ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP INVOLVES ORGANISING AND MOTIVATING A GROUP OF PEOPLE TO ACHIEVE A COMMON OBJECTIVE THROUGH INNOVATION, RISK OPTIMISATION, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITIES, AND MANAGING A DYNAMIC ORGANISATIONAL ENVIRONMENT.
The traditional corporate mindset has its focus on systems and processes, whereas the entrepreneurial style is more risk-oriented.
Some of the common entrepreneurial leadership characteristics are as follows.
1. Communication skills The leader is able to clearly articulate their ideas, and the plan to achieve common goals. They encourage communication between departments and across levels. They avoid ambiguities and generalisations, and are able to avoid conflict and misunderstanding due to poor communication.
2. Vision A successful entrepreneurial leader has a clear vision. He/she knows exactly where he/she wants to go and how to get there. They communicate their vision to the team and work with them to make the vision a reality.
3. Supportive An entrepreneurial leader realises the importance of initiative and reactiveness, and they go out of their way to provide all the support that the team needs to achieve their goals. The leader usually does not punish employees when they take a calculated risk which misfires. Instead, they sit down with employees to analyze what went wrong and work with them to correct mistakes.
4. Self-belief The leader has tremendous belief in themselves and has confidence gained from years of experimenting, at times failing, and learning. They are aware of their strengths and weaknesses and demonstrate their skills without hubris. An entrepreneurial leader is very self-assured.
5. Shares success When the team or the organization succeeds at something, the leader does not hog the limelight or take all the credit. They acknowledge the contribution of others and shares the accolades with them.
6. Involved You will not find an entrepreneurial leader cooped up in the office. Leaders like to spend time among employees, walk around the factory or department, interact with everyone, and see them doing their job. This leader will usually take some time out to informally chat with employees, and understand their work and personal challenges.
7. Create an atmosphere conducive to growth With a deep understanding of the importance of other people’s contribution to organizational success, the entrepreneurial leader creates an atmosphere that encourages everyone to share ideas, grow, and thrive. They actively seek other’s opinions and encourages them to come up with solutions to the problems that they face. The entrepreneurial leader also provides positive feedback when employees come forward with an opinion.
8. Honesty Honesty is the most important quality of an exceptional leader. Entrepreneurial leaders who are honest are able to quickly win the trust of their employees. People respect leaders to come across as honest, and are more likely to accept positive or negative feedback and also work harder.
9. Perseverance When the going gets tough, the entrepreneurial leader perseveres. True entrepreneurs simply don’t quit, they keep going till they find what they’re looking for.
10. Learning The leader not only invests significantly in learning and updating their knowledge, but they also create a learning environment in the organization encouraging others to improve their knowledge, widen their experience, and tackle multiple challenges. They encourage employees to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions to problems.
