Lessons from Claire Hughes Johnson, former COO at Stripe

Leadership & Management

Distinguish between leadership and management. Leadership is about setting a vision and the standards, while management is the knowable process of getting from point A to point B. [3]
Great management and leadership are about high standards and deep devotion. You are likely better at one than the other, and the goal is to balance both. [4]
Leaders set a vision and demand things they don't know are possible. They turn up the heat and push for more, better, and faster. [5]
Management is knowable. It involves organizing people, processes, metrics, and goals to achieve an objective. [3]
Your job as a leader is to get people to go somewhere they don't see. You have to convince them that the mission is worth tackling, even if the vision is never fully achieved. [5]
Real power comes from vulnerability and knowing you can't do everything. [6]
Be the person in the room willing to name the problem. If you can't get the unspoken issue on the table, you'll get stuck. [3]
Say the thing you think you cannot say. This operating principle encourages open communication and prevents an attack-response. [7][8]
Don't get too comfortable. If you are succeeding in scaling, the methods you used for one phase won't work for the next. [9]
A leader's job is to address existential threats that others are not talking about. It's like making kids eat their vegetables; you have to lead them through it. [5]
Management is not about telling people what to do. Like parenting, your team looks at what you do, not what you say. [3]
Leadership should publicly celebrate managers who improve operational efficiency. This includes coming in under budget or giving back headcount allocation. [10][11]

Company Building & Scaling

Create—and document—your startup's operating principles. This is a critical part of company building, which is a different skill set from finding product-market fit. [5]
Your startup deserves constitutional documents to guide your actions as you grow. These documents outline what you're harnessing all your resources to accomplish. [12]
A mission explains why your company exists. Your long-term goals outline what you hope to achieve, and your values establish the culture that enables you to work toward those goals. [10][11]
Adopt a planning framework early. You need operating processes sooner than you realize. The rules of a game are what make it fun and winnable. [9]
Come back to your operating system. As complexity rises, having a set way of thinking about how to get work done is crucial. [8]
You can't make too many things at a company mandatory. Be judicious about what you require, which should likely include performance and feedback processes, a planning process, and a few tactical things like launch reviews. [9]
Getting your organization used to the fact that it's an iterative process and that you're a learning organism is much better than resisting change. Having to change things means you're succeeding and need something new. [9]
Every organizational decision has an externality. When making changes, ask, "What are we going to optimize for and what price are we going to pay for optimizing that thing?" [6]
Be intentional about what you choose for your work model (e.g., distributed, in-person). Build systems and processes around that choice because people don't organically collaborate well across time zones. [5]
Don't assume you need to add experienced executives right away. Startups with under 150 employees can be in an "uncanny valley" where it's difficult to attract experienced operators. [5]
For a long time, your actions pull your company along. Then, your existing business starts pushing your behavior. [12]
There is no such thing as an optimal org structure. You have to be careful that people don't make false assumptions about who is responsible for a given decision. [9]
Preserving optionality is one of the best decisions for a young company. The world five years from now is unpredictable, and products must evolve with it. [6]

Hiring & Team Development

The biggest indicator of a problem with a new executive hire is if they don't hire anyone good in their first three to six months. [13]
One of the most common mistakes early-stage founders make is not hiring well and then not firing fast enough when the hire isn't performing. [14]
Founders should write a guide to working with them. This clarifies their involvement, communication preferences, and what makes them impatient, preventing others from learning it the hard way. [9]
Manager guides work particularly well across regions and cultures as a way of building rapport quickly during high growth. [15]
When interviewing executives, ask them about their current team and why they chose that structure. You learn a lot from how they describe the choices they made with the team they inherited. [13]
You can't have people abdicating responsibility for hiring. While recruiters are critical, the hiring manager must own the process. [3]
Effectively giving peer feedback is essential because employees often work in teams. [6]
When addressing someone's actions, focus on the deed, not personal judgments. It's about what they did, not who they are. [16]
If a direct report is not working out, have a very direct conversation. Start with, "I am worried this is not working out for you," and discuss a different path. [3]
Leave room for teams to organically develop their micro-cultures while still linking back to company values and objectives. [16]

Personal Growth & Self-Awareness

Build self-awareness to build mutual awareness. This is a foundational operating principle. [8]
I'm a big self-awareness advocate. As a founder or CEO, you must spend time on what only you can do and what is existential to the company. [9]
If you get feedback you disagree with, it may be a sign you lack self-awareness. All feedback is valid, even if it's not correct. [8]
Diagnose what gives and takes your energy. Map out your good and bad days to understand what activities add to or detract from your energy. [7]
Do the work to understand your strengths, what you're passionate about, and where you could add value. Resist following the masses. [14]
People do not learn by being told answers. A good leader guides them to find the answer themselves and celebrates their success. [17]
There are two gaps that are really hard to overcome: people who can't stop being victims, and those with a 'self-awareness gap' who think they are the best in the world. [17]
How do you get results? You make anything implicit explicit and be clear about the process and the desired outcome. [17]
I am just honest about, 'I can't do this well, and I think you want someone at their best. It's not going to be my best.' [17]
My job is not to tell them what to do or how to do it; it is to build their confidence in their instinct. [17]
Don't get stuck if you realize something isn't your path. Try things out and move on. [14]
The best founders are constantly calling for expertise and advice and learning themselves. [14]
Heuristics for testing your goals: If your goal starts with a verb, reframe it to describe the outcome. [10][18]
We always talk about scaling companies, but companies are just collections of people. If you're not thoughtful about them and what they need to succeed, it's going to be hard to succeed as a company. [2]

Learn more:

Lessons from Claire Hughes Johnson, former COO at Stripe

Leadership & Management

Company Building & Scaling

Hiring & Team Development

Personal Growth & Self-Awareness

Written by Antoine Buteau

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