Lead Upwards. Sarah E. Brown
1:1S WITH YOUR DIRECT REPORTS CREATE BETTER 1:1S BY ASKING BETTER QUESTIONS GOAL SETTING AND OKRs CARVE OUT TIME TO TALK CAREERS AND GIVE FEEDBACK SMALL GESTURES ADD UP TO A CARING MANAGEMENT STYLE MEETINGS: HOW MANY DO YOU REALLY NEED TO BE IN? IS THIS MEETING SET UP TO FAIL? HERE ARE WARNING SIGNS THIS WON'T BE A PRODUCTIVE MEETING MANAGEMENT TIP: DON'T SEND “CAN WE TALK” MESSAGES TO YOUR TEAM BE EMPATHETIC TO WHAT PEOPLE ARE GOING THROUGH WHILE SETTING HEALTHY BOUNDARIES BUILD FEEDBACK INTO YOUR REGULAR COMMUNICATION AND PROCESSES BEWARE THE PITFALLS OF “SKIP LEVELS” SOLVING CONFLICTS ON YOUR TEAM ENSURING YOUR TEAM (INCLUDING YOU) TAKES ADEQUATE TIME OFF TAKE TIME TO REALLY UNPLUG YOURSELF TO SHOW YOUR TEAM THAT'S THE CULTURE CULTIVATE AS FLEXIBLE A WORK ENVIRONMENT AS POSSIBLE EMBRACE FEELINGS WHILE ESTABLISHING HEALTHY BOUNDARIES AROUND HOW YOU DEAL WITH THEM DEFINING SUCCESS AND TRUE OWNERSHIP GET YOUR REPORTS TO THINK LIKE OWNERS A NAVY VETERAN SHARES THE CASE AGAINST COMMAND AND CONTROL LEADERSHIP HAVE YOUR TEAM'S BACK LET YOUR TEAM KNOW IT'S SAFE TO MAKE MISTAKES, AS LONG AS THEY LEARN FROM THEM TEACH YOUR TEAM TO PROBLEM‐SOLVE AND LET THEM DO THINGS IN DIFFERENT WAYS THAN YOU WOULD IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE A MANAGER, DECIDE TO CARE ABOUT PEOPLE PROBLEMS INVEST IN LEARNING HOW TO BECOME A MORE INCLUSIVE LEADER HAVE FUN AS A TEAM! PRACTICE REPAIR AND BUILD IT INTO YOUR TEAM RHYTHM DO RETROSPECTIVES TO ENSURE THE TEAM SHARES THEIR VOICES AND GROWS WISER RETROSPECTIVE PROCESS (START–STOP–CONTINUE) NOTES
9
PART IV: MANAGING YOURSELF AND YOUR EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATION
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Level Up to Scale with Your Startup
MAKE AN INVENTORY OF THE THINGS YOU'D LIKE TO WORK ON
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF WORKING WITH AN EXECUTIVE COACH
BEYOND COACHING: THERAPY IS A GREAT OPTION
YOUR GROWTH IS UP TO YOU
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Leading in a Post‐covid World
AS THE WORLD HAS CHANGED, PRIORITIES HAVE SHIFTED FOR MANY OF US
SINCE REMOTE WORK IS HERE TO STAY, HERE'S HOW TO DO IT: IDENTIFY AND SOCIALIZE THE SYSTEMS YOU'LL USE FOR COMMUNICATION AND TRACKING WORK
PLAN TO WORK AROUND TEAMS' SCHEDULES AND TIME ZONES
CREATE PREDICTABILITY IN YOUR OPERATING CADENCE
LEVERAGE OKRs TO KEEP EVERYONE ALIGNED
TAKE EXTRA TIME TO CHECK IN ON HOW PEOPLE ARE DOING
SET SAFETY PROTOCOLS AND CONSIDER HIRING A COVID SAFETY OFFICER TO GATHER IN PERSON
JOSH ASHTON'S STORY: LEADING HIS TEAM AS CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER AT TRINEO DURING THE PANDEMIC
REMEMBER THAT EVERYONE IS STRUGGLING WITH SOMETHING DIFFERENT
NOTES
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Managing Up: How to Work with Your CEO and Board
WORK WELL WITH YOUR CEO BY UNDERSTANDING THEIR PREFERRED WORK STYLE: FOUNDER HITEN SHAH'S STORY
NOTE: YOUR CEO MAY NOT BE AWARE OF ALL OF THEIR PREFERENCES (BUT THEY STILL HAVE THEM)
GETTING TO KNOW THE BOARD BY CONNECTING DIRECTLY WITH AT LEAST ONE MEMBER
ALWAYS BE CONCISE IN YOUR COMMUNICATION WITH YOUR BOARD
NICK MEHTA'S ADVICE: FOCUS ON THE METRIC THAT THE BOARDS CARE MOST ABOUT
MANAGE YOUR TIME WELL DURING THE BOARD MEETING
UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOUR BOARD REALLY CARES ABOUT
A WORD OF ADVICE: DON'T OVER‐PROMISE TO THE BOARD
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: When Things Go Pear‐shaped: Navigating Challenges, Setbacks, Failure, and Departures
LEARN TO PRACTICE COMPASSION TOWARDS YOURSELF WHEN DIFFICULTY AND FAILURE HAPPEN (BECAUSE THEY WILL)
PRACTICE SELF‐COMPASSION WHEN THINGS ARE HARD AT WORK
UNDERSTAND THAT PEOPLE REACT DIFFERENTLY UNDER STRESS
TREAT PEOPLE WITH RESPECT, ALWAYS
WHAT TO DO IF A COLLEAGUE QUESTIONS YOUR IMPACT
IF YOU FAIL AND GET LET GO, OR MESS UP IN A BIG WAY, YOU STILL BELONG IN THE STARTUP WORLD AND YOU'RE GOING TO BE OK
WHEN YOU GET PASSED OVER FOR A PROMOTION OR A ROLE
NORMALIZING