Laura Friend, Enterprise Account Executive, Amplitude
10 August 2020
The time I spent at MongoDB was one of the most challenging yet rewarding periods of my career. I joined the company at a point when I was eager to push myself, take a leap into a role that felt beyond my experience and swim in a very large ocean, filled with very big fish.
My time there was exhilarating, it was tough and it was relentless. However, arguably it was where I learnt and developed the most. The reason for this, (amongst a few others) Daniel Barrett. Without his leadership, I certainly would have struggled. Which is why it made perfect sense to have him be part of my series and delve into the secrets which make him tick.
Starting Out
For those of you who don’t know Dan, unlike many male peers in sales, I would say his humility, quiet confidence and exceptionally high EQ are what have propelled him in his career.
When Dan started out, he held no strong desire to become a leader. His first role was on the sales-foundation grad-scheme at IBM. Although he had studied computer science and completed a year of pre-sales training, he discovered he was far more commercially-minded. After noticing the sales reps had better cars than anyone else, Dan quickly made the long-term switch to sales and never looked back.
Before doing this series, I had assumed that nearly all leaders were laser-focused in their ambitions to lead. For Dan this wasn’t the case, his interest in leadership didn’t come about until he had accomplished all he felt he could as an individual contributor and wanted the next big challenge.
Learning from others
On moving into that initial management role, one of the biggest surprises was not only overestimating other people’s abilities to learn and improve, but also his ability to improve them. As one of his own bosses would say, “you can’t turn a cat into a dog”.
Who they are is what makes people successful. This is why placing an emphasis on recruitment and looking for characteristics such as drive, coach-ability and intelligence have been so crucial. Focusing on people’s strengths rather than weaknesses are skills he has recognised in other leaders he admires;
“They have spotted someone’s strengths and challenged them to be the best version of themselves. It is always tempting to focus on what people do wrong, which, whilst important to recognise, should not be emphasised. You are better off focusing on making someone who is a 7/8 at a particular skill into a 9/10, you are never going to make a 3 into a 10 – Focus on making people’s strength into their superpower!”
Another core characteristic Dan calls out in successful leaders, is their belief.
“It is symbiotic, they believe in you, push you and give you more responsibility. Whereas the bad leaders make it all about them.”
Self-perception
So, what’s Dan’s opinion on the skills which have made him so successful?
The first one is no surprise; he sees himself as fundamentally a nice person and treats people the way he would want to be treated.
I can attest to this. Dan has an innate ability to form strong relationships with those around him. Interestingly, this is also where Dan sees his biggest challenge. Like many, he doesn’t like conflict, but whilst he takes little pleasure in having tough conversations, has learnt their importance.
He also doesn’t take himself too seriously. This adds to his relatability, however, whilst Dan brings light-heartedness to the role, he takes what he does very seriously and expects the same from his team. There is no doubt he has high standards and a keen attention to detail (which is why I will probably scrutinise this article more than any others). These standards are clearly communicated and because of the trust built with the team, when you don’t meet them there is certainly a sense of disappointment.
The Biggest Lessons
Years of leadership have dealt Dan steep learning curves. His biggest lessons? Be authentic and trust your gut.
“You learn to trust your own instinct and gut and you learn your own style. The thing you learn with experience is that you can only be the best version of you. What you can’t be is trying to imitate somebody else”
This rings true to Dan’s leadership style and those around him. He doesn’t try imitate his bosses and their differing styles are arguably what has made them work so successfully together.
Leading through adversity
No doubt leading a virtual team during lockdown with efficacy will have presented its own challenges. When asked what advice Dan would give, his first tip was one I have carried with me since meeting him. Don’t be a busy fool. It’s important to work out what gives you the biggest impact, as it is very easy, particularly the higher you rise and the more pressure you feel, to be busy but not effective.
His final words of wisdom are frank; look after yourself.
“No one is going to force you to go home early, no one will force you to go to the gym. People will fill your diary and you have to take ownership.”
Although simple, at times this is harder to achieve than you think. If people are not able to look after themselves in terms of their health and family time, then it’s not worth it and it is certainly not sustainable. In today’s endless meetings and obligations, it is even more crucial to take control of this yourself, because otherwise, what was it all for?