Founders Should Grow with Employees, Not Assemble Them Like Building Blocks

Founders should grow with employees. Grow together rather than assembling employees like building blocks into copies of yourself. Many founders make this mistake: they trust nothing teammates do, repeating instructions endlessly for fear of surprises. Employees may simply think differently. They work on the front line, and some ideas may be better than the senior team’s. Growth is difficult and inevitably involves mistakes. Teams and individuals grow through repeated trial, error, and improvement. Without errors, they cannot recognize their shortcomings or know which direction to improve in. Believe that every employee is capable and can take full responsibility for their work. That responsibility encourages them to work harder and do their best next time. Founders must share mistakes with employees. Allowing mistakes alone is insufficient: when employees make them, share the consequences as well. ---- Robin: “The entrepreneur’s progress alone is not enough. More importantly, the team must move forward together. Allowing mistakes is part of learning and growth. Demanding perfection may stifle employees’ room to grow. Also, give them enough trust.”