Fremont: The epic drama of Harry Potter, who does not remember Lord Voldemort the main antagonist of the movie. A character with so deep negative impact that no one dared to speak his name, instead referring to him by epithets such as “You-know-who”, “He-who-must-not-be-named” or “the Dark Lord”. Are you the one Lord Voldemort of your startup? Are you the “He-who-must-not-be-named” of your startup?

The inability or unwillingness to call something out plagues the workplace; do you have such an impression among your employees and executives? A business, and the person who owns it, can have a material impact on the entire functionality of the organization. Most startup founders are first timers. They do not know what exactly is expected from them. Rather they create an impression of themselves to be a person whose name one dare not take.

Employees and executives try to play safe by being nice and pasting a “Yes” to please your Voldemort. People whisper, wink and nod, but in Voldemort fashion, they cannot name him. This many a times lead to bad situations spiral out of control as there is no one to point you out your deficiencies and underlying managerial skills. Till the time one realizes his incompetency, it might be too late.

In such situations, people won’t come across with new and innovative ideas as they fear “the Dark Lord” within you, thus restricting the growth of the organization. No environment is immune, unless the CEO tries to create a healthy work culture where problems are openly discussed with an eye towards finding solutions, rather than keeping mum and being sugar coated.

It becomes much easier to strategize and brainstorm about solutions when you can freely talk about the problems. Such environment makes everyone feel respected as nothing is behind the veil. This will not only help in bringing a real change in the efforts put by each, but will help others to overcome seeing things with resentment. Startup CEOs should focus on candid feedback, constructive support, and ongoing coaching to ensure both encouragement and accountability.

A magical wand or a magical wizard is not necessary to kill the Lord Voldemort within oneself. The work culture has changed. Not all Steve Jobs can succeed with stringent work culture. Creating an employee friendly work culture where everyone can come and share their views and problems with the CEO can be the simple magical touch one can bring to get rid from “the Dark Lord”.