As leaders, our journey is never static—it's about constant evolution and striving for greatness. In my latest article, I’m exploring a concept I like to call 'leadershifts'—small shifts to transform your leadership.

Part 3 of a 3 parts series where we surveyed 100 startup founders to determine which is more important in today’s rapidly changing environment – EQ (Emotional Intelligence) or IQ. The results are pretty clear.

Part 2 of a 3 parts series where we surveyed 100 startup founders to determine which is more important in today’s rapidly changing environment – EQ (Emotional Intelligence) or IQ. The results are pretty clear.

We surveyed 100 startup founders to determine which is more important in today’s rapidly changing environment – EQ (Emotional Intelligence) or IQ. The results are pretty clear.

Are you struggling more than you did last Spring? It is OK and you are not alone. I suspected that this Fall would be extra tough on founders… and it turned out to be true.

Culture is the attitudes, behaviors, and interactions that make up the work environment. As such, it has two sides or components to it — the intellectual and the emotional. Are you giving enough time and energy to both sides of culture?

Indeed, “emotional contagion” is a real thing - meaning the feelings you are experiencing and the mood you are in can really be felt by others and vice versa.

We meet lots of founders - almost all of whom are smart. In fact, they are very smart. The type of smart that can be filed under what we know as IQ (or Intelligence Quotient). However, an even more important factor in growing a company into a long-term success is EQ (or Emotional Quotient), otherwise referred to as “Emotional Intelligence.”

What we bring to work depends on our own health and well-being. For founders, this is critical, since the entire operation is depending on you.

At FounderForward, we strongly suggest that all the clients we work with adopt a Gratitude Habit.  On more than one occasion our suggestion has been met with an eye-roll and a comment about it being a bit “woo woo.” That is until we explain that there are countless benefits to developing a Gratitude Habit — and that most are rooted in science.

This week our founder Robyn Ward sits in on The Employee Experience Podcast with Stephan Vincent to talk about startup culture and the value of self-care, emotional intelligence and transparency in the workplace.

As the founder (and CEO) of a new company (talking to startup founders here, but this can also apply to seasoned CEOs) — your job is not just to focus on growing your business, you must also focus on growing yourself.

If you have ruthlessly prioritized, and time-blocked for, an important planning session, but come to the meeting depleted of energy and off your game - you are certainly not setting yourself, team or company up for success.

If you don’t control your calendar, it will control you. And you will spend the majority of your time on defense, reacting to whatever you get hit with when you check your phone or walk into work in the morning - meetings, fire drills, people issues, investor requests, etc.
 

You’ve likely heard of executive coaches or life coaches —but at FounderForward, we’re focused on coaching startups. Founders and founding teams at the beginning of their journey.