key takeaways
- Dylan Fields is the CEO of Figma, a $19.45 billion design tools company used by 95% of the Fortune 500.
- Before co-founding Figma in 2012, he had no experience being a manager.
- Fields first described himself as “bad at everything”, but over time he learned how to be an effective manager.
Dylan Fields discovered the hard way that being a good leader doesn’t necessarily mean being a good manager.
The CEO of Figma believed that because he had always been a leader, he was automatically drawn to management – only to learn that management had its own distinct skill set.
on an episode of first time founder In a podcast that aired earlier this week, Field explained that he “definitely didn’t know” how to be a good manager at first. Before co-founding Figma, a $19.45 billion design company is used by 95% of the Fortune 500He interned at companies like LinkedIn and menuHe had never been a manager before co-founding the company in 2012, Figma now has a manager 1,600-person workforce,
“The good news is that if you’re a first-time manager, it’s all very learnable,” Fields said on the podcast. “Eventually it will feel like muscle memory.”
Connected: Instead of cuts, this $28 billion design company’s response to AI is to hire more people
Fields listed the managerial fundamentals: knowing where her team is, working effectively one-on-one, building relationships, setting clear goals, and holding people accountable.
“I guess I was bad at it all,” Fields said.
He said investors have increased the pressure by expressing concerns about Figma bringing a product to market too soon. Field co-founded Figma in 2012, but it took three years to get the company going Ship a Beta ProductIt took another year to open the product to the public, and until 2017 to add a payment plan, meaning five years from idea to full product launch,
“Please don’t assume it should take you five years to start a company,” Fields said on the podcast. “You will die. We are outsiders from a different time.”
Connected: These billionaire founders famously hate being CEO: ‘Like staring into the bottomless abyss and eating glass’
Field said that what was “hugely helpful” for growth was the hiring of the company’s first manager, Sho KuwamotoWho started as engineering director of Figma in 2015. Field “learned a lot” from Kuwamoto about managerial skills.
Over time, Field became better at management, practicing skills such as clear goal-setting until they became intuitive.
Field’s experience is similar to that of other founders like Dustin Moskowitz, who had to learn how to manage employees effectively. Moskowitz co-founded Facebook and Asana, leading Asana as CEO for 15 years. In an interview in October, he said that the CEO role was “tedious” and did not suit his introverted personality.
“Personality-wise, I don’t like managing teams, and that was not my intention when we started Asana,” he explained. “Then one thing led to another and I became CEO.”
Connected: Airbnb’s CEO says he personally manages 40 to 50 employees as direct reports
Are you ready to explore everything on Entrepreneur.com? December is your free pass to Entrepreneur+. Enjoy full access, no strings attached. Claim your free month.
key takeaways
- Dylan Fields is the CEO of Figma, a $19.45 billion design tools company used by 95% of the Fortune 500.
- Before co-founding Figma in 2012, he had no experience being a manager.
- Field initially described himself as “bad at everything”, but over time he learned to become an effective manager.
Dylan Fields discovered the hard way that being a good leader doesn’t necessarily mean being a good manager.
The CEO of Figma believed that because he had always been a leader, he was automatically drawn to management – only to learn that management had its own distinct skill set.
The remainder of this article is locked.
Connect with Entrepreneur, For access today.
