In Silicon Valley startups, the most valuable thing you can provide, as a manager, is the ability to attract a great team. When startups look to hire a manager,

In Silicon Valley startups, the most valuable thing you can provide, as a manager, is the ability to attract a great team. When startups look to hire a manager, it's almost always with growth in mind. Your career is an opportunity to build a group of people who will follow you anywhere, thus making you very valuable yourself. Getting people to love working for you, while still making execs happy, is a non-trivial skill. Therefore, the best way to be successful as a manager, in the long term, is for people to love working for you. You will get amazing results. They might not be exactly what the people above you asked for, but that's where your skill is required--show that it's better and that they can trust you and your team more than they thought.