Leaders are obsessed with their customers and earning their trust

Everything starts with serving the customer well (internal or external), and working backwards from there.

They prioritize what’s best for the company over what’s best for them and their team, balance delivering short-term results without sacrificing long-term goals, and never believe that any task is beneath them.

They set a high bar when recruiting for talent, value diverse backgrounds and perspectives, ensure their people are set up for success, and keep them highly engaged. This is essential to building a high performing team.

They use simple, consistent and focused language because simple messages travel faster and are better understood by the organization.

They have a high bar for excellence and drive their teams to deliver exceptional results by setting clear expectations and communicating them often.

They focus their teams on what is most important and how to achieve it. A team that is focused will always outperform a team that is not.

They know that budget is not the answer to every challenge, constraints breed resourcefulness, and the size of a team does not necessarily correlate with its importance to the business.

Speed is a competitive advantage. While some decisions are irreversible and require extensive study, most decisions can be made quickly with smart risk taking.

They can diagnose and communicate strengths and areas for development and ensure there is a clear path for growth to help their people achieve their own aspirations.

Leaders create a culture of accountability

They set clear performance expectations, demonstrate that actions have consequences (positive or negative), inspect often and provide regular feedback, and evaluate their people fairly against those expectations, aligned with the Leadership Commitment.

They lead with humility, value building diverse and inclusive teams, encourage different points of view even when it disconfirms their beliefs, admit their mistakes and weaknesses, and welcome honest and constructive feedback.

They view challenges as opportunities for growth, increasing (not eroding) trust, and strengthening relationships during difficult times.

They find ways to continually improve themselves by being good listeners, learning from study, observation and experience, and developing skills to adapt to different domains, situations and people.

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Our Leadership Principles describe how every employee at MongoDB can fulfill the Leadership Commitment. They provide practical guidance for how employees can engage with each other as leaders.