Throughout my career I’ve been in leadership roles in both Fortune 500 companies and young startups. Yes, the cultures and leadership challenges for each are starkly different, but there are also some striking similarities between the entrepreneurial skills needed to lead a startup and those needed to lead enterprise-level digital transformation.
Here are five of those similarities:
1. Your idea must be at least mostly right. You can’t go into a transformation effort or a startup with a half-baked concept of where you’re going.
2. You need the knowledge to execute. Merely having a good idea isn’t sufficient. Whether you’re laying out an IT vision or entering a new market, be ready to go if you’re given the green light. And be honest with all stakeholders, whether it’s your investors or your board of directors.
3. You need to establish and leverage deep credibility. Whether you’re competing for scarce capital funds for a new line of business or convincing a board to approve a multi-year IT transformation, stakeholders must believe that you and your ideas are a smart risk. In many ways, they are funding YOU.
4. You need to be in constant sales mode. In both an IT transformation and a startup, you will be highly engaged in convincing a lot of entrenched stakeholders who are skeptical that your non-traditional approach will succeed. In both scenarios, you must be excellent at anticipating all questions.
5. You must lead and execute without fear. You’re at an inflection point, and your career will be significantly changed in some way. You’ve worked hard to get this far, and you’re taking a risk because you believe it’s right. Be unafraid and unwavering in delivering on your vision, and be at peace with the ultimate outcome, with no regrets.
The opportunity to either lead a start-up or an enterprise-scale transformation is a privilege. If we’re fortunate, we strike career gold and find the opportunity to do both in a single company – lead enterprise transformation within a $1B company that also possesses the agility of a start-up. I’ve found that at ITS Logistics, and I hope readers find this same good fortune. Regardless of your career path, I think you’ll find these five insights helpful keys to your success. Good luck.
And if you’re looking to join an exciting technology team committed to growth and innovation, we’re hiring! See our open positions: https://hubs.li/Q022rnrF0
Support Coordinator at Brooks alteenative
2dI'm interested. I’ve been trying to be apart of this great company for 2 years now.