Lead Upwards How Startup Joiners Can Impact New Ventures, Build Amazing Careers, and Inspire Great Teams
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
SARAH E. BROWN is a B2B tech marketing leader, author, startup mentor, and ecosystem builder. She has over a decade of experience scaling SaaS companies through customer-centric marketing. She is a mentor at the Techstars accelerator and the founder of Flatirons Tech, a diversity- and inclusion-focused group from Boulder, CO.
In Lead Upwards: How Startup Joiners Can Impact New Ventures, Build Amazing Careers, and Inspire Great Teams, startup marketing leader Sarah E. Brown delivers an illuminating and accessible guide to maximizing your impact and delivering results in a startup leadership role. The author draws on over a decade of experience scaling SaaS companies as she explains how to prepare for, earn, and succeed in an executive role at a startup company.
The book describes every step on the way to realizing your goals—and the goals of your startup—as you navigate the gap between a management role and the executive team. It covers what to do in your first 90 days, how to build and sustain a healthy team culture, and the art of communicating results to your leadership team and board. You’ll also learn:
- How to manage the challenges posed by leading a remote, distributed, or hybrid team
- Management strategies based on inclusive and diverse teambuilding, alignment with business objectives, and inspirational leadership
- Effective ways to level up your skills and stay current as your company grows
A must-read book for current and aspiring executives at startup firms, Lead Upwards will also earn a place on the bookshelves of startup board members, founders, funders, and managers seeking a singularly insightful discussion of business leadership.
Introduction: Why Startup Leadership Matters At Every Level 1
Part I Becoming a Startup Executive 7
Chapter One What It’s Really Like To Be An Executive At A Startup—and How It’s Different From Being A Director Or Manager 9
Chapter Two Bridging The Transition From Manager To Executive: How Leaders Got Their First Role 27
Chapter Three Understanding and Evaluating Your Fit At Various Startups 39
Chapter Four Landing Your Next Startup Executive Role: Leveling Up Within Your Current Organization Or Seeking A Role Elsewhere 51
Chapter Five Get The Offer and Secure Your Executive Seat 67
Part II Getting Started: Nail Your First 90 Days 87
Chapter Six Define Your Goals and Align With Your Ceo and Board On Success 89
Chapter Seven Build Key Relationships: Ceo, Board, Team 103
Chapter Eight Know Thyself: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Areas To Improve 113
Chapter Nine Learn The Company Culture and Define It With Your Team 131
Part III Building and Managing Your Team and Department 141
Chapter Ten Recruit Smart and Build Belonging 143
Chapter Eleven Alignment: Set The Strategy To Get Your Team Working Toward The Same Vision and Goals 149
Chapter Twelve Attunement: Creating A Culture Where People Contribute Their Best Work 155
Chapter Thirteen Building A High-Performance Team Culture 165
Part IV Managing Yourself and Your Executive Communication 189
Chapter Fourteen Level Up To Scale With Your Startup 191
Chapter Fifteen Leading In A Post-Covid World 197
Chapter Sixteen Managing Up: How To Work With Your Ceo and Board 205
Chapter Seventeen When Things Go Pear-Shaped: Navigating Challenges, Setbacks, Failure, and Departures 213
Part V Proving, Sustaining, and Expanding Your Impact As A Leader 243
Chapter Eighteen Measuring Success: How To Know If Things Are Working 245
Chapter Nineteen Communicating Your Results To Your Cfo, Ceo, Company, and Board 253
Chapter Twenty Mentorship: How To Further Grow Your Career By Networking and Giving Back 267
Afterword 279
Notes 281
Acknowledgments 287
About The Author 289
Index 291
Praise for LEAD UPWARDS
“With all of the books out there for startup founders, few resources exist for startup contributors. Lead Upwards is a comprehensive, generous guide for making an impact at a tech startup from a joiner’s perspective. A must-read for those new to startups or interested in growing their careers.”
—BRAD FELD, Partner, Foundry Group; Co-founder, Techstars
“A practical, approachable guidebook for the new and seasoned startup professional who wants to lead, regardless of their title.”
—NIR EYAL, Author of Hooked and Indistractable
“Lead Upwards is a refreshing resource for startup leaders who want to lead from within startups and make a positive impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Brown provides a solid and comprehensive guide for success for emerging executive talent. A must-read for anyone who aspires to take their leadership skill to the next level.”
—SUSANNE TEDRICK, Author of Women of Color in Tech: A Blueprint for Inspiring and Mentoring The Next Generation of Technology Innovators
“Founders: make your startup leaders read this book! Lead Upwards makes a clear case for investing in the next generation of startup leaders to drive impact.”
—NICK MEHTA, CEO of Gainsight and co-author of Customer Success: How Innovative Companies Are Reducing Churn and Growing Recurring Revenue
Incredible careers full of impressive leadership and inspiring results are not the sole province of startup founders and entrepreneurs. Those who join startups—either as executives or as individual contributors or managers—can also achieve extraordinary outcomes with the right combination of vision, drive, talent, and resilience.
In Lead Upwards: How Startup Joiners Can Impact New Ventures, Build Amazing Careers, and Inspire Great Teams, marketing leader and startup mentor Sarah E. Brown delivers an incisive and comprehensive exploration of how to turn an executive role in a startup into an impactful and successful experience worth celebrating.
In the book, you’ll discover how to earn—and prepare for—an executive role at a startup, as well as bridging the transition between manager and executive and evaluating your fit at various companies.
You’ll learn how to navigate your first 90 days at a startup effectively and to deliver results and manage your team effectively while dealing with the challenges presented by remote and distributed teams. You’ll also learn to communicate your results to your CEO and your board as your company grows in size and complexity.
The author explains how to build and manage your team and department through smart recruiting, razor-focused alignment and strategy, inspirational leadership, and a healthy, inclusive culture. Find out the steps you need to take to level up your skills, executive presence, and resilience as your company—and your role within it—matures.
Lead Upwards is an eye-opening and comprehensive handbook to making your voice heard and your presence felt at a startup company. It’s a detailed guide to delivering results and shaping your—and your company’s—future, one sound decision at a time.
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
SARAH E. BROWN is a B2B tech marketing leader, author, startup mentor, and ecosystem builder. She has over a decade of experience scaling SaaS companies through customer-centric marketing. She is a mentor at the Techstars accelerator and the founder of Flatirons Tech, a diversity- and inclusion-focused group from Boulder, CO.