Scaling Myself

Problem

Meeting the demands of a flourishing startup or a growing team with multifaceted needs can be very challenging. When I started at Modernizing Medicine 8 years ago, I was hired as a software engineering intern, and as their first employee. With just me and the company's two co-founders, I had to learn quickly that not only did my software skills need to improve fast, but my role wasn't just that of a developer.

Actions taken

I helped with support, training, and even sales. I had no idea how to do any of those things, so I had to quickly learn and scale. However, as we grew I had to understand that it wasn't just me anymore. I couldn't do everything by myself, but when I first hired a team, I didn't know how to let go and didn't immediately realize that my role had changed. My role had changed, and I had to gradually learn how to delegate, and inspire and support my team. When I moved from a manager to a leader, with oversight over a number of teams, I then had to learn how to become more strategic and how to take my company's goals and how to apply them to the respective teams I was in charge of. Becoming a leader is a process. It doesn't happen overnight.

Lessons learned

"In order to grow and scale, you need to be in a constant learning mindset. Don't be afraid of new challenges and don't give up when things don't go your way. Learn from the mistakes you've made and keep going."

"Scaling yourself also requires a mind-shift - you can't scale by just focusing on yourself. Focus on the people you surround yourself with and the team you build around you."