When companies are small, the few people involved are responsible for nearly every task, to-do, and milestone that will or won’t get done. At the big co.’s, where many startupers come from, the realms of responsibility is not only well defined, but shared across a whole fleet of talented go-getters. In big co. land, what makes a person successful is their ability to positively impact that defined sphere and influence those with whom accountability is shared to follow their lead. Making the transition from managing defined spheres to managing everything under the sun is one of the many important litmus tests of an entrepreneurial leader. The difference is like transitioning from being a valve in a clogged engine to the ignition spark of a concept car.

Mediocre valve: engine pushes along vs. No spark: no go

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Having full control of designing and implementing a new product is a lot of fun, every feature is a reflection of your vision and each rounded corner is a testament to your style. Having full control of accounting, hiring, and the sales pipeline tends to be a bit less revered. What’s more, should any one of those critical elements get off track the responsibility to fix it now falls right on your lap.

An amazing part of taking on these new roles is the unexpected thrill you get when you positively influence something which you may have had no previous experience doing. For the business folks, it may be writing copy for the website, converting it to HTML, uploading a few images, and publishing the completed page to the web. For the technical folks it may be going to a sales meeting where you lead the presentation, instead of sitting around waiting for the VP of Marketing to say, “Let me have my technical guy answer that.” Stepping outside your defined sphere is exhilarating.

Mind The Gaps

Thinking back to life at big co’s, no matter how well each individual may perform in their defined sphere, related elements of the project which don’t fall within an employees specific sphere are left to whom ever owns that responsibility. Consequently, the overlaps, mis-communications, and shortcomings leave small gaps throughout the finished project. At a big co, these small gaps are big deals because customers and managers expect the world, in a startup these gaps are larger simply because the time and resources to make things perfect does not exist, but the implications of making a few enhancements post ship is much more acceptable…almost expected.

As a startup matures and resources expand, the dynamics of accountability change. Of course, quality control processes and more definition of roles and responsibilities are a natural progression, but staying rooted in the fluid transitions between seemingly disjointed tasks and a willingness to tackle issues outside traditional areas of expertise are part of the reason some startups reach success.

Keeping the barriers low for people to move freely between tasks and maintaining an overall culture of “We are All Accountable for Everything” is what enables a company to stay exciting. As leaders of very small companies, facing these issues may seem far off, but once the mojo has left the building it can be very, very difficult to get back. Leading the charge in stretching oneself beyond the traditional roles of Marketing, Business Development, Engineering, and Finance should top of mind for entrepreneurial leaders.

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