Great tech start-ups need great leadership partnerships
The best Tech businesses are built around strong leadership partnerships
I went to see Rocketman during the Bank Holiday weekend. Apart from it being a thoroughly enjoyable movie, a powerful thread of the story that struck me the most was the great partnership and friendship between Elton John and Bernie Tarpin. Elton himself was a gifted songwriter. However, Bernie was even more talented as a songwriter. In fact, Bernie has written Elton’s most famous songs. They met before Elton was famous and have had a musical partnership spanning 50 years.
Just like in the music business, strong leadership partnerships can help rocket your tech start-up to breakthrough success. Examples of the power of great tech leadership partnerships are plentiful. They include Apple’s late Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Google’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and HP’s Bill Hewlett and David Packard.
So how can you pick the right partner for your tech start-up business and ensure you effectively manage the partnership to leverage success?
Ensure your vision is aligned
Ensure you choose a partner who shares a passion for your vision and aspirations. This is crucial as it is the ‘glue’ that will hold your relationship together. You will soon fall out if your ‘picture of success’ is not aligned with that of your business partner. Similarly, you should share broadly similar personal and career values. Explore how each of these, as well as any differences, will guide the way you manage and scale the business. For example, if you are the type of person who values hard work and long hours above all else, but your partner values work-life balance and time with their family, it is unlikely the relationship will last.
Find a partner who complements you
Look for someone who has different strengths and skills and can complement you. In other words, they should possess strengths and skills in areas where you are weaker. A great example of this was the excellent ‘hacker’ — ‘hustler’ combination of Wozniak and Jobs when they co-founded Apple. Too many people make the mistake of partnering with people who are very similar to them. This happens because they can easily identify with their style, skills and perspective. Although this might be compelling at the start, the lack of difference will soon become a liability. You will end up stepping on each other’s toes and build a lopsided company with ‘gaps’ in critical capabilities needed for the business to thrive.
So, if you are a ‘big picture’ ideas person, look for someone who is a strong implementer. Similarly, if you are a logical and cautious person, find someone who is more creative and willing to take risks.
Clarify expectations
Discussing and clarifying expectations and initial responsibilities before entering into a partnership is imperative. It will ensure there is clarity around the day-to-day running of the business. This includes decision-making, communication, people management, fundraising and financial control, investor relations, etc. Once these expectations are agreed, it is important to have regular check-ins to monitor progress. Then decide whether any responsibilities need to be changed or re-allocated based on time, talent and energy/motivation. This will also minimize opportunities for unhealthy conflict as expectations, boundaries and common goals will be clearly understood.
Review the relationship, not just the business
Partners should be open and honest with one another from the get-go. This includes providing constructive feedback to each other to facilitate learning and growth. A high level of trust and openness are characteristics of great partnerships. This accelerates honest feedback and rapid learning. To ensure this happens, time should be set aside for frequent learning reviews.
To ensure the relationship remains strong, it is particularly important not to take your partner for granted. Remind them on a regular basis how much you value their contribution. Provide specific examples of what you value about their strengths. This will help maintain motivation, confidence and positivity and cultivate a bedrock of trust and mutual respect.
Celebrate successes together
The best partnerships involve celebrating milestones and successes jointly, in a fun way. I found this to be a particularly powerful catalyst of trust and teamwork when running an HRTech business for over 12 years with a great business partner. Successes can be marked in a host of different ways. The key is to find something you both enjoy. My previous business partner and I had a mutual interest in good food. Therefore, we used to go out for a nice meal together to celebrate successes and milestone achievements.
Know when to part ways
Great business partnerships rarely last as long as the Elton and Bernie collaboration. Partners need to know when it is time to part and go their separate ways. This can be triggered for a variety of reasons including:
- Their partnership no longer creates the value it once did
- The partnership is no longer enjoyable
- One or both partners can no longer continue because of changes to their personal circumstances
- One or both partners decide to pursue other ventures or career goals
It is important to try to ensure this ‘divorce’ is done as amicably as possible, a kind of unconscious uncoupling. As with all endings, it is likely that the process will be an emotional one. Therefore, highlighting the fun and value created during the partnership will help ensure a smoother transition.
Tech leaders who are co-founders or business partners will spend more time with their partner than they do with their spouse/personal partner. Like marriages or long-term relationships, business partnerships can be personally rewarding and create significant value for your tech business. Therefore, choosing the right partner and ensuring you work hard on a day-to-day basis to build a complementary, high trust and collaborative relationship is vital if you want to enjoy the journey as well as the rewards.
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About the Author
Leadership Consultant | Executive Coach | Business Psychologist
James has over 25 years’ experience working with leaders and organizations internationally to optimize their performance, talent and future success. He has worked with leaders from diverse sectors, countries and cultures. Clients have included Commvault, Equinor, Gilead Sciences, GSK, PhotoBox, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Novo Nordisk, Oracle, Sainsbury’s, Swiss Re, Tesco, Yahoo! and WSP.
James has set-up and successfully grown several of his own businesses, including Strengthscope®, a global strengths assessment and consulting business. As Joint Founder and MD, he grew Strengthscope® into a market leader before selling his stake in the business in 2018.
James is a regular speaker on leadership, coaching, assessing and developing talent and the future of work. He has contributed a wide range of publications in these areas. His most recent book, Optimize Your Strengths, explores how leaders can transform their organizations by inspiring people to shine and deliver exceptional results.
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