Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me, and just be my friend. - Albert Camus
Albert Camus, 1913 - 1960
One of the worst parts – the scariest part, I think – of being an entrepreneur is the feeling of being alone at the top. Or conversely, and more realistically: alone at the bottom.
There may be some sleepless, dark times when you decide to go it alone, but the thing is, you don’t have to do this by yourself. No entrepreneur knows it all, and in fact, most know very little and have to learn on the fly (take it from me, folks).
Creating a team makes business more fun and exciting. And while you should be the boss, it’s also important to view everyone in the organization as equals who are working together to solve problems and create client projects.
As an entrepreneur, I don’t know what I’m doing all the time (and certainly didn’t at the beginning of building Capital TechSearch) so my team often calls me out if what I’m doing looks wrong. My team knows that it’s okay to not follow me if I look like I’m leading the wrong way, and to say something so I stop going down that path. That’s what I’ve valued in my team and what has kept us on a focused path to growth, and ultimately lead us to becoming an Inc. 5000 company two years in a row.
It’s also important that, while you must act as boss, you can let loose with the office from time to time. Go out and grab some hot wings and beer. Do a movie night. Sometimes, just “walk beside me,” as the Nobel Prize winner said, “and be my friend.”
Remember, if you’re an entrepreneur and you’re feeling alone in your quest, it’s just that. A feeling. And it’s often as a result of not really working with your team. Or perhaps not doing simple things together that are less stressful and not so pressure-packed as running a business day-to-day often is. Give your employees the opportunities and the freedom to give you feedback on an ongoing basis. And it won’t feel so alone at the top, or the bottom.
