When you’re growing a team, it’s easy for you to get the attention. You have the power to always take the final word. You can always be the focus of the meeting or the team social event or the group discussion.
Don’t be.
To be clear, there are times when the bully pulpit of being ultimately responsible for starting an organization is valuable. Do be the gut check of mission and culture, particularly in the early days. Do hangout with the team when social dynamics are just forming.
But somewhere in that space between having a handful of teammates and two dozen, that stops being necessarily always. It’s a question of being more leader than founder.
Remember: founders aren’t scalable, and great leaders know when to sit in the audience.
So you need to be decisive and intentional. Find the decisions and mistakes and meetings and events that are better off without you. Help others know it’s OK if you’re not there. That’s a great gift to give.
