We created an experiential journey for 8 different startup leaders to accompany them on their development journey.
WHAT IS LEADUP?
LeadUP is an experiential learning journey specially designed for leaders of growing startups. It serves as an accelerator, especially for those who have recently assumed leadership roles within the startup ecosystem.
Companies That Participated in the Program: AppSamurai, Bolt Insight, Fazla, MallIQ, SOCRadar, TrioMobil SITUATION
Thanks to our close work with the startup ecosystem, we've observed that there's a tipping point where having a successful business and an excellent product isn't enough for companies that have reached a certain scale.
We also recognize that leaders in the startup ecosystem experience many things very differently than leaders in large corporations. A common situation in the startup world is assigning leadership responsibilities to individuals shortly after they graduate due to the significant responsibilities and initiatives they have taken.
But what changes in a person's life with this early onset of leadership besides their title?
Firstly, this person, who now handles tasks without asking anyone and without the need for guidance, has to delegate, trust, monitor and control assigned responsibilities, never miss giving feedback on the job's outcome, communicate tough decisions in the right tone and posture, recognize the impact of their words on others, move with that awareness while considering others' needs and motivations, demonstrate the courage to change the existing when necessary while focusing on the company's impact rather than just their tasks, and sometimes make tough decisions.
We have often seen how neglecting some of these aspects can unbalance individuals who have taken on leadership roles. We identified that those in this role, despite their limited experience in leadership, need an accelerator to deepen their experiences rapidly. Thus, with our existential purpose at Melon being to support the growth of startups, we decided to offer our leadership expertise to the startup ecosystem.
SOLUTION
Since every individual is unique, everyone's leadership journey is distinct and individual. Therefore, we needed to design a program where each leader could better understand their path and grow by learning from the perspectives and experiences, and challenges of others. Thus, we designed the LeadUP program and launched a 4-month journey with 8 participants from 6 different companies (TrioMobil, AppSamurai, Bolt Insight, Fazla, MallIQ, SOCRadar).
Limited Number of Participants: We created the program to be a learning community where everyone could develop genuine relationships and share insights.
Diverse Companies: Just as every individual is unique, every company has its distinct experiences. We opened space to learn from these differences, reminding us that leadership doesn't mean loneliness despite these differences.
Adult Learning Elements: We designed the LeadUP program considering all the elements of adult learning. It encompasses theoretical learning, exclusive seminars, and conversations with industry experts, personal coaching sessions, application of learned materials throughout the process, workshops, and leadership circles.
Experience Circles: LeadUP is designed not just as an educational program but as an experiential learning journey. We facilitated this with face-to-face experience circles where participants could share and apply their learnings. In doing so, we integrated various methods like action learning, design thinking, and team coaching.
6 Dimensional Leadership Model: Leadership characteristics are more than innate traits; they are muscles that develop and deepen with experience. Thus, we needed to initially determine the natural disposition of leaders. For this, we developed the Melon 6-Pillar Leadership Model, validated by professors from the University of Maryland. This model formed the basis of the program.
One-on-One Coaching Sessions: Leadership starts from the core of an individual. Hence, when embarking on this journey, we had to help everyone find and make sense of their issues. We provided an environment to accelerate learning by offering areas and tools to work on.
At the end of the LeadUP adventure, our participants indicated that they took significant decisions and actions in their lives, transcending merely managing their teams and work. Seeing this benefit, we decided to offer the program to a broader audience and open it to all leaders in the startup ecosystem who need it. We are now preparing and collecting applications for LeadUP 2.0.
"Each session of the program gave me many different perspectives. Each trainer was carefully selected. Feedback is one of the most important trainings that brought me enlightenment."
"The program was both very instructive and very enjoyable. I am excited to apply what I learned here in my leadership journey."
"I saw the trainings as both learning and getting to know myself. The most important difference of the program for me from other leadership programs was being able to actively experience every theoretical information we learned."
"It has been a highly mindful journey for me. The awareness that each of our trainers brought to us took us a lot further. Thank you for everything."
This journey gave me the opportunity to ask the question, "Why didn't I look at it this way before?" The development that this realization brought me was very important for me.
The most valuable outcome of the journey for me was the theory-implementation workshops where we had the chance to learn best practices. We created a tool-kit together with the other leaders.
"Being in a holistic training program with leaders from different backgrounds provided the ideal environment for us to learn from each other. I had the opportunity to realize aspects of myself that I had not realized until now."
"LeadUP is truly a game-changing leadership development program. It is incredible what each module, each training has added to us. Thank you very much for this space where we share and develop through open communication."
