Spotlight Article: “Surviving ‘Founder Fear'” by David Selinger
David Selinger hit the nail on the head with his article about the “loneliness at the top”. While starting a business can be full of excitement and energy at the beginning, more and more CEO’s report feeling isolated once their business grows and they are the man or woman at the top. In the words of Selinger, CEO and Co-Founder of RichRelevance,
“The life of a startup CEO can be lonely. People may know and acknowledge this, but we haven’t taken much time to understand its underpinnings (and thereby its mitigating factors) or its implications. I’ve spent the last month or so searching for the root cause of the torment of my own experience, and after days of rambling thought have arrived at the conclusion: fear.”
In his own life, Selinger traces his fear to two things: “fear of failing (in the future) and fear of discovering (or worse! being discovered) I have already failed, by choosing a path with a dead end; I simply haven’t found out yet.” I think many CEO’s would agree with Selinger’s feelings because of the responsibility and pressure that rests on a CEO’s shoulders.
However, the journey at the top doesn’t have to be so lonely. CEO support groups have been found to help by offering a place to talk with others who are dealing with the same struggles that you are and who have been there before. Selinger also provides a list of principles that he’s learned through his years as CEO that have helped him over come his “founder fear” and loneliness:
- Transparency rules
- Build trust
- Ask for help
- Spouses/partners are allies
- Friends are friends
Read the complete article at TechCrunch.
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