Characteristics of an Effective Start-up Leader

Leading a young Start-up to success is no simple task, given its shortage of resources and the uphill battle it faces against competition. The effectiveness of its leadership plays a crucial role and is characterized by a unique set of factors that match the company's early stage of activity.

The type of early stage company I'm thinking about is one you'd typically find in Israel – a creative solution, centered on an advanced technology, targeting a global audience, extremely short on funds, and competing against significant global players. The challenges are immense and involve the need to manage several internal and external processes in parallel –back-office issues, production and human resources; strategic efforts around sales and partnerships while matching the company's direction with realistic market opportunities; raising funds; and more.

Among the many qualities I'd expect this kind of leader to have, I'd include the following basic few:

Attitude: An effective leader must have a positive attitude - she must effortlessly view every situation as an opportunity for something better. She must be motivated and derive energy from the process and the vision.

Charisma: An effective leader creates an environment of comfort and respect among his peers - employees, investors, customers and partners. Charisma involves true confidence in oneself, the product, the company and the vision. It involves honest and devoted attention to the moment; true caring, understanding and consideration of the other; decisiveness and authority.

Communication: An effective leader is an effective communicator - both verbally and non-verbally. Displaying confidence and calm, her peers should understand and buy into her thoughts, vision and strategy. If her audience is international, she should be able to communicate well in English and exhibit at least basic understanding of the culture and language of her global peers. She must inspire others and elicit commitment on their part.

Management: An effective leader knows his shortfalls and strengths, and is able to wisely delegate authority to others. He recruits talented professionals with personality traits that strengthen a culture of synergy, creativity and leadership. He is reliable and trust-worthy, example-setting through dedication and hard work. He is respectful and considerate of others as persons and not only as employees.

Originality: An effective leader is creative – she's able to take an idea to new heights, to think of multiple directions to achieve her goals, to strategize alternatives towards attaining results.

Performance: An effective leader is motivated by pressure, and performs well under it. He remains sharp and focused, yet enjoys the process and maintains a sense of humor.

Leading a young Start-up is a challenging role, requiring strengths that cannot always be learned. It does not necessarily require deep technical knowledge of the product, rather a combination of personality traits and professionalism that are able to take science to a commercial environment where it can compete, grow and generate profits.

Ilan Friedman
ilan@ncompas.net