James Field is the founder and CEO of LabGenius, a next-generation antibody discovery company. LabGenius has pioneered the development of an ML-driven protein engineering platform that’s capable of designing, conducting and critically learning from its own experiments.
As CEO, James has raised >$30M in financing from top-tier VCs (e.g. Lux Capital, Obvious Ventures, Atomico and Kindred) and struck R&D deals with top pharma companies like Sanofi.
James co-founded LabGenius when he was still a PhD student. By the time James raised his Series A in late 2020 the team had grown to 15 and has now scaled to more than 50 employees. Needless to say, the leadership style that worked for a small team of co-founders is not the same required to run a team of 50. We will explore with James how his leadership style had to evolve as the company began its scaling process.
Outside work, James is an active Angel Investor and has had the good fortune to back several of Europe’s most exciting deep-tech startups.
Research suggests that the most effective leaders adapt their style to their evolving environment —a change in organizational dynamics, a turn in the business cycle, or simply a change in circumstance. Leadership requires agility and that’s why you need to stay attuned to your environment, understand your impact on others, and adjust your approach accordingly – awareness of your environment and self-awareness.
“Being a great leader means recognizing that different circumstances may call for different approaches.” – Daniel Goleman
The good news is that personality is not destiny. Anyone can expand their range of leadership styles through dedicated practice and repetition. Even if you are naturally introverted or you tend to be driven by data and analysis rather than emotion, a CEO can and therefore must learn how to adapt different leadership styles to organize, motivate, and direct their team.
About 25 years ago Daniel Goleman identified six distinct leadership styles that have since been widely recognized as an essential framework for effective leadership.
Though the world has changed over the past two decades, these leadership styles remain relevant. Mastering them will help you navigate the complexities of different situations, boost morale, and drive your team’s long-term growth.