Leaders are like snowflakes. No two are exactly the same.
While there are a number of qualities that unite most effective leaders — such as reliability, integrity, passion and vision — the path to achieving those principles varies greatly.
At these five Austin companies, the featured respondents have crafted unique leadership styles that allow them to show up authentically for their teams. While some emphasize continuous learning and active listening, others embrace accountability and challenging personal fears.
Regardless of their individual frameworks, these leaders — from Arrive Logistics, AffiniPay, OJO, Luxury Presence and Overhaul — have a proven track record of leveraging their approach to achieve results, advance their organizations and prioritize their people.
Arrive Logistics is a transportation and technology company that provides solutions for shippers and carriers.
Describe one principle that differentiates your unique approach to leadership.
My approach to leadership has always been to listen and be open. It may sound like a simple concept, but it has allowed me to be a more effective leader by inviting trust and collaboration with all levels of people in the organization and equipping me with the tools to do my job well.
Listening has made me a more approachable leader, opening the door for more feedback to improve at what I do while also helping everyone feel heard. It has allowed me to ask better questions and lead with curiosity and empathy when working with people. Being someone who people feel they can come to for advice, who will hear what they have to say, makes me the most proud as a leader.
The biggest difference that I noticed after making active listening a critical element of my leadership style was a big shift in trust and loyalty from my direct reports.”
What differences did you notice after you adopted this principle?
The biggest difference that I noticed after making active listening a critical element of my leadership style was a big shift in trust and loyalty from my direct reports and other people in the organization. I became a sounding board for others and I was exposed to different thoughts, ideas and leadership styles as a result.
I’ve always been very open with communication, but I started using it as a skill in leadership when I found myself in a role where I was a resource for a number of people. Listening intently to what and how they delivered their messages allowed me to foster a culture of feedback and evolve our training programs to fit well with this approach.
What has this approach to leadership helped you and your teams accomplish?
Active listening has allowed me and my team to be a better partner for the business and our leadership. We’ve positioned ourselves as a team that can be trusted to take the pulse of the organization and create change in a positive way for the people who work at Arrive.
Fintech company AffiniPay provides professional services payments and project management software.
Describe one principle that differentiates your unique approach to leadership.
While I can’t claim complete uniqueness, a principle that I ardently emphasize with my team is to always be learning and growing. This value was ingrained in me during my tenure on a previous team, and I was so captivated by its essence that I brought it with me to AffiniPay.
As a sales manager, I’ve gained valuable insights into how individuals find their way into their professions. For most sales representatives, they stumbled into sales and discovered their passion for it, realizing the potential for a rewarding career. However, becoming a sales representative isn’t a path that one studies for; there’s no dedicated school for it. That’s why we’ve cultivated a habit of continuously expanding our knowledge within the field.
One of the ways we do this is through our podcast series club, during which my team and I collectively listen to a podcast episode chosen and hosted by one of us. It’s like a mini-book club where we listen to topics relevant to our profession, and discuss and apply key takeaways. This approach not only fosters a sense of shared learning, but also offers the moderator the opportunity to present and teach, contributing to their own leadership and presentation skills. It’s a win-win!
What differences did you notice after you adopted this principle?
My team has wholeheartedly embraced the concept of dedicating time for continuous learning, which can often be overlooked amid the demands of the day to day, even with the best intentions. I believe this is beneficial for creating psychological safety and a space where we collectively acknowledge that we’re all on a journey of learning and growing to become the best versions of ourselves.
The collaborative learning environment enables open discussions and the opportunity for team members to relate and learn about things they didn’t think to ask because you “don’t know what you don’t know.” By embracing this style of learning, my team has been able to acquire knowledge more rapidly, enhancing our projected growth and expediting our problem-solving capabilities.
As the landscape continues to change, I strongly believe in using tech to be cutting edge with how I lead my team. I don’t possess all the answers, nor do I pretend to, but my team can witness my continuous learning journey, allowing me to show up authentically for them. This authenticity, in turn, fosters a greater sense of trust. The best leaders continue to evolve and learn themselves, and if you’re not, you’ll get left behind
I don’t possess all the answers, nor do I pretend to, but my team can witness my continuous learning journey, allowing me to show up authentically for them.”
What has this approach to leadership helped you and your teams accomplish?
The collaborative learning environment and “always be learning and growing” mentality have allowed our team to work through deals and win them more quickly. We’ve just finished the best quarter at our company and continue to have the mindset of being a peak-performing team, pushing each other to be the best version of ourselves. It’s so fun to be part of a team that’s constantly evolving and setting a higher bar. The best team strives to beat personal bests or break records, and that’s what we’re doing here.
Real estate technology company OJO offers personalized guidance for buying and selling homes.
Describe one of the principles that differentiates your unique approach to leadership.
A key principle of my approach to leadership is accountability, both in terms of taking responsibility for upholding my commitments and promoting a culture of ownership among my team.
Tactically, one of the unique ways I apply accountability is through meeting structure. At OJO, I employ a rigorous meeting framework, both cross-functionally and with my direct reports, designed to keep teams accountable, focused on the right priorities and delivering results. This approach to driving accountability through meetings developed over many years of observing what made conversations in business ineffective and a waste of time versus effective and forward-moving.
Today, I utilize several elements of the Entrepreneurial Operating System’s level 10 meeting framework, such as starting discussions with performance against targets and clearly defining the issues we need to solve as a group to progress on goals.
What differences did you notice after you adopted this principle?
As I’ve continuously focused on leading via accountability, I’ve noticed two key differences in business results and employee development.
The first is an obvious desired outcome of effective meetings, but rarely do I think we attribute success back to meetings. At OJO, we recently launched a new program that required significant cross-functional collaboration and, for me, the impact that our structured weekly meeting agendas had on achieving our launch target and month-one financial goals was undeniable. We focused on discussing and solving issues to stay accountable to our commitments each week, ultimately leading us to succeed.
Secondly, I’ve seen employee development by creating a meeting structure that allows my direct reports to speak to areas of ownership and hone skills, such as taking accountability for results, self-advocacy and vocalizing needs, which in turn enables them to ask for and earn more responsibility.
Holding structured, regular meetings focused on accountability to outcomes is a primary component of my approach that continues to help me and my teams.”
What has this approach to leadership helped you and your teams accomplish?
By establishing a culture of accountability, my teams frequently meet and exceed goals. When we don’t meet our desired goal, we take ownership of that too and move toward action instead of dwelling on it.
Holding structured, regular meetings focused on accountability to outcomes is a primary component of my approach that continues to help me and my teams better communicate, work through challenges and accomplish more faster.
Luxury Presence is a SaaS provider for the luxury real estate industry.
Describe one principle that differentiates your unique approach to leadership.
The simple answer is I invest in my people. The longer answer is that there are three personal leadership principles that I hold true, lead with and expect my teams to lead themselves with.
First is extreme ownership. I own the company number, I own my team’s contribution and actions and I own the solution. I don’t get to point fingers and place blame. As a leader, I own creating the solutions, and I expect my team to take this same approach.
Second is the Stockdale Paradox. To lead, you must have the ability to convey brutal facts and instill the faith and optimism that we will prevail. This is the realization of hard roadblocks, mixed with the belief that we can solve them together and the tenacity to keep pushing through the barriers.
Third is “step into the arena.” This idea is from Theodore Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech, which is referenced in Brené Brown’s book “Daring Greatly.” This is my daily mantra. It helped me overcome fears and push myself to new levels. Fear should never dictate your behavior. This one little phrase helped me identify fear in myself and others so I could call it out. The funny thing about fear is that it’s a coward. Once you identify and challenge it, fear becomes a non-emotion.
There is an amazing trickle effect when a leader is 100 percent confident in who they are, who they aren’t and what their ‘why’ is.”
What differences did you notice after you adopted this principle?
There is an amazing trickle effect when a leader is 100 percent confident in who they are, who they aren’t and what their “why” is. As a leader, it is key to define your guiding principles. It is hard, introspective work that I ask my team to do. The end result is that my team knows who I am and what I stand for, I know who they are and they know what drives their team members.
This work can easily be leveraged as a team-building exercise or used to establish team contracts. These contracts simply state what the team can expect from their leader and what the leader can expect from their direct reports. We can move forward quickly with this level of understanding, alignment and accountability.
What has this approach to leadership helped you and your teams accomplish?
There is an African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Aligning expectations and creating accountability unifies a team, allowing us to innovate and improve better and faster.
Overhaul is a supply chain integrity solutions company.
Describe one principle that differentiates your unique approach to leadership.
Throughout my career, I have been inspired by servant leaders whom I have had the opportunity to work either for or with. In the early stages of my career, I did not have a name for this leadership style, but I recognized the key attributes of successful teams — accountability, integrity, empathy, fairness and putting the teams’ interests first — are associated with a servant leader.
Servant leadership isn't a unique approach per se, but it's a style that I endeavor to represent. By adopting this approach, I have found that I help create a strong sense of purpose, motivation and engagement with my team and the wider organization.
What differences did you notice after you adopted this principle?
Understanding the principles of servant leadership has helped me think about and adapt to the best ways that I can support my team during periods of uncertainty, such as the Covid-19 pandemic. In a rapidly changing world, embracing new ideas, learning through failures and adjusting strategies when new opportunities arose actually brought more fun and creativity to the workplace.
I find that when leaders show decisiveness, it helps a team adapt more quickly to changes around them. It’s important for leaders to demonstrate a willingness to take responsibility for both successes and failures.
By prioritizing the needs of team members and encouraging open communication, leaders allow their teams to feel more valued, respected and empowered.”
What has this approach to leadership helped you and your teams accomplish?
Servant leadership promotes a culture of collaboration and teamwork. By prioritizing the needs of team members and encouraging open communication, leaders allow their teams to feel more valued, respected and empowered to contribute using their unique set of skills and perspectives.
This type of collaborative atmosphere also enhances productivity and sparks more innovation within the team, which are two areas that can propel a team and business forward. Within my team, we have really put this into action.
