
4. Assisting where needed when your team runs into challenges; or, where the goals show they are off course, setting them back on track.
5. Monitoring progress and periodically reassessing the two initial building blocks - your strategy and your team - to make sure they still make sense.

For a startup the cycle should be performed weekly.

The CEO as a Leader

It’s important not to get so busy and caught up in the managerial cycle to lose sight of other big-picture responsibilities.

You are unlikely to build an amazing company focusing only on the management part. The leadership part get to be the winner because there are many good managers, but very few great leaders. Leading a startup is 10X tougher than leading a standard company given uncertainty and the need to change your direction often.

Leadership is harder to master. Takes soft skills and big-picture thinking. Best leaders lead by example. It all starts with you. You’re the CEO, you’re the inspiration.

People - Top leaders actually care

Hiring is one of the most important jobs in leading a startup, especially early on when the DNA of your company culture is at stake. While speed is mantra, hiring is the one area where it pays to take it slower as the cost is much greater than running a failed experiment.

Once they join, you have to lead them.

Top leaders care deeply about the company, about the product and most of all about the people on their team.

Caring is incredibly hard to fake. If you authentically care, your team will know if subconsciously.

1. Spend time with people.
2. Listen to your team.