F. Working with investors.
Make sure you have regular 1:1’s with each investor before every board meeting. Remember the golden rule of never surprising your board during a board meeting.
Bad news is expected. Don’t hide it. Instead build the trust of your board. Having a mentor or coach that is not a board member (someone who has been there before) is something to consider.
G. Be transparent with your team.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not sharing the bad news with your team. You will be amazed at the positive (yes positive) response when you share bad news.
Here’s why:
- You’ve built a team that believes in your mission, and…
- Your team wants to win, and…
- Your team is made up of high-quality, high-integrity people, so…
- Your team will be able to handle the bad news, plus…
- Your team knows that not everything is going to work out, so…
- You send a message of trust when you tell your team the problems along with the successes, and better yet…
- You will be amazed that many times your team will come up with the solutions to the problems.