Once Upon An Enterprising Leader - Joel Young
To lead people, walk beside them; As for our best leaders, the people do not notice their existence; and, when the best leaders work is done, the people will say, “ We did it ourselves “ I find myself these days never feeling tired to speak about the glory of leadership in our entrepreneurial society - in fact, reading the gentleman cited below prompted me to add value to my personal and professional life as well as insert the element of " entrepreneurial leadership" into the core mandate of our Okanagan Valley Entrepreneurs Society @ www.ovesociety.ca.
Wonderful phrases all that touch the core essence of what leadership, any form of leadership is about. Lately, readers, I have enjoyed reading several books written by Dr. John C. Maxwell, an international author and speaker on leadership @ www.maximumimpact.com suggested to me by a good friend from Kansas City who is the VP of a leading US entrepreneurial training corporation.
And, this enlightenment brought me the brink of sharing with you some thought on entrepreneurial leadership and its arrival on new venture stages.
First, leadership is fundamental to entrepreneurship and, of course, in life, there are many ways to look at the roles and positions of leadership. Some people believe that leaders are born and come to a position of influence by virtue of the unique attributes they possess. But, no matter how we might wish to choose and accept from such definitions of leadership – there is a new game in town pertaining to world of entrepreneurial pursuit.
Since the 1980’s, an increased level of entrepreneurial activity has spawned, not only because of the electronics age, but, due to a plethora of new products, materials, financial networks, joint venture potential and, changes in politics, economics and societies. Thus, it is imperative for anyone involved in entrepreneurial venture creation, especially the individual entrepreneur, to fully comprehend and embrace the importance of sound leadership modalities and their association to “change.”
Let me take a brief journey at my perception of how this picture has formed. The basis for defining and understanding “entrepreneurs “ has created a challenging problem for many years for researchers and practitioners alike. Even to-day, the struggle continues for an accepted definition of an “ entrepreneur “ even though much of the literature is replete with criteria ranging from my personal favourites that of “ innovation & creativity “ to personal traits as “ appearance and style.”
Then, we must recognize and include a seemingly never-ending definition of “ entrepreneurship “ itself and, I am not going to take that on for to-day, but, only to declare that taking the “ boat-ride “ through the entrepreneurial research corridor is often both exhilerating and exhaustive as we never seem to reach a final destination.
On the surface, one can associate entrepreneurs with leadership functions such as providing vision to the development of a new product, service or organization. A leader has to be entrepreneurial as well but, entrepreneurial leadership, it has been written, deals with concepts and ideas that are often related to problems that are not of an organizational nature but rather tend to be individual characteristics or behaviours. These include: vision, problem-solving, decision-making, risk-taking and strategic initiatives.
Entrepreneurial leadership has been coined by those who realize a change in leadership style is necessary in order for Canada’s businesses, both large and small, to be competitive in this ever-changing global economy. For example, and the world of technology can attest to this: that there often appears to see a shift from a producer mentality to an entrepreneurial mentality that has led to structural changes in organization and, in effect, new ways of doing business.
One might also question whether entrepreneurial leadership is truly a new style of leadership, an escape from management or even both. Since the 1980’s, a concern that we’ve all witnessed has been that major businesses have seemingly lost their competitiveness through an emphasis on management…rather than leadership. Scary thought.
It is therefore argued, and frankly, as a zealot of entrepreneurial thought, that the organizations of the future will be in fact, entrepreneurial in nature. Its leadership, strategies and structure will reflect entrepreneurial thinking with associated characteristics, e.g. problem-solving and action orientation. The characteristics and behaviours that spell success in entrepreneurial firms and small businesses are now being considered by larger firms as this phenomena has coined” intrapreneurship “ as the method for corporations to act “ entrepreneurially “ from within.
Based on this myriad of similarities between what is known as leaders and entrepreneurs plus the amount of study already concluded, much is now known about both leadership and entrepreneurship. It is fair to say in conclusion of this brief look at enterprising leadership that new organizational designs, new thinking patterns and new information systems will require new leadership styles.
“ Entrepreneurial Leadership “ offers one answer to the call.
I would like to end with the presentation of three pillars of entrepreneurial leadership for you, dear readers, to ponder and enjoy….
- Visionary Evangelist – persuades employees to work toward his/her vision of the future. Creates, sells and drives the strategy of the organization. Serves as a spokesperson for the organization and demonstrates confidence in its potential for success Takes charge, pushes for action and instills a sense of urgency to achieve the organizations goals.
- Team and Consensus Builder – develops teamwork, alignment and motivation by involving, empowering and creating a positive work environment. Develops loyalty by investing in building relationships with others and by showing interest in employees needs, growth and development…Is open to their ideas and willing to share power.
- Manager of Execution – provides organization, focus and clarity of direction. Good administrator, Structured, disciplined, and skilled at setting short term targets and goals. Good at setting priorities and meeting commitments. Sets up systems and processes. Worries about details. Monitors results versus plans and provides the rigor and control to stay the course and corrects for deviations…i.e. gets results…
Which Are You?
Joel Young is an entrepreneurial leadership educator, consultant and coach and the Founder of the Okanagan Valley Entrepreneurs Society @ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.