Leading a Startup Calls for a lot of Confidence But that Same Confidence Can Also Be a Major Weakness.
I have been fortunate to meet and work with the Founders of many companies.
Founders are very unique individuals. They innovate, take risks and have vision for something that doesn’t already exist. Above all, they have a hefty dose of confidence. That confidence is the primer that ignites the vision and keeps the passion alive in the early days. But at the same time, their healthy dose of confidence can quickly become a giant weakness–a weakness that can threaten the life of the entire enterprise, especially when combined with a personality who has trouble accepting advice.
In my experience, I’ve noticed there are three big “Overconfidence Traps”:
- The Zig-Zag – when the founder changes plans, actions or objectives for the business without completing any one project. An example has been the continuous tinkering with the product without completing any one feature of the product. Each new customer interface causes a new feature to be the new objective before the last is finished. To make the sale, any sale, drives the energy even though the objective might be different for each customer. This exhausts limited resources and undermines morale on a small team and also results in limiting forward progress and success.
- The Shiny Ball – where founder attention changes an entire business focus with every headline. If drones show up in the news, the business model turns to drones. The same could be said of customer target markets switching between B2B or retail direct. The target market gets a new name so many times the business model never settles. The team loses focus and energy, once again making eventual success more difficult.
- The Huge Ego – A founder character trait that their personal involvement is needed to overcome any obstacle, to make any sale or fix any issue. The team never develops as every decision gets made by the founder. This can also lead to team burnout and low morale. Success can only go as fast as the founder can keep up.
These three “Overconfidence Traps” are important examples where overconfidence becomes a blind spot and a weakness.
Two keys to overcoming this weakness (or even preventing it) has been to remain focused on a formal plan and intentionally cultivating trusted advisors. Doing these two things often runs counter to the founder’s DNA. Their experience has confirmed that making independent decisions has been successful.
But in my practice the most successful founders have cultivated multiple advisors and/or a coach and are open to listening to another perspective and capable of taking advice.
This is where strong results are generated beyond what they are able to do on their own.
As a founder, are you changing priorities or objectives often? Are you convinced that only your personal touch can overcome obstacles and guarantee success?
If the answer to either one of these questions is, “Yes,” you might be stuck in the “Overconfidence trap.”
