We’ve been thinking about leadership recently, so as a follow up to our 11 Qualities All Effective Leaders Possess, we thought we’d give you some thoughts and suggestions from actual successful entrepreneurs — people who really know their stuff.We took some of our leadership tips from our 11 Tips post, and paired them with a piece of advice or two. These entrepreneurs can give business tips based on experience! Their reflections on their work might just help you with yours.
“Take as much feedback from as many people as you can about whatever idea you have…seek critical feedback. Ask them what’s wrong. You often have to draw it out in a nuanced way to figure out what’s wrong.”
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, Solar City, and Space X{{ relatedcta }}
“Using humor as a core value makes companies more fluid and less rigid. You can be serious about the work and lighthearted at the same time. When you look at the light side, people remain more open, flexible, productive and motivated — all helping to create a cohesive corporate culture and keep the company moving forward.”
Joe Costello, Chairman and CEO of Enlightened
"Test your assumptions. Entrepreneurs can be too passionate about their ideas and not run enough tests very early on, which can lead them astray."
Art Agrawal, Founder and CEO of Your Mechanic
“Your employees need to trust and believe in you. Honesty helps build that trust and confidence. Many leaders tell their employees what they think they want to hear. I prefer to be honest. When things are great, they know it. When things aren’t going as well, they are also aware. It creates a great team environment where everyone feels like they are in it together.”
Mitch Gordon, CEO and Cofounder of Go Overseas
“Think of the startup community as high school: you’ve got your freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, and then teachers and staff. When you first enter the community, whether as a founder or an employee, you’re a freshman. By all means, develop relationships with mentors and more senior, experienced people, but also foster relationships with people just one or two steps ahead of you. Ask them the ‘stupid’ questions and the things that seem silly or small; soon enough you’ll be the sophomore or junior pulling the newbies up the ladder with you.”
Christina Wallace, Director of Startup Institute NY, Cofounder of Quincy