All the things I misunderstood about being a leader

I tried to behave like I thought a great leader would, and it almost killed the company.

Before we become leaders, we observe leaders, both up close and through the lens of the stories told about what great leaders do. I thought a great leader would be strong, decisive, quick to action; I thought they’d be fully transparent; I thought they’d address problems with swift, sweeping changes. And when I got my chance to be an executive at a tech startup, I tried to behave the way I thought leaders should — and it led to chaos, panic, and frustration. In this talk, I’ll share my mistakes as a first-time leader, what I thought I was supposed to do, and what actually worked instead.

Key takeaways

• Learn common misconceptions about what leadership means
• Hear real stories of how so-called “leadership qualities” led to poor outcomes
• Learn counterintuitive leadership practices that get actually good outcomes