Andrew Rodgers, an executive coach and leadership consultant at Odgers Berndtson, explains how start-up leadership teams can address derailing behaviours through reconciliation
Start-ups are emotionally intense and high-pressure environments. Purpose and belief infuse the leadership team, sometimes at the expense of relationship cohesion. In the chaotic growth stages, unity can be overlooked as diverse personalities and leadership styles clash and dominate. Often, these become dysfunctional behaviours, hindering ambitions, progress and performance.
For example, a founder may manifest a particularly domineering leadership style and if their overassertive behaviour is not called out or is ignored, other leaders might be less open and less able to provide constructive counterpoints or ideas. Conversely, other leaders might respond in kind, and useful, productive debate turns into unproductive, heated exchanges.
Left unchecked, these behaviours prevent leadership teams from fully engaging in healthy discussion, limiting innovation, creative thinking, and effective decision-making. Individual leaders will avoid certain topics or other leaders entirely, and conflict goes unresolved while stress grows. Importantly, collaboration becomes severely reduced and the start-up can suffer under a lack of leadership unity.
These behaviours are often masked and incorrectly labelled as diversity of perspectives. Typically, they are a result of misunderstanding, perceived offences, lack of appreciation or recognition, and where these behaviours are entrenched, they can be emotionally charged. Almost always, the whole leadership team is aware of the frictions and disruptive behaviours but is not equipped to address them in a constructive manner.
Addressing derailing behaviours and achieving reconciliation
For a start-up leadership team to address these behaviours and their causes, they must carefully and appropriately acknowledge their existence and impact. Facilitated discussion can cultivate a safe environment where the behaviour’s root issues can be reviewed and addressed. The leadership team can then process the causes and their impact with respective parties taking responsibility, allowing different perspectives and positions to be reconciled.
This process is leadership reconciliation. Leaders undertake honest self-reflection, receive feedback, and are offered the opportunity to make a conscious commitment to grow. Dominating or disengaged leaders can find the courage to acknowledge the impact of their behaviour, explore the causes, seek forgiveness and be given the support to change and operate at their best through a non-judgemental process.
Frustration is replaced by collaborative ambition, intentional behaviours, courageous decision making, and a relationally strong leadership team. This process is so powerful the improved performance is tangible.
Why is leadership team reconciliation important?
Start-ups are renowned for “go fast and break things” style cultures that are chaotic and intense. But start-up leadership teams perform at their best when they are formed around unity, collaboration, and trust in relationships.
Reconciliation re-establishes all three. It binds start-up leaders together through a shared process that is enriching. For the leadership team with the domineering member, the reconciliation process leads to the other members of the team growing in confidence to bring more of their authentic selves to discussions. As a result, they can apply more of their intellect, are more curious, more engaged, more vulnerable, more ambitious and positive-outcomes driven.
These outcomes are shown in research. Google’s Project Aristotle analysed 180 teams over multiple years. Their research found the most effective teams operate in an environment of psychological safety. This trait allowed team members to feel safe to take risks and be vulnerable in front of each other, fostering an environment of open communication and collaboration.
Start-up leadership teams who undertake reconciliation and create a safer and more collaborative environment are better equipped to tackle the difficult challenges that so often impede the path to a start-up’s success. What’s more, reconciled leadership teams know they have the capability to make mistakes and recover from them. Simply put, they are better equipped to engage with the successes and manage the messes that are so common among start-ups and early-stage businesses.
Reconciling behavioural conflicts within start-up leadership teams is paramount for fostering a culture of trust, collaboration, and innovation. This process, crucial for navigating the challenges unique to start-ups, transforms internal conflicts into opportunities for growth and innovation. By doing so, start-ups can harness the full potential of their leadership teams, enhancing performance and driving sustainable success. Ultimately, those start-ups that prioritise leadership cohesion and reconciliation are best equipped to thrive in competitive and challenging landscapes.
Uma Rajagopal has been managing the posting of content for multiple platforms since 2021, including Global Banking & Finance Review, Asset Digest, Biz Dispatch, Blockchain Tribune, Business Express, Brands Journal, Companies Digest, Economy Standard, Entrepreneur Tribune, Finance Digest, Fintech Herald, Global Islamic Finance Magazine, International Releases, Online World News, Luxury Adviser, Palmbay Herald, Startup Observer, Technology Dispatch, Trading Herald, and Wealth Tribune. Her role ensures that content is published accurately and efficiently across these diverse publications.