‘Founder mode’ is the latest Silicon Valley buzzword telling toxic bosses they’re great

It often takes a certain personality to start a company. And while tech bros love to glorify a founder, they often gloss over the realities of a boss so committed to the vision that they refuse to delegate.

The battle over “founder mode” versus “manager mode” is one of those manufactured dramas that only a small segment of the world cares about — like going to Davos or Cannes or the Vanity Fair Oscar Party. But the debate raging within a tiny group of Extremely Online commentators speaks to broader questions about the way Corporate America has evolved to venerate the alleged visionary in the corner office. Here’s the deal: Last week, Paul Graham, the co-founder of startup incubator Y Combinator, wrote an essay trumpeting the value of what he coined the “founder mode,” management style that flies in the face of the conventional “manager mode.” Founder mode, in short, is when a chief executive runs the business with a hands-on approach at all levels. Manager mode involves delegating to a trusted team that execute on day-to-day issues — a strategy that, Graham argues, too often turns into “hire professional fakers and let them drive the company into the ground.” Graham recounted a speech from Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, who told an audience at Y Combinator about how, in Airbnb’s early days, following the conventional wisdom was “disastrous.” But Chesky took inspiration from Steve Jobs, famously involved in every stage of Apple’s operations, and only then did the pieces fall into place.