If you’ve worked at a startup, you may have heard this phrase from the founders: “My employees are my boss.” Or “I report to my team.” Or something along those lines.
I’ve worked at a few startups and now happen to be a co-founder at another one, so I’m reasonably familiar with this rhetoric.
Though, when I was an employee, I used to think it was an annoying thing to hear. On so many levels: Weren’t the founders reporting to their investors/board of directors? Are they just saying that so their team feels better about following them? What’s going on?
Over the years, I’ve started to understand the sentiment behind it. It’s a recurring thought, and given that I used to misread it, I thought it’d be useful to share this in a more in-depth manner for others.
For me, it all stems from one thing: responsibility.
When I think “my employees are my boss,” it’s because I feel responsible.
I feel responsible for their lives, their career, their financial future, and their potential to find meaning in their work.
These feelings are constant drivers of my dedication to executional excellence. From time to time, they’re also causing stress. Especially when we’re not hitting revenue targets, or lose business.
In hindsight, I’ve realized that I was lucky to work for very passionate founders that were partially driven by compassion.
If you’re a founder reading this, know that I empathize with you. If you ever need an ear to listen- feel free to reach out to me.
If you’re an employee at an early stage startup and hear this - have the benefit of the doubt: it may be coming from the right place.