Research by Rembrand Koning and colleagues says the best-performing startups are those where the founder is hands-on with people management
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Startup founders with a hands-on management style are more likely to retain employees and see their firms thrive, new research shows.
The results are particularly applicable to knowledge-intensive technology firms, where human talent is the main resource that affects firm performance, the researchers say.
Founders are usually very busy people—they recruit key employees, raise funds, find a board, develop partnerships, set strategy, and design the organization, to name a few responsibilities. What often falls by the wayside as founders get pulled in all directions, according to the researchers, is intensive mentoring and monitoring of staff.
This article was provided with permission from Harvard Business School Working Knowledge.