TikTok Leadership Principles

Be mission and vision driven

• Think big, bold and ambitiously to inspire others in pursuit of our mission.

• Always keep our overall vision and the long-term outcomes in mind when developing strategies. Prioritize innovative and meaningful breakthroughs.

Understand the fundamentals to develop sound judgement

• Get to the root of problems and seek critical improvement.

• Be clear and firm when developing conclusions. Steer away from ambiguity.

• Carefully and thoughtfully consider feedback and different viewpoints, but do not reflexively change your judgment without a solid case.

Focus on actual impact

• Put users first and prioritize user feedback. Focus on real impact.

• Be practical and communicate in plain language. Avoid embellishing achievements, using abstract expressions or jargon, or letting style substitute for substance.

Small ego, big picture

• Avoid titles or honorifics, and don't focus on hierarchy. Prioritize business needs and show flexibility in reporting lines.

• Think beyond your role. Take ownership in your scope of work while keeping the bigger picture in mind.

• Leadership is a responsibility, not a privilege. Focus on impact, and continue to demand more of yourself as you take on more senior roles.

Leverage collective wisdom

• Provide sufficient context to partners and team members, and ensure efficient information sharing.

• Encourage participation from everyone to develop better ideas.

Lead by example

• Be a role model of ByteStyle and be responsible for building team culture.

• Be fair and trustworthy. Uphold high ethical standards. Create a work environment that promotes integrity.

Lead people based on their qualities

• Hire for core capabilities, qualities and potential, instead of highlights on a resume such as titles, or work history in big companies.

• Keep raising the bar. Be open to hiring or developing people more capable than yourself.

• Lead without biases or preferences. Resist leader pleasing, or "managing up", from your team.

Foster the growth of team members

• Believe in people's potential and bring out the best in others.

• Unlock growth potential with enriching work opportunities.

• Set high standards, but allow trial and error. Provide timely feedback.

Manage with firm principles

• When solving management problems, be patient, but firm on our principles.

• Differentiate rewards based on performance and contributions. Identify and reward strong results generously, while being realistic and honest about underperformance.

• Proactively manage low performance cases in the team. Keep boosting team performance and culture, while staying lean and efficient.

Set ambitious and clear goals

• Help the team understand their business mission and goals.

• Stay vigilant. Direct resources to our most important goals.

Be resilient and achieve results

• Lead teams with a sense of resilience and willingness to tackle challenges.

• Be willing to delegate responsibilities, while being hands-on whenever needed. • Always take responsibility for your team's actions.

• Lead with a focus on achieving consistently strong results based on quality and efficiency.