Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Michael Seibel on Leadership Attributes in Successful Startup Leaders

torch.io

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 45 posts

Re: Michael Seibel on Leadership Attributes in Successful Startup Leaders

#31

Post by watwut »

munchbunny wrote: post #22
doctorpangloss wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> how do you tell someone that they're underperforming... MBA programs When you ask someone, "Describe the person you'd like to work for," I seriously doubt talented people say, "An MBA." So surely you'd see why so many mediocre people wind up working for them.

Talented people aren't going to decide on the basis of whether their manager-to-be has an MBA. Talented engineers will gravitate towards teams with likewise talented engineers and good leadership. I'm suggesting that, as a reliable way to raise the bar on leadership, engineers who want to manage might benefit a lot from going through MBA training.

Engineers who want to manage would definitely benefit a lot from learning about psychology and leadership. MBA training however does produces great leaders that attract skilled people. There is a reason MBAs are complained about so often - the reason is that their management style tend to be demotivating and offputting.

Re: Michael Seibel on Leadership Attributes in Successful Startup Leaders

#32

Post by fsloth »

MichaelMoser123 wrote: post #26
fsloth wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then they iterate? Nowhere does this say that the CEO stays out of the way. CEO can act as the editor, co-designer, arbiter, curator and whatever. Like you hear how Steve Jobs operated. Mode two thinking does not mean you can't be critical. In fact, critique is critical for the best end result. It means you must understand how to skillfully switch between type 1 goal oriented and type 2 creative mode. That's the tric…

Thanks, there must be several styles of switching between the modes/management styles that determine how one is interacting with his colleagues. What are your thoughts here?

Mm, I'm really not an expert and don't have anything constructive to add except to simplify what I said:

IMO the key thing is that the work is done in open mode, and the results are observed critically.

This means that the constraints, implicit or explicit, should be as unlimiting as possible, because all constraints will limit the space of solutions that people can think of. This includes such limits as performance metrics and various financial incentives. Which means if you want creative output, you should generally fund peoples and projects, and not milestones. And then when they deliver something, gauge that critically, and if the thing they make sells well, give them a bonus so they will feel fairly treated. But don't incentivize the innovation process itself and don't hold the bonus up as a promised gift they will wait for.

This is of course completely different way than you would incentivize sales people or people doing linear repetitive tasks where performance based incentives are shown to work pretty well.

Dan Pink's TED lecture is pretty good.

https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation?language=en...

Re: Michael Seibel on Leadership Attributes in Successful Startup Leaders

#33

Post by olau »

MichaelMoser123 wrote: post #10
aytekin wrote: post #2

“Level Two thinking is about creating an environment and empowering people such that they do produce great outcomes without you having to tell them. If they can get into a mental model of what’s good for the company, and if they can be motivated and feel empowered, then they start doing great things. You don’t have to direct them. ” “If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign t…

but what happens if number #1 doesn't like the ship they built?

I find it funny that the others here assume the problem is with the builders and not with #1.

Good leadership requires that you come to terms with shortcomings, both your own and those of other people.

Re: Michael Seibel on Leadership Attributes in Successful Startup Leaders

#35

Post by afpx »

In the military, this is also called “Commander’s Intent”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intent_(military)

I have never been in the military, nor do I know much about it. And, tech companies are very different from militaries. But, I sometimes come across military leadership readings that help give me ideas, and “Intent” is something that has stuck with me.

Re: Michael Seibel on Leadership Attributes in Successful Startup Leaders

#36

Post by 3pt14159 »

MichaelMoser123 wrote: post #10
aytekin wrote: post #2

“Level Two thinking is about creating an environment and empowering people such that they do produce great outcomes without you having to tell them. If they can get into a mental model of what’s good for the company, and if they can be motivated and feel empowered, then they start doing great things. You don’t have to direct them. ” “If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign t…

but what happens if number #1 doesn't like the ship they built?

Out of the big five personality traits agreeableness is the the one most corollated with being a CEO. Negatively correlated, that is.

There is a reason for this. Most people have really low standards. Most people are lazy. Inspiring them to build the ship fixes the second problem. Telling them that the ship's sails are junk and they should design better ones fixes the first.

Re: Michael Seibel on Leadership Attributes in Successful Startup Leaders

#38

Post by matwood »

MichaelMoser123 wrote: post #10
aytekin wrote: post #2

“Level Two thinking is about creating an environment and empowering people such that they do produce great outcomes without you having to tell them. If they can get into a mental model of what’s good for the company, and if they can be motivated and feel empowered, then they start doing great things. You don’t have to direct them. ” “If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign t…

but what happens if number #1 doesn't like the ship they built?

The CEO still manages and communicates the vision on a regular basis. Autonomy is a sliding scale.

Re: Michael Seibel on Leadership Attributes in Successful Startup Leaders

#39

Post by matwood »

olau wrote: post #33
MichaelMoser123 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but what happens if number #1 doesn't like the ship they built?

I find it funny that the others here assume the problem is with the builders and not with #1. Good leadership requires that you come to terms with shortcomings, both your own and those of other people.

More generally, most people always think it's someone else's fault. It's hard for people to look critically at themselves, but only once you learn that skill can really start to improve.

Re: Michael Seibel on Leadership Attributes in Successful Startup Leaders

#40

Post by matwood »

munchbunny wrote: post #7
syndacks wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I agree with your general desire to teach/learn leadership, I don't think true Leadership can be codified as easily as other skills/qualities can. As Siebel says at the end of the interview, the single biggest trait he looks for in a good leader is communication. How do you teach good communication? Is the combination of empathy, wit, general+specific knowledge, active listening, etc etc something you can reall…

How do you teach good communication? Is the combination of empathy, wit, general+specific knowledge, active listening, etc etc something you can really teach someone so they communicate better? I'd argue these traits, if teachable at all, are developed at a young age. They are definitely teachable. I had to learn them. I won't say I'm great at it, but there was a drastic difference between my effectiveness as a leade…

One is so critical for people. Stepping back, even something as simple as just pushing away from the table, can help you see the situation in a clearer light. Many of the rest can be summed as check your ego, and be humble.

Check out Jocko Willinks podcast sometime if you're into leadership. He talks about all of these things using examples from his life when he led Navy Seal teams.

Post reply on HN