How to create more leaders

I used to think leadership came with a title. But leadership isn’t about hierarchy it’s about giving people something to follow. 

Today’s post is specifically about people leadership, but I believe that you can lead people, projects, shape culture, or even redefine the standard of excellence without no org chart.

History

My first experience in this was at a previous start-up, where I was balancing the fun act of people manager and individual contributor.

My team was made up of two junior engineers who honestly made this first gig so easy. They had qualities I still look for from everyone that cannot be taught: drive, openness to learn and curiosity. They honestly taught me more than my trying to “teach” them. 

Earlier this year, I became the manager of our Community team at Vercel. This was an honour and exciting change as we’ve continued to build up on the momentum our customer community platform. It’s been a fun experience applying what I learned and doubling down on what works while improving what doesn’t.

As I’ve grown into this role over the last few months, I’ve found a few grounding principles that guide me. Maybe they’ll be a source of inspiration for you or at least give you an idea of what it’s like to be in my team. 😇

These will obviously evolve over time, but these are what I try to live by today! 

Be the example

Lead by example. 

This includes the day-to-day community work. By now, I’ve gathered enough experience to have a good perspective on how things should be executed.

For example, how an online event should be run, speaking points for moderators, CTAs for every initiative, how to create spaces for organic discussions, what supporting programs could be launched, etc.

That’s not all, though; it’s also about traits. What are the characteristics you want to see everyone in the team show? Do that.

My personal favourites are:

• Transparency: Being honest, even if not always pleasant is a way to build trust. As honesty becomes the default, everything else just flows. For example, sharing what’s going on in the company or giving timely feedback to help course correct.
• Collaboration: Like in every team, there are always different personality types. I find myself always asking, “How can we work better together?” If communication or team dynamics isn’t flowing, let’s fix it. If there are opportunities to work together, instead of solo, how can cultivate more of that team spirit?
• Psychological safety: I’m a firm believer that when people feel safe to be themselves like expressing their opinions and thoughts, they do their best work. This isn’t a switch, it’s something that you intentionally have to build out in every day interactions. Are you creating an environment where people don’t fear you, rather want to work with you to produce the best possible result for everyone?

Show the value of the team

It’s important to show how your team’s work is making a difference.

This one’s personal. Experienced layoffs last year have made me obsess over tying work to clear outcomes. This is probably a different blog post altogether, but in a nutshell, I constantly ask, “What does XYZ metric show? What is the £££ ROI of this community initiative? How many customers benefit from our community space?”

I also collect testimonials and feedback that highlight individual and team impact. I don’t just showcase this to broader audiences and in every room, virtual or in person, that I can, but also to them, because sometimes we all need a reminder.

Pro tip: To make this even easier, create a document where you collect all your best work.

I encourage everyone in my team to have a “key ships” doc and regularly remind them to add public Slack conversations, community discussions, and project work they’re proud of. Not only that but regularly asking for how XYZ work impacted XYZ metric.

This practice has already come in handy in so many conversations I’ve had!

Give credit where credit is due

Recognition matters! 

When someone credits me for something someone on my team built, or when I’m asked for updates on projects I’m not directly running, I always redirect the spotlight to the person who did the work. 

I’ll name-drop. I like to tell my team to write updates from them, not from me, so I can easily link back. It’s their work, and I’m just elevating it. Generally, it’s important to remind everyone to celebrate the builders, not just the loudest voices. 

Even though shoutouts, kudos, and public recognition go a long way, another part to credit is fairness, which matters a lot to me more than anything else. 

In the past, I’ve had managers fight for fairness for my work. I’m still super grateful for them. But on the flip side, I’ve also had managers be silent despite my glowing performance reviews.

I remember mentally noting I’d want to be a fair manager if I ever had the opportunity to be in that position… I’m proud to say that I have 🫡

Leadership means doubling down on your people

The more successful your team, the more successful you are as a leader. 

Better yet, when you invest in your team, you create more leaders. 

In turn, these leaders go on to build great products, ship projects and build their own great teams and cultures. 

By no means do I have all the answers; I’m still learning. I feel lucky that I’m surrounded by some of the greats, helping me be better 💜