Leadership

An Assessment of the Entrepreneurial Leader

Written by Samuel Muriithi for Gaebler Ventures

The desired entrepreneurial leader is the one who has an honest concern for the wellbeing of his/her employees and the organization at large. Such a leader does not engage in the suppression or exclusion of potential and will never seek to have solutions imposed on the team below him/her.

The entrepreneurial leader will rather ensure that the employees are allowed to exercise creativity and positive interaction which will almost certainly result in overall organizational success.

A number of traits have been identified in an attempt to define what the entrepreneurial leader ought to be and ought to do:

• Being visionary – This means that the entrepreneurial is the one who will constantly seek to challenge the norm with an aim of discovering if things can be done differently or better or cheaper. By 'the norm' here we are talking about both the problem and the solutions and the actions that must be performed to get these implemented.
• Defining the values and culture of the organization – Entrepreneurial leaders are careful to ensure that everything that is done by the organization is synonymous with the values that they hold dear. In this way they encourage others to reflect on their own personal values.
• Developing others – They have a willingness to share what they know with others and they do so in a proper and productive manner. These leaders are also cognizant of the fact that they are prone to errors and will therefore take time to listen to and learn from others who have excelled elsewhere.
• Exuding positive and creative energy – An entrepreneurial leader is always determined to work hard and in doing so show that he/she is practically concerned about the success of the organization. Such leaders will not use their energies as an intimidation but rather as a motivation for employees. In doing so they help cultivate a sense of urgency, help identify goals and targets worth achieving, help set goals that are strenuous yet achievable, help grow teamwork, and help build overall team confidence.
• Facing reality, making tough decisions, sometimes with imperfect information – Entrepreneurial leaders are not afraid to make decisions that are meant for the organization's overall good moving forward, even though these will prove unpopular in the short term. He/she will take courage and chart the way forward even though the immediate consequences will be painful or plain scary.

The entrepreneurial leader will be deemed successful when all within the organization comfortably realize that business success is all about seeking for new opportunities and offloading those activities whose productivity is comparably minimal. Everyone in the organization will also feel self motivated to hunt for opportunities and find innovative solutions for them. in organizations led by such entrepreneurial leaders it can be observed that the employees are always excited about work and proud of what they do.

Samuel Muriithi is a business owner in Nairobi, Kenya. He has extensive international business experience in the United States and India.

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