In what is a truly refreshing example of absolute honesty, Zhang Yiming, the co-founder of ByteDance, which owns TikTok, stepped down as CEO by stating that he lacked the skills of an ideal manager.

The 38-year-old billionaire internet entrepreneur in a letter to his employees said:

"The truth is, I lack some of the skills that make an ideal manager. I'm more interested in analyzing organizational and market principles, and leveraging these theories to further reduce management work, rather than actually managing people."

Zhang Yiming, the co-founder and CEO of Bytedance (worth >$250B) is stepping down, with this excerpt in his parting note.

Incredible humility. pic.twitter.com/XLwLSg217y

On Wednesday (May 19), ByteDance announced that Zhang would be stepping down from his position, with co-founder and current head of human resources, Liang Rubo replacing him for the role.

In the memo issued by Zhang, the entrepreneur said that his interests lie more in analyzing organizational and market principles and leveraging these theories to further reduce management work.

© Reuters

"I'm more interested in analyzing organizational and market principles, and leveraging these theories to further reduce management work, rather than actually managing people," said Zhang.

He also said that he was not a very social person and preferred spending his time reading, listening to music, and being online. 

"Similarly, I'm not very social, preferring solitary activities like being online, reading, listening to music, and contemplating what may be possible," said Zhang.

© Reuters

The Chinese entrepreneur labelled Liang's role at the company as "invaluable", with the company stating that both Zhang and Liang will work together over the next six months in order to ensure a smooth transition.  

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