Leaders and exec level: serious question. Have you ever taken a job where the reality has turned out to be very different from what was promised or asked? I’m five months in to a founder-led boutique & it’s clear they don’t want any new thinking or autonomy and have asked to pause any leadership or higher strategy because the day-to-day is so frantic. Margin is scary thin, there’s no operational or commercial leadership which was not made to clear during interview interviewing. Perspective?

Yep, it happens. I took a job that I knew was a risk, but only after joining did I see fully that they wanted the OPTICS of change, not actual change. I got out quickly, and explained it as the job didn't match the description.

Reflect on the questions you could have asked, so you don't make the same mistake again. Don't waste time trying to singlehandedly turn things around. Use that energy instead to try to find something else. Good luck.

Most jobs turn out differently than what was promised; it just depends if it's blatant lying/misrepresentation, or if there's room to help guide the role or department. If it's option 1, get out. If it's option 2, give it a shot, but keep your eyes open and don't let yourself become yet another automaton at a company that clearly has issues from the top down.

I took a job with a startup that completely screwed me over. Its unfortunately more common than we realize. The startup leadership have their POV on how it should be run and they have friends they will hire. In my case thats what happened. I got hired then before I started a friend of theirs told them he was interested in joining so they hired him (and got sued by his former employer). I was supposed to lead and build out a function and they would hire someone in sales to support me as I built things. They hired their friend and gave him a title senior to mine, allowed him to hire someone lateral to me and then started telling me I needed to support a bunch of other areas and functions that were not what I signed on to. When I raised concerns they decided to push me out. Literally said I had a great resume and would find a job quickly so they needed to cover themselves and strip my responsibilities so they are covered if/when I quit. Market was crazy hot so I wound up getting a new job and raise fast but it was a tough lesson to learn.

So my advice is if you are in a startup and see red flags with leadership, start looking now.

Only every time

Founder companies are organized around the founder's preferences and personality, which means you'll need to work with this founder.

Understand the company situation from their perspective. Ask them: "What are you prioritizing here? What do you need from everyone in this situation?" Their answers will give you permission to come back with: "Here's what I need from you to support the business in this situation." Maybe you need to revisit the job description. Is this what you and they need in this moment?

As for the business situation, many small, indie and founder businesses fly by the seat of their pants, especially in this economy. I know founders who have refinanced their houses or stopped drawing a salary to hold the business together. Is this one of these situations where they need everyone to play a battlefield role rather than a corporate role for a short time?

Offering you these perspectives in case you decide to work at it. Alternatively it might be a basket case of a business with a horrendous person at the top, in which case you should plan your exit. It's 2025 and everyone understands when a leader has to bail.

Yes, not all founders actually know how to run a company beyond the small startup phase. Start looking for a new job now since it may take a long time to find one in this job market.

Happened to me. I was laid off from a big holding company agency – I’ve only worked at big holding company agencies and I really needed a job so I took a role at a founder lead small boutique agency. Big mistake. Huge they were an organizational nightmare and small my first month four people were laid off and one person resigned after one month. I lasted three months Before they laid me off. They did the classic bait and switch I was hired for one role and they told me oh there was a mistake with the salary it’s actually $20,000 less but will give you the salary we promised if you do two jobs basically And one of the two jobs I did not want. I was set up for failure and realistic expectations after three months I was laid off and relieved. Oh and the person I replaced was only there 10 months and had a similar experience. Complete nightmare the only positive was that I was able to file for unemployment while I continue to look for a job.

Took a Head of Production role at a fashion rep. They hired me over a guy who deserved the job, who had given them a decade and dealt with their shit. I'm positive the reason he wasn't promoted because they were racist against him. They are Italian and he is Chinese. I had no idea about any of this. in, Everyone f'ng HATED me. It was traumatic. I gtfo as soon as I could and went to Publicis, which felt like a dream afterwards.

Yeah, every job…

Was in conversations with a Founder-led boutique and this thread is basically all of my red flags coming true. Hope that you’re able to get out of there unscathed!

The micromanagement may be a style of the founder. That said, sounds like you’re ready to be autonomous. You might better off in a larger place.

Sounds super familiar… was at a founder-led boutique for 2 months before they let me go. Didn’t know I was expected to bring in clients as a designer, didn’t know the founder would do free work for all their “friends”, didn’t know how thin the margin was so that I had to do the most pathetic work to retain the only big, paying client, didn’t know all the cool work they showed were from freelancers who basically got tossed away after a project ends… I could only see either me leaving or they kick me out. Nothing you can really do especially for those “founder-led” shops when the founder is the problem.