Trusted Collaborators
I have been reflecting on how I make decisions for my startup – and the role of my trusted inner circle.
Startups are a test of will, fortitude, creativity, and resolve. The reality is that it feels like I spend the vast majority of my time problem-solving as we think about and define what the evolving situation facing us looks like, incorporate new information, and double down on strategies we are already executing or adopt new approaches into the mix.
Essential to making the best decisions possible is ensuring I am gathering comprehensive information from credible, relevant sources and testing my perceptions, perspectives, and conclusions on the sharp insights of others at critical and pivotal junctures along our journey. We must respond to what we are learning and determine what adjustments we should make to keep advancing. My trusted inner circle frequently includes those with experiences in adjacent spaces or close colleagues who are deeply involved so they can interpret our circumstances from a different perspective. Over time, I find that I learn whose perspective complements my own, who can bring to bear ideas that are a good influence on my planning and thinking, and whose inputs help me see new opportunities for forward progress or help me to let go of an idea whose time has passed. Sometimes the best help is to “pair” together to get a task done collaboratively. Such work can range from brainstorming strategic directions, crafting a complex email or an FDA response, or creating some other deliverable. Each individual involved brings unique skills, experiences, and insights that we can leverage. Sometimes that means defining what needs to be done and asking a colleague to bring their capabilities to bear on accomplishing that next task. Sometimes that means getting some input or review on some deliverable I am working on.
Finding and relying on trusted confidants and advisors as I develop my startup is essential. What makes someone evolve from a helpful colleague to a trusted confidant and advisor? It usually is not a person’s heart — their desire or intention to be helpful. My team is full of people who want to help and contribute. Frankly, if someone becomes destructive, that is usually a strong sign that they need to leave the team, so those who remain have hearts that are in the right place. We have been largely successful at screening for positive tendencies in the recruiting process, so I rarely have to deal with someone who develops a destructive propensity.
Not everyone who wishes to can become that “first call” person I reach out to and rely on routinely as an excellent direct and close collaborator for me personally in leading the startup. Yet those colleagues who do not have the capabilities to be a “first call” executive can still be strong contributors in their own right as they tackle essential work that is well-matched to their strengths and skill sets.
My role demands constant vigilance considering the whole of the startup, strategic vision, long and short-term planning, initiating and prioritizing work, and ultimately being accountable for making sure the critical problems get solved somehow. What makes the difference? What makes someone able to make the leap into that inner circle? The Bible reminds me in Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” It has everything to do with whether the collaboration between us is demonstratively additive to the solutions we are developing to the problems of the day. Over time and various joint collaborative experiences, we learn each other’s strengths and expertise and how we can complement each other – or not. Over time, I certainly learn who to call first for the various types of help that I need. Trust is established as problems are jointly solved. Mutual emotional support is almost always a sign of an emerging sense of partnership in overcoming obstacles. It has never looked like someone declaring to me that they want to be my first call for particular issues because that is a position that is earned by the value delivered as I repeatedly make those calls for help and test out who can give an excellent assist in moving the ball down the field. Some people just step into the gap and fill it. Some people add little value compared to the time taken to reach out. Over time, I prune out the time spent on low-value calls and invest heavily in high-value calls. A stated desire to contribute is not enough. Demonstrated impact and results are essential to building the trust that turns into reliance.
For each startup leader, finding those who can be that inner circle of collaborators, who can be that first call for at least some types of the problems that must be solved, is an individualized journey. It depends on your own strengths, skills, and experiences, as well as the complementary strengths, skills, and experiences of those you assemble around you. It depends on how personalities, characters, and values mesh. It matters how you bring out the best in one another and how you can emotionally challenge and support one another constructively through the inevitable challenges. And it is essential to focus your time and attention on those relationships, strategies, and work that move the value-creation process forward expeditiously. Focus and clarity on what is working and what is not are essential. Sometimes hard decisions have to be made. In the end, startup building is a team sport – and you have to figure out what mix of team members can evolve into an elite, high-performing team to drive forward and, at the same time, establish the framework for enabling others to contribute as the business grows and scales.
