I left corporate life to start my own business and the people have been the biggest shock

Some context - I come from a big company background. My previous employer had over 40,000 employees. Lots of structure, clear reporting lines, HR processes, and predictable workflows. About a year into Covid, I left and founded my own company with a 2 others and I thought the hardest part would be managing business activities, by far. But honestly, one of the most surprising things I have learned as we've grown is that managing people is one of the most difficult and unexpected tasks I have.

And I’m not talking about entry-level, inexperienced staff. I mean professional, talented adults (average age is probably around 50). People with real experience and credentials. Most of these people make six-figures a year.

We recently hired a new accountant who, without telling anyone, decided to release one of our existing accountants. Did this over an email with no approval from anyone and moved on like it was business as usual. It blew my mind.

Other times, one of our other employees (who is incredible at what he does) will have complete meltdowns because his computer isn't working, and our very part time I.T. guy isn't available at that exact moment. He loses it on me like it's some sort of personal betrayal, and threatens to walk. Very Jekyll and Hyde.

And what really caught me off guard is how some people just don’t want to work with others. Not because they’re bad at their jobs. These are smart, capable adults, but because collaboration rubs them the wrong way. It’s like certain personalities just clash no matter how professional everyone tries to be.

I used to roll my eyes at management drama. I thought, how hard can it really be to keep people aligned and happy? Now I get it.