ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS

ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS

There are certain individual characteristics needed for a person to be successful Entrepreneurs, including:

1. Understanding the environment

2. Being visionary and flexible

3. Creating management options

4. Encourage teamwork while employing a multi-disciplined approach

5. Encouraging open discussion

6. Building a coalition of supporters, and persisting

An Entrepreneur needs to understand all aspects of the environment. Part of this ability is reflected in individual's level of creativity. Creativity tends to decrease with age and education. The individual must be creative and have a broad understanding of the internal and external environments of the corporation The Entrepreneurial person must be a visionary leader-a person who dreams great dreams.

Leadership is the ability to dream great things and communicate them in a way that people say yes to being a part of the dream. To establish a successful new venture, the Entrepreneurial leader must have a dream and overcome all obstacles to achieve it.

The third necessary characteristic is that the Entrepreneur must be flexible and create management options. An Entrepreneur is open to and encourages change. By challenging the beliefs and assumptions of the corporation, an Entrepreneur can create something new in the organization structure. He or she must possess the ability to encourage teamwork and use a multi-disciplined approach.

Every new company formation requires a broad range of business skills. The Entrepreneur must be a good diplomat to minimize disruption. Open discussion must be encouraged to develop a good team for creating something new. Many corporate managers have forgotten that frank, open discussion is part of the learning process. A successful venture can be formed only when the team feels the freedom to disagree and to critique an idea. The degree of openness among the team depends on the degree of openness of the Entrepreneur. Openness leads to a strong coalition of supporters and encouragers. The Entrepreneur must encourage each team member, particularly during hard times. A good Entrepreneur makes everyone a hero. Only through persistence will a new venture be created and successful commercialization result.