A start-up philosophy

Supply Management, Mar 5, 2009 by McPheat, Sean

What is entrepreneurial leadership and how can it help managers do their job better? Sean McPheat explains this new approach and how it can drive your business forward

KEY POINTS

* Run your team as if it were your own business

* Don't be afraid of trying new things

* Get backing from senior management

Whether it be in the private or public sector, many organisations need their leaders to be commercially focused. Never have the demands been greater.

The modern leader needs to "do more with less". They must ensure their teams are highly motivated and churn out work to a very high standard in terms of quality and productivity.

In addition, they are invariably asked to work on projects and pieces of work both "for their development" and because of lack of resources.

So how does the modern leader cope with all of this? The answer is through 'entrepreneurial leadership'. This is the term used nowadays for running your department or team like an entrepreneur rather than just a manager.

It's an approach that empowers leaders to act as though they are business owners or self-employed.

In a world that is so focused on results and change, many organisations are coming around to the notion that they need to drive their business forward with entrepreneurial thinking.

So is this just another buzzword?

Perhaps, but we all know what an entrepreneur does nowadays. Since TV shows as The Apprentice and Dragons' Den have given entrepreneurship a higher profile, so when a company says it wants its managers to act like entrepreneurs we have a good idea what they are referring to.

Here are some common traits that underpin entrepreneurial leadership.

Leaders see their teams as "mini businesses" rather than just units or departments and they think of themselves as a business owner rather than just head of the team.

They are encouraged to take calculated risks and look into new ways of doing business, changing processes and inspiring staff.

They have bought into the fact that the buck stops with them, and they have sole responsibility for the results of their "business" and its successes and failures.

They are encouraged to be creative, seek out opportunities and "make them happen", to be a "free spirit" - within reason - and to experiment and try new things.

Above all, entrepreneurial leadership is a mind-set but it needs the full backing of the senior management team to make it work.

More conservative companies prefer to stick to the "divide and rule" philosophy of tasks, teams, procedures and processes, whereas the entrepreneurial company has the following mind-set:

"Our competitors are out to eat our lunch, what can we do to stay ahead?."

That's not to say that it's a gung-ho attitude. There's still a place for control and process, but above all the approach is one of great empowerment and "let's make things happen" - which scares the hell out of a lot of risk-averse organisations.

* If you would like to contribute an article to this page please contact paul.snell@supplymanagement.com.

SEAN McPHEAT

Founder and MD, MTD Training