{"id":3618,"date":"2015-06-24T13:23:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-24T20:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/?p=3618"},"modified":"2015-06-24T15:33:24","modified_gmt":"2015-06-24T22:33:24","slug":"boss-vs-leader-startup-founders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/","title":{"rendered":"Boss vs Leader: Why Startup Founders Should Be the Latter"},"content":{"rendered":"

For founders, it’s clear that building\u00a0a team is essential to your startup’s success. But when it comes to managing employees, will you be a boss or a leader?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The Times, They\u00a0Are A-Changin’<\/h2>\n

With change comes new challenges. New technology breeds a faster-paced environment and a competitive marketplace, which has created\u00a0an opening for\u00a0Millennials to become a\u00a0key piece of the hiring puzzle for startups<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They bring new ideas and a different perspective, and can be a cost effective approach\u00a0to hiring (although some recent computer science grads may command higher salaries due to the demand of their skills).<\/p>\n

So, how can founders\u00a0utilize one of their\u00a0largest and most important\u00a0assets: their employees? Even if they\u00a0are themselves a member of the Millennial generation,\u00a0how can\u00a0they\u00a0successfully manage their\u00a0peers?<\/p>\n

\"Boss<\/a><\/p>\n

Image credit<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Boss vs Leader<\/h2>\n

To answer that question, you first need to ask yourself another: Are you a boss or a leader?<\/p>\n

In his lecture\u00a0on how to be a great founder<\/a>, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman<\/a> said success isn\u2019t one size fits all. Instead, the most important part of being a founder is knowing whether or not you\u2019re on the right track.<\/p>\n

What is the right track? It will be somewhat different for every business, of course. But in all cases, at least part of the answer lies in how you treat those you hire to help mold your product and grow your company.<\/p>\n

Boss<\/h3>\n

The idea of a boss is largely consistent with that of old America: an arrogant micro-manager who is probably\u00a0a man (as most women were kept out of\u00a0leadership positions).<\/p>\n

As illustrated in the image above, a boss dictates the mission while perched on high and then expects his employees to do all of the work to execute on it.<\/p>\n

Leader<\/h3>\n

In contrast, leaders largely represent the new America, which thankfully is opening its arms\u00a0to\u00a0a more diverse set of people.<\/p>\n

Rather than dictating the mission from above and barking orders, a leader is down on the front lines, working in the trenches alongside his or her employees in a team effort to execute on the company’s mission.<\/p>\n

\"Difference<\/a><\/p>\n

Image credit<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

A\u00a0boss inspires fear and commands his employees, taking credit when things go well and blaming others when things go wrong. A leader, on the other hand, generates enthusiasm and asks his employees, giving credit to others and stepping in to help when things go wrong.<\/p>\n

Not only will leaders be better liked and respected by his or her employees, but they will actually be more successful in recruiting and maintaining top talent and helping them to reach their full potential (which will not only benefit the employee but the company, as well).<\/p>\n

The Golden Circle<\/h2>\n

The management approach you choose as a founder will have an impact on the overall culture of your company. (It’s not just free beer and ping pong, after all!<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Simon Sinek<\/a>, a leadership author, primes his readers\u00a0to “start with why<\/a>.” This idea can apply to many different situations, both in and out of the workplace. (In fact, we previously explored it in the context of the Lean Startup Methodology for developing and testing products<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Sinek’s concept of the Golden Circle can also be applied\u00a0to leadership.<\/p>\n

\"Golden<\/a><\/p>\n

Image credit<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The Golden Circle prompts us to think critically about our message. Many of us know what we do: we optimize X, we create Y, we host Z. But why<\/em> are we doing it?<\/p>\n

The “why” helps to create purpose, especially for Millennials who seek meaning in their work and want employers to invest in their growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cYoung people are fickle,” wrote Karl Moore\u00a0in Forbes last October<\/a>. “They are on an endless search for happiness. If an organization is unable to map out a road plan, a purpose of employment, it will unfortunately notice a high 0-2 year turnover.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moore reported that, out of a sampled group of Millennials, just\u00a031% of new graduates feel that companies properly integrated new employees. That means the message that employers are trying to send isn\u2019t turning out to be very effective to target this growing group of professionals.<\/p>\n

So,\u00a0how can founders actually engage these employees? Start by asking questions and being critical of one’s self. Is your current \u2018why\u2019 compelling?<\/p>\n

If you tell future employees and consumers that \u201cwe created an amazing system to solve X problem,\u201d they will probably subconsciously respond with “Okay that’s great, but what’s in it for me?”<\/p>\n

Now let’s try this: “We believe that X\u00a0is a problem, and we are passionate that our solution is great. It’s simple, easy to use, and has a beautiful interface. Do you want to be a part of bringing it to life?”<\/p>\n

The whole message changes when you frame it a certain way. This requires not only autonomy as a leader but having a clear vision.<\/p>\n

Companies with a clear mission statement are more attractive to potential employees,\u00a0and those who buy in to your vision will in turn be more productive.<\/p>\n

We have many bosses in the workplace but few leaders. Which will you be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Featured image credit<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When managing employees, founders can either be leaders or bosses. This article explains the difference, as well as why being a leader is the better approach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":4118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[293,125,17,100,150,16,101],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBoss vs Leader: Why Startup Founders Should Be Leaders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This article explains the difference in being a boss vs leader, as well as why being a leader is the better approach for startup founders.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Boss vs Leader: Why Startup Founders Should Be Leaders\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This article explains the difference in being a boss vs leader, as well as why being a leader is the better approach for startup founders.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Build Blog by ThinkApps | Content on Entrepreneurship, Mobile Apps, Web Platforms and more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-06-24T20:23:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-06-24T22:33:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/24202300\/83.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"4928\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"3264\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brett Fink\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brett Fink\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/\",\"name\":\"Boss vs Leader: Why Startup Founders Should Be Leaders\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/24202300\/83.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-06-24T20:23:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-06-24T22:33:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/80c778641825e935568348123bc3c0b4\"},\"description\":\"This article explains the difference in being a boss vs leader, as well as why being a leader is the better approach for startup founders.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/24202300\/83.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/24202300\/83.jpg\",\"width\":4928,\"height\":3264,\"caption\":\"Startup Stock Photos\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Boss vs Leader: Why Startup Founders Should Be the Latter\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Build Blog by ThinkApps | Content on Entrepreneurship, Mobile Apps, Web Platforms and more\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/80c778641825e935568348123bc3c0b4\",\"name\":\"Brett Fink\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88115f4e5493905b315d35466afa4222?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88115f4e5493905b315d35466afa4222?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Brett Fink\"},\"description\":\"Found somewhere in between the intersection of business development, marketing, and education. Currently overseas researching tech and education in European markets. Lifelong learner and philosophical thinker. Find out what projects i'm working on via my website.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.brettdavidfink.com\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/brettdfink\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/JETfink\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/author\/brett-fink\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Boss vs Leader: Why Startup Founders Should Be Leaders","description":"This article explains the difference in being a boss vs leader, as well as why being a leader is the better approach for startup founders.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Boss vs Leader: Why Startup Founders Should Be Leaders","og_description":"This article explains the difference in being a boss vs leader, as well as why being a leader is the better approach for startup founders.","og_url":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/","og_site_name":"Build Blog by ThinkApps | Content on Entrepreneurship, Mobile Apps, Web Platforms and more","article_published_time":"2015-06-24T20:23:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-06-24T22:33:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":4928,"height":3264,"url":"http:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/24202300\/83.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Brett Fink","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brett Fink","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/","url":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/","name":"Boss vs Leader: Why Startup Founders Should Be Leaders","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/24202300\/83.jpg","datePublished":"2015-06-24T20:23:00+00:00","dateModified":"2015-06-24T22:33:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/80c778641825e935568348123bc3c0b4"},"description":"This article explains the difference in being a boss vs leader, as well as why being a leader is the better approach for startup founders.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/24202300\/83.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/24202300\/83.jpg","width":4928,"height":3264,"caption":"Startup Stock Photos"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/boss-vs-leader-startup-founders\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Boss vs Leader: Why Startup Founders Should Be the Latter"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#website","url":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/","name":"Build Blog by ThinkApps | Content on Entrepreneurship, Mobile Apps, Web Platforms and more","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/80c778641825e935568348123bc3c0b4","name":"Brett Fink","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88115f4e5493905b315d35466afa4222?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88115f4e5493905b315d35466afa4222?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Brett Fink"},"description":"Found somewhere in between the intersection of business development, marketing, and education. Currently overseas researching tech and education in European markets. Lifelong learner and philosophical thinker. Find out what projects i'm working on via my website.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.brettdavidfink.com\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/brettdfink","https:\/\/x.com\/JETfink"],"url":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/author\/brett-fink\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3618"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3618"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4128,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3618\/revisions\/4128"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}