WeWork — Leadership lessons from a wounded unicorn
Why do so many leaders fail? This week’s breaking news about WeWork gives us insight into the need for deeper leadership qualities and values.
In the past week the co-working giant, WeWork, has experienced crazy upheaval as it tried to move from a private company to a public one. WeWork valued itself as a tech company worth over $47 billion, but when Wall Street started looking into the company, it didn’t see a tech company worth $47 million. It saw a real estate company which has now been estimated to be valued at as little as $15 billion, a two-thirds drop in value.
But, that’s not the biggest news. WeWork’s co-founder and CEO, Adam Neumann, has been asked to resign from his position and he announced this week that he would be stepping down. He will still be around, but only in a limited capacity.
WeWork’s CEO failed for a handful of reasons, but first, we should talk about what went right. How did this startup grow so quickly and see so much initial success? Its current valuation may not be $47 billion, but it has still seen major growth, opening locations all over the world. It takes incredible savvy to make that happen.
What were Mr. Neumann’s strengths?
Charisma — One of Neumann’s top assets is his charisma. He has the energy and charisma to turn work…
