Beyond the Three Musketeers
Source: Herbert Renard
As you grow, your leadership team has to shift from the Three Musketeers (who do the work) to the Coaching Staff (who develop the team). Start-ups often begin as a tight-knit team of rebels tackling challenges head-on. However, as a company grows, the founders’ leadership style must shift from doer to coach – focusing less on tasks and more on people.
Suddenly, you're not the one fighting battles. Instead, you're training the fighters and shaping the officers who lead them. Your primary goal is to foster a team that can operate faster and smarter than you can alone. As your company expands, you have to shift metaphors and mindsets.
Instead of a few Musketeers doing the work of saving the day, your leadership team is now more like a coaching staff. For a professional sports team, the coaching staff is all committed to the same outcome: equipping and empowering the team to win. The coach should be your default leadership role, nurturing excellent leaders who can carry the work forward without you. (This is a key step in implementing Ownership Culture.)
The Coaching Mindset
As a coach, your responsibility is to place the right players in the right positions, prepare them for action, provide guidance during the action, and debrief afterwards. The best coaches rarely touch the ball, and when they do, it is almost exclusively a training opportunity. They spend most of their time helping the players understand the game so they can intuitively apply the coach’s philosophy.
Note that many companies hire executive “coaches”. This is not the same thing. These coaches can be helpful for professional development, and if you are interested in finding this kind of coach, we can connect you with someone great. However, as a Leader-Coach, you are invested in the business outcome just like your people. You also have more direct control and greater influence. If necessary, you can even direct your people when something absolutely must be done. Nevertheless, adopting a coaching mindset will be by far the most effective way to scale your team.
Your goal should be to get your team to operate faster than you possibly can. Influence their thinking, and provide resources, context, and authority. This will enable them to make good decisions even when you aren’t in the room. If the outcome isn't what you want, then you generally need to refine the process by which the team operates, not the task itself. This shift requires establishing "rules of the road" and considering how to help your team excel in their roles, both now and in the future.
C-Suite as Coaching Staff
Most sports teams have multiple coaches, each focusing on a specific part of the game but sharing the task of team development. Similarly, as your team grows, your leadership team should operate as a team of coaches, each responsible for developing certain areas of the team. When the company is off track, your focus as a group should be primarily on improving your decision-making and team development rather than performance on specific tasks.
One other change that happens as you transition from the Three Musketeers is the emergence of hierarchy. The CEO is the Head Coach and the other leaders report to the CEO and are peers to each other. This hierarchy is often ignored between co-founders in the early stages, but basic hierarchy is essential for introducing new leaders into the team, ensuring clarity and operational freedom. Without it, new leaders you bring onto the team will always feel like an outsider, unable to have an equal seat at the table.
Common Pitfalls
Transitioning from a doer to a coach can be challenging. Here are some common pitfalls to avoid.
The Firefighter
Business proceeds as usual until a crisis occurs. Then, founders step in, employing their unique skills to save the day. However, this reactive approach can lead to a cycle of crisis management and dependency, with the C-suite constantly battling fires. This pattern also conditions the team to rely on you at the first sign of trouble, hampering their development.
The Bureaucrat
When faced with the limitations of their calendars and mental bandwidth, some founders attempt to maintain order through complex systems of command and control. Each problem leads to a new set of policies aimed at preventing a similar issue in the future. Over time, the accumulation of handbooks, SOPs, and safety protocols can hinder flexibility and creativity.
The Bad Babysitter
In an earnest desire to empower their teams and to avoid micromanagement, some founders create a laissez-faire environment. However, this approach can resemble a babysitter sitting on the couch texting while the children run amok. While trust is important, it must be balanced with guidance and support. Left entirely to their own devices, teams may risk serious errors with significant consequences for the company.
The Absentee Landlord
In an attempt to address knowledge gaps, often at the request of investors, some founders hire an "adult" – a seasoned professional. However, the founder may then step back too much, providing insufficient feedback and oversight. This lack of engagement can lead to mismatched expectations and mistrust. Even with their experience, these new hires require appropriate structure and guidance to truly succeed.
Start Now
Although leaders won’t always be in a coaching role, it should be the default. As you become more effective as an individual coach and a coaching staff, your team will achieve outcomes you never thought possible.
Reflect: These days, are you functioning more as a player or a coach?
Act: Identify one of your regular tasks you can start teaching someone else on your team this week.
Join: Never climb alone!