Brandon Bornancin's 2024 book “The Power of Going ALL-IN: Secrets for Success in Business, Leadership, and Life” discusses company leadership. The author, a serial entrepreneur who led a startup to billion-dollar revenues, shares his perspective on leadership, guidance, and management of startup companies and beyond.
What is an ALL-IN Leader? It's a mindset and actions in work and life in pursuit of excellence and growth.
I think it's appropriate to read the book not as a recipe for success (I don't believe in such things) but rather as a source for personal critical thinking: We may disagree with some things but learn from others, and in between, we'll be reminded of many correct things we wanted to do and may have forgotten along the journey.
The book is structured as a collection of 365 tips, one for each day of the year. The summary covers the main topics, not necessarily in the same order. These topics relate to the following areas (which are, of course, intertwined):
Employees
Team
Organization
The Leader
Leadership is a privilege, but this privilege comes with responsibility. We all have something to learn; I learned.
Below are the topic headings - in the book, you'll find details and examples:
Employees
Recruitment
People come to work to be alongside a leader; they leave when they lack a leader who supports them and their growth; they come to startups because they desire to be in an organization more significant than themselves.
For every recruitment request from the organization, examine the positioning of the intended employee, advantages and disadvantages of recruitment, and expected return on investment (ROI)
Invest in learning how to interview and select suitable people, a systematic and efficient process.
Recruit people with a passion
Recruit people today who will also fit in the future
Constantly search (even when there's no concrete position) for people suitable for recruitment
If a star is identified, recruit without delay
Ask behavior-related questions - how they deal with difficulties, learning, achievements, and failures.
Pay attention in recruitment to integrity, intelligence, and the ability to initiate and learn.
Recruit people who are different from the leader and can complement them; recruit people who will speak their minds and not be "yes men."
Recruit people with a "growth" mindset
Prefer people who can contribute to a positive organizational culture
Prefer people with qualities that are hard to learn over those with easily acquired qualities
I prefer people with experience and seniority. Rationale: ability to bring achievements; ability to point out deficiencies and push the company forward
Onboarding
An onboarding program that allows employees to showcase their skills as quickly as possible
A company familiarization program that addresses the organization, team, communication methods, and planned training
A training system in the company that allows for rapid learning, investment in training, and excellent instructors
As part of the onboarding program, training on work techniques of the top 20% of performers
Weekly review of the onboarding process and employee satisfaction, at least for the first month
Understanding that the first 1-3 months will likely indicate the overall performance level, act accordingly
Learn from new employees about ways to improve (they're not yet ingrained in the organization, so they can see what others no longer can)
Support
Initiating 1:1 meetings - recommended weekly; conversation led by the employee; adapting each meeting to the needs and style of that employee
Availability for short 5-minute conversations with employees at immediate notice
Offering help without thinking about oneself, only about the employee needing assistance; constant balance between achieving personal goals and helping others achieve their goals
Preventing and reducing burnout as much as possible, listening to struggling employees, and ensuring the most talented employees are satisfied and don't want to leave.
Giving employees the feeling that they are indeed important
Independence and space for employees to try new ideas and action strategies, even at the cost of failure
An environment where the employee feels seen and understood, showing interest and listening to employees' problems and opinions during meetings, respect for everyone, and giving each employee a place to enjoy productivity, even when there are concerns about improper behavior
Communication adapted to the style suitable for each employee; communication where difficult things are said discreetly and respectfully but accompanied by a plan for improvement
Extensive support for the employee during times of change, understanding that change is difficult for everyone
When an employee is not succeeding in their role - defining goals and working with them to improve, considering the possibility of transferring them to another unit where they will be more successful
Advancement
Leader's responsibility:
Advancing employees to higher levels of capabilities and performance. This is where everything starts
Advancing employees to a place where they can change the world
Helping employees define goals for themselves and share their vision of success
Assisting employees to find their passion and translate this passion into passion related to the company and its products
Investing in training regularly
Identifying the employee's weaknesses and coaching them to deal with them
Examining what the employee does, not just what they say
Providing immediate feedback to the employee
Educating employees to deal with criticism and become resilient to it
Educating employees to take on more than required and to act even before being asked
Advancing employees so they can take on a task and complete it fully without pushing, reminders, and assistance
Pushing employees towards self-realization is a significant factor on the path to happiness
Identifying outstanding employees and promoting them immediately without the temptation to delay or wait for an opportunity (they may not stay until then)
Training middle managers to become leaders
Creating levers for advancement for every role in the company
Recognition and Appreciation
Recognizing employee successes
Appreciating ideas for improvement
Commending small successes as a regular part of work meetings
Giving genuine compliments that you believe in
Reinforcing positive behaviors during change (rather than complaining about less successful behaviors)
Celebrating successes
Personally appreciate those who are promoted
Departure
Not taking it personally; it's part of the job market
Sometimes, it's not possible or appropriate to transfer an employee to another position; sometimes, the employee is not suitable; it's essential to build an improvement plan with the employee aimed at ending the employment if the employee indeed doesn't progress; it creates alignment of expectations
If there are repeated dismissals due to incompatibility, the leader should understand that the problem may lie with them
Learning lessons to improve
Team
Understanding that teamwork is the key to victory, and the team's success is the CEO's/leader's/manager's success
Caring for the mental health and resilience of the team
Work culture of team play where everyone supports each other and tries to help one another
Listening to team members; listening between the lines (sub-text); using emotional intelligence
Sharing strategies and decisions made by management with employees, as long as there's no barrier
Helping teams understand and analyze problems, but transferring the authority and responsibility to them for solutions
Believing in synergy; instilling this concept in the team
Instilling a sense of confidence in the team about itself and its ability to overcome difficulties
Clear and documented work guidelines (playbook)
Approaching the team with requests and issues to be advanced (not as commands for execution)
Breaking down large and complex goals into feasible tasks
Prioritizing tasks: focusing on a critical task at a time
Defining team goals that address a) Professional, b) Personal, c) Health, and d) Ongoing; Defining, monitoring, and examining goals on an annual, quarterly, monthly, and daily basis
Striving for performance maximization; treating organizational goals as team goals, not personal ones; treating difficulties and successes as team difficulties and successes, not individual ones
Supporting any question, difficulty, and issue of team members
Teaching people to teach and learn from each other
Managing 1:1 meetings and team meetings to understand the team's difficulties and bottlenecks, planning and prioritizing tasks
Demanding everyone together and each individually to do more than what's required (“the extra mile”)
When identifying undesirable behaviors in the team - addressing them as early as possible
Understanding that the team will change because people change jobs, encouraging others, when there's a change, to fill the void and step up
Supportive technology
Fostering friendships among employees
Nurturing the feeling that work is a journey and one should enjoy the path as well
Organization
Vision and Goals
A grand purpose that the organization serves
Bold vision: a vision that is clear and understandable to everyone. Infinite commitment to realizing the vision
Ambitious goals at all levels (organization, teams, individuals within it)
Setting a tight schedule for achieving goals (according to Bornancin - half of the original estimate)
Instead of envying market leaders - emulate the top performers and become as good as them
Routines
Work that is based on data, uniform work processes, suitable team, and supporting technological systems
Coaching as a central tool for employee care and advancement; reliance on data
Mentoring program to promote performance in all areas for those with the highest potential
Working according to documented uniform processes with clear responsibility for each task; clarity of requirements and expectations.
Focusing activities where impact is maximal
Dividing projects into tasks small enough to be managed by effective teams
Effective work meetings that always include a purpose, facilitator, space for relevant expression, and a summary including an action plan; short work meetings of up to 30 minutes
Daily meetings (short stand-up meetings)
Full presence in every meeting attended (not engaging in countless other things)
Daily data review (new data means new decision-making)
Weekly progress updates; appropriate sharing of information with employees
Monthly meetings to look at the big picture for each team and the entire organization
Monthly review of projects, products, and deals, deciding where to clean up and where to refresh
Investing whatever is necessary to achieve goals; big goals require significant investments
Quick decision-making, especially in start-up companies
Decision-making based on prior learning of implications (inputs and outputs), possibilities, and past experiences
Managing change with thought and when not backed against a wall; thinking twice or more before a large-scale change
Monitoring task execution and achievement of results (less focus on inputs and hours invested)
Investing in routines to create and maintain the company's reputation
Investing in routines that contribute to others within and outside the company (in the professional community and in general)
Decisive, respectful, simple communication emphasizing purpose and the leader's trust in employees
Work routines that promote work-life balance
Culture
Professional and managerial ethics
Integrity (honesty, reliability, lack of self-focus, and accountability)
Management transparency
Striving for excellence, and having high expectations from every employee and everyone together.
Avoiding a culture of criticism; instead, dialogue to identify areas for improvement.
Decentralization of responsibility; avoiding micro-management - trusting employees
Employee empowerment
Looking at the glass half-full
Persisting and not giving up when faced with challenges, giving everything possible to cope.
A healthy balance between positivity, challenge, achievements, and camaraderie
Practicality and minimal bureaucracy
Continuous learning and development in every spare moment
Safe environment for risks, mistakes, and learning; understanding that to succeed - one must experience failure along the way; understanding that every challenge is an opportunity for growth; encouraging people when they experience failure
Gamification and friendly competitions
A culture that encourages connections with and between people, for example, through shared experiences
A place for employees' families
The Leader
Behavior
Diligence: working harder than everyone else
Personal responsibility for employees: their welfare, performance, promotion, and turning them into leaders themselves
Giving credit to others for success; taking personal responsibility for failures.
A constant balance between three components: advancing company goals, supporting missions, and maximizing team success
Passion: towards work, towards the organization and its products, towards achieving the vision and goals, and towards employees and their success. Seeking and finding personal motivators that drive passion and understanding the "why?"
Absence of fear appearance; resilience, because there will always be difficult days
Flexibility
Persistence, even under challenging things (until they become not difficult at all)
Action-oriented, without complaints, without "cannot."
Absorbing tension and pressure to ease it for employees so they don't carry the stress and pressure themselves
Oriented towards asking questions
Consistency in behavior; determination to achieve goals and complete projects and initiatives being promoted
Personal admission of mistakes and taking responsibility for them
Being a teacher to employees
Availability to employees
Supporting employees
Readiness for change
Positive mindset - every day anew; growth mindset
Leadership through caring, empathy, and compassion for others
Exposing the leader's vulnerability as a person, "being human," asking for help, and inquiring when not knowing
Personal role model for employees
Humility, concerning the respect the leader expects to be shown, concerning understanding that they can leave, and concerning oneself
Staying authentic; not getting intoxicated by success
And... not expecting it to be easy; sometimes it might even be painful; embrace it, and move forward
Learning
Collecting, examining, and analyzing data, using them as a basis for learning and improvement.
Encouraging feedback as a basis for learning and improvement
Learning from both negative and positive experiences
Investing in researching the problem, tracking what others have done, and learning from them
Finding the right time of day for learning; everyone has hours that are more effective for learning activities
Reading, reading, and more reading of professional or enriching knowledge and information
Specializing and becoming an expert in a defined field
Learning both in the professional field and how to manage
A belief that one can always learn more
Improvement
Every night - planning for the next day
Investing in improvement every day anew (each day - 1% better than the previous day)
Internalizing that growth requires stepping out of comfort zones
Initiative: understanding that the world is changing and requires us to change along with it
Data-based understanding and measurement; intuition-based decision-making
Actively and continuously strengthening and improving intuition
Critical thinking - asking "why?"
Working according to the rules until feeling that they are no longer suitable, and then - breaking the rules and creating new ways of action
Seeking a personal partner to help push for improvement and its implementation
Talking out loud about improvement directions and painting them realistically aids in the realization.
Not getting used to success, discomfort in success, and growth will pave the way for continued improvement.
Conducting surveys among employees to see what management needs to improve
Measuring success through people who thank the leader for their success
Be leaders who make employees dream more, do more, be more, and achieve things they never believed they could achieve.
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