Are your communication skills killing your startup’s chances of success?

Get great at having the hard conversations so that you and your business can thrive.

2 min read

As a business coach, I work with so many founders and startup teams who are incredible, smart, inspiring and determined. They live, eat, and breathe their business venture. They tirelessly tweak their pitch, face rejection, and take emotional and financial risks that would leave most normal humans trembling under the covers.

So why, in spite of this tremendous courage, do I consistently hear that great ideas die on the vine because people aren’t having courageous conversations?

At a conference this week for female founders, I heard story after story of struggle due to misunderstanding, miscommunication, hidden agendas, or simply an avoidance of having a hard conversation. Founders reported being cautious about talking to their investors in real, authentic ways. Power plays happen between team members and disagreements go unresolved, which erode trust and build a rocky foundation on which nothing survives.

I’ve also had conversations with VCs about hiring coaches for their startup founders or putting people through Communication For Leadership programs. Their responses always go something like, “We’ll be their coaches. We’ll mentor them.”

To be sure, startups need to be smart about where they are investing their money and energy. It’s important to be lean, scrappy, and resourceful. However, when you notice that the communication stops because issues aren’t being spoken about, that’s the time to invest in the most important asset of your business — you and your team.