Read on Twitter
Do this:
1. Account for tailwinds when assessing a candidate's past impact
2. Probe the candidate & references for the leader's singular impact ("tell me why this wouldn't have been achieved w/o you at the helm")
3. Turn yourself into a person who doesn't get swayed by charisma
1. Account for tailwinds when assessing a candidate's past impact
2. Probe the candidate & references for the leader's singular impact ("tell me why this wouldn't have been achieved w/o you at the helm")
3. Turn yourself into a person who doesn't get swayed by charisma
Btw, #3 is good to do for general happiness in life.
Everyone likes to think they are impervious to charisma, but few actually are.
This doesn't mean charisma is bad. We should all try to build more. Just don't use it for evil & don't get influenced by others' charisma yourself
Everyone likes to think they are impervious to charisma, but few actually are.
This doesn't mean charisma is bad. We should all try to build more. Just don't use it for evil & don't get influenced by others' charisma yourself
Do this (contd):
4. Establish this management philosophy, beyond a certain levels of leadership: Excuses Don't Matter
5. Be sure to clarify to prospective leaders at your startup that they won't be rewarded for "rearranging deck chairs" (this should scare many ILs away)
4. Establish this management philosophy, beyond a certain levels of leadership: Excuses Don't Matter
5. Be sure to clarify to prospective leaders at your startup that they won't be rewarded for "rearranging deck chairs" (this should scare many ILs away)
Do this (contd):
6. For leaders you've already hired, don't fall prey to confirmation bias early on. Remember, you'll want to feel like you made the right choice & that will make you less objective
7. Make sure leaders know they won't get credit for tailwinds & legacy momentum
6. For leaders you've already hired, don't fall prey to confirmation bias early on. Remember, you'll want to feel like you made the right choice & that will make you less objective
7. Make sure leaders know they won't get credit for tailwinds & legacy momentum
(lastly, the most important tip)
Don't compare a leader's impact with the state when there was no leader in that function or when you were leading it up on an interim basis.
Compare their actual impact to what you expect the impact to be with a world-class leader in that role.
Don't compare a leader's impact with the state when there was no leader in that function or when you were leading it up on an interim basis.
Compare their actual impact to what you expect the impact to be with a world-class leader in that role.
Back to the top of this thread: https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1339997380335128576
Some more thoughts/resources
I first started thinking about this topic after listening to The Hard Thing About Hard Things.
In it, @bhorowitz talks about how it's hard to manage executives because they are super-savvy. Generic mgmt advice doesn't work. https://smile.amazon.com/Hard-Thing-About-Things-Building/dp/0062273205/
I first started thinking about this topic after listening to The Hard Thing About Hard Things.
In it, @bhorowitz talks about how it's hard to manage executives because they are super-savvy. Generic mgmt advice doesn't work. https://smile.amazon.com/Hard-Thing-About-Things-Building/dp/0062273205/
"Stealing the Corner Office" is an interesting read, but not for the reasons its author describes.
It is useful for first-time founders, CEOs, and benevolent executives because it lays out the machiavellian tactics that many ILs tend to employ. https://smile.amazon.com/Stealing-Corner-Office-Strategies-Business/dp/1601633203/
It is useful for first-time founders, CEOs, and benevolent executives because it lays out the machiavellian tactics that many ILs tend to employ. https://smile.amazon.com/Stealing-Corner-Office-Strategies-Business/dp/1601633203/
You'll see ILs at very large companies, but I've at times also seen such issues at startups I've talked to/advised.
In largecos, it can take up to 2 years to identify ILs (i.e. the timeline I shared above).
At startups, 6 months suffice. But 6 mos is a long time for a startup!
In largecos, it can take up to 2 years to identify ILs (i.e. the timeline I shared above).
At startups, 6 months suffice. But 6 mos is a long time for a startup!
If you found this thread useful and are looking for more resources to combat these issues, check out this related thread I wrote in May 2020: https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1260601045178216448
This is why Intent is paramount
(more impt than other apparent skills) https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1289547795028824064
(more impt than other apparent skills) https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1289547795028824064
Related, this stack rank applies to us as individuals & to the teams we lead https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1285751991390461953
Beware the "X for Y" Proxy Delusion https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1255489241364279299
Some (but not all) Incompetent Leaders swear by the "Fake it till you make it" mantra. The problem is not the mantra itself, but their interpretation of it. This short thread describes the problem with "Fake it till you make it" and how to properly use it https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1259165739778404352
Because ILs aren't actually very good with unique insights that will move the business forward, they optimize somewhat blindly towards metrics & incentives. They often use metrics & incentives as a way to defend their actions. My opinion on that approach: https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1292324825310978049
The IL as described here has a lot in common with a couple of manager anti-patterns. Check out #4 and #7 in particular, in this thread of 7 manager anti-patterns: https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1287142367816908800
While this thread has largely been about what *not* to do as a leader & a manager, you can check out the thread below for a perspective on what *to* do: https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1290685921348562948
This short tale is quite relevant, worth a read
(h/t @kedarbmehta)
http://outsideinlens.blogspot.com/2009/12/story-of-3-envelopes.html
(h/t @kedarbmehta)
http://outsideinlens.blogspot.com/2009/12/story-of-3-envelopes.html
