Lead Upwards

CHAPTER TWELVEAttunement: Creating a Culture Where People Contribute Their Best Work

Leadership isn't born; it's taught. It's surprising how many startup leaders lack training in this area. Get these fundamentals down and watch your team perform far above their punching weight.

Attunement is a concept in psychology that stems from a core human need to be seen, recognized, and honored as individuals. This happens with startup founders naturally; think about all of the founder‐specific decisions companies make. Here are a few ways I've seen attunement play out for founders at companies:

• A poker‐themed company holiday party because the founder famously loved to gamble.
• Violin giveaway at a high‐tech conference when our product and brand had nothing to do with violins or music because the founder was a violinist.
• Very few meetings, because the founder disliked them.
• Lots of meetings, because the founder liked them.
• No alcohol served at company parties, as an unwritten rule, because the founder didn't drink.
• Lots of IPAs always served at company parties, as an unwritten rule, because the founder preferred them.
• The office was located in a city that was easily accessible by the founder to get to his kids' school from his home, even though no other employees lived in that very expensive area that was a long commute for most of the team. When the idea of moving to another city closer to the majority of the staff came up, it was shot down, primarily because it would have been ...