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In Lead Upwards: How Startup Joiners Can Impact New Ventures, Build Amazing Careers, and Inspire Great Teams, startup marketing leader Sarah E. Brown delivers an illuminating and accessible guide to maximizing your impact and delivering results in a startup leadership role. The author draws on over a decade of experience scaling SaaS companies as she explains how to prepare for, earn, and succeed in an executive role at a startup company.
The book describes every step on the way to realizing your goals—and the goals of your startup—as you navigate the gap between a management role and the executive team. It covers what to do in your first 90 days, how to build and sustain a healthy team culture, and the art of communicating results to your leadership team and board. You’ll also learn:
A must-read book for current and aspiring executives at startup firms, Lead Upwards will also earn a place on the bookshelves of startup board members, founders, funders, and managers seeking a singularly insightful discussion of business leadership.
SARAH E. BROWN is a B2B tech marketing leader, author, startup mentor, and ecosystem builder. She has over a decade of experience scaling SaaS companies through customer-centric marketing. She is a mentor at the Techstars and Backstage Capital accelerators and the founder of Flatirons Tech, a diversity- and inclusion-focused group from Boulder, CO.
Introduction: Why Startup Leadership Matters At Every Level 1
Part I Becoming a Startup Executive 7
Chapter One What It’s Really Like To Be An Executive At A Startup—and How It’s Different From Being A Director Or Manager 9
Chapter Two Bridging The Transition From Manager To Executive: How Leaders Got Their First Role 27
Chapter Three Understanding and Evaluating Your Fit At Various Startups 39
Chapter Four Landing Your Next Startup Executive Role: Leveling Up Within Your Current Organization Or Seeking A Role Elsewhere 51
Chapter Five Get The Offer and Secure Your Executive Seat 67
Part II Getting Started: Nail Your First 90 Days 87
Chapter Six Define Your Goals and Align With Your Ceo and Board On Success 89
Chapter Seven Build Key Relationships: Ceo, Board, Team 103
Chapter Eight Know Thyself: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Areas To Improve 113
Chapter Nine Learn The Company Culture and Define It With Your Team 131
Part III Building and Managing Your Team and Department 141
Chapter Ten Recruit Smart and Build Belonging 143
Chapter Eleven Alignment: Set The Strategy To Get Your Team Working Toward The Same Vision and Goals 149
Chapter Twelve Attunement: Creating A Culture Where People Contribute Their Best Work 155
Chapter Thirteen Building A High-Performance Team Culture 165
Part IV Managing Yourself and Your Executive Communication 189
Chapter Fourteen Level Up To Scale With Your Startup 191
Chapter Fifteen Leading In A Post-Covid World 197
Chapter Sixteen Managing Up: How To Work With Your Ceo and Board 205
Chapter Seventeen When Things Go Pear-Shaped: Navigating Challenges, Setbacks, Failure, and Departures 213
Part V Proving, Sustaining, and Expanding Your Impact As A Leader 243
Chapter Eighteen Measuring Success: How To Know If Things Are Working 245
Chapter Nineteen Communicating Your Results To Your Cfo, Ceo, Company, and Board 253
Chapter Twenty Mentorship: How To Further Grow Your Career By Networking and Giving Back 267
Afterword 279
Notes 281
Acknowledgments 287
About The Author 289
Index 291
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The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
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