Leadership
Principles
The core values and beliefs that guide our leadership philosophy at Xortcut. These principles shape how we build, lead, and grow together as we revolutionize career guidance through AI.
What Does It Mean to Lead at Xortcut?
We're on a mission to transform how students discover and pursue their career paths through AI-powered guidance. Leadership at Xortcut means empowering the next generation while building a culture of excellence, innovation, and belonging.
Our Core Principles
The foundation of everything we do
INSIST ON GREAT TALENT
Only with excellent people can Xortcut be successful in the long run. We'd rather grow slower than lower the bar for hiring and maintaining exceptional talent. Ideally we are looking for people who are as good if not better than us.
CULTIVATE BELONGING AND DIVERSITY
Our responsibility transcends hitting our goals and KPIs. We know that Xortcut—and the world—will be a better place when people from diverse backgrounds, races, genders, cultures, sexual orientations, ages, and experiences thrive. We work hard to ensure that everyone feels they belong at Xortcut and make the extra effort to bring them in.
EMPOWER YOUR TEAM
We hire, grow, and nurture great people so they can do great things at Xortcut. We provide our teams with direction and context, then trust and empower them to make it happen. Part of empowering your team is understanding that we all make mistakes. We see mistakes as opportunities for learning and development.
SHARE. A LOT.
Without information and context, team members can't make decisions and achieve great results. We promote a culture of open information sharing and encourage our teams to communicate transparently across the organization. We err on the side of over-sharing and communicate frequently and clearly to our teams and to our own leadership.
ENCOURAGE DEBATE
We don't have all the answers. With great people by our side, we listen intently and encourage them to express their ideas and opinions, especially when they are different from our own. We celebrate and encourage their feedback. We don't make decisions by committee, yet we are genuinely interested in hearing a diverse set of views prior to making a decision.
DEVELOP AND GROW
One of our core responsibilities is to mentor and coach our team members. We take time to develop and grow successful team members and take pride in their success, even if it materializes in other teams or even other companies.
GO BIG
We set ambitious goals that feel uncomfortable and are hard to achieve. We are aware we may not fully achieve them, but we'd rather strive for great things than take the easy route. We're willing to take calculated risks to yield those big outcomes and experiment with new ideas so we can make Xortcut exceptional.
WE ARE ALL TEAM XORTCUT
We're all part of the same team—Team Xortcut. Xortcut's long-term success will be determined by collaboration between teams. We won't get there by narrowly focusing on our own team goals. Instead, we operate as one team to help us win.
MAKE TOUGH CALLS
As leaders, we're often required to make uncomfortable decisions that may make us or others around us unhappy. Letting inertia guide us or following the path of least resistance may be easier in the short term, but will not get us to where we need to be. Instead, we act swiftly and decisively, making the best choice for Xortcut.
NO ROYALTY
Leadership is about responsibility, not superiority. We all play an important role in Xortcut's success. We act humbly and modestly, serving our team members, and building relationships as humans regardless of our titles.
HONE YOUR CRAFT
We aim to build one of the world's best companies. We aim not only to grow bigger, but keep getting better at most things we do. This means to continuously improve and be the best at our craft, both within our area of expertise and as leaders. We learn from the best, encourage those who strive to excel, and help our teams achieve higher standards.
Ready to Lead with Us?
Join our mission to revolutionize career guidance and help millions of students discover their potential.