10 Defining Attributes of Effective Entrepreneurial Leadership

Entrepreneurial leadership is all about growing a business with the help of a team. No matter the business environment or context you are operating in, entrepreneurial leadership will be central to your success.

Entrepreneurial leadership ensures that organizations quickly adapt to changes in today's fast-paced business environment and to the changes in today's volatile and moving global economy. 

Entrepreneurial leadership is the crucial skill that involves working closely with your team members and having the ability to anticipate, envision, make strategies and be flexible in the leadership role, to bring about the changes that will create a viable future for your organization.

The following are the distinguishing traits of entrepreneurial leaders:

a) They are friendly and approachable to their staff members and employees and yet maintain sufficient distance to exert authority.

b) They ensure that their team members are well aware of their roles and responsibilities and are having all the tools to meet their objectives.

c) They inspire trust in their team members and they trust their leader's judgment.

d) They don't impose their solutions on their teams, neither do they exclude or suppress their potential.

e) They build self-sufficient and inter-dependable teams that are creative and discover their own solutions to problems.

f) Entrepreneurial leaders are successful for their expertise and values and the authority they exercise is more because of these two factors rather than the position that they are given.

Entrepreneurial leadership is more than a fancy job title. It involves leading through the example and empowering teams.

Entrepreneurial leaders nurture their teams at all hierarchies and ensure that their organization is still successful when they are not around.

Entrepreneurial leadership thrives on the pillars of innovation and resilience as is rightly explained by Jessica Herrin, founder, and CEO of Stella & Dot:

"You have to see failure as the beginning and the middle, but never entertain it as an end."

The following are 10 traits of momentous entrepreneurial leadership:

1)   Shared Responsibilities and Thought Leadership

Entrepreneurial leadership is characterized by the sharing of responsibilities (wherein people holding different profiles have a clear knowledge of organizational expectations being held from them) and thought leadership reflecting on the subject matter expertise of individual employees and the entire organization at large.

Focusing on shared responsibilities and thought leadership ensures that the organization develops a reputation and expertise that is sought after and often rewarded. These pursuits also strengthen the online reputation management framework of the organization.

2)   Inspiring Employee Loyalty with Your Leadership

 Inspiring loyalty among your employees is an important part of entrepreneurial leadership.

Inspiring employee loyalty has numerous benefits such as getting improved results from your employees, and reducing turnover in the staff. By exemplifying idealistic behaviors and leading from the example, entrepreneurial leaders ensure that their customer base and online reputation as a whole are positively impacted.

Inspiring loyalty though is easier said than done. It requires hard work, self-introspection, and clarity of mind. Entrepreneurial leadership involves personal work, to develop a loyal team.

Effective entrepreneurial leadership involves both inward and outward work, one needs to envision and reflect on the bigger picture. The participation of people is the only way to achieve complete organizational success. Entrepreneurial leaders help achieve the purpose by:

a)  Giving their trust to the employees without reservation so that they feel motivated and work harder, meet expectations, and give the trust back to someone they respect.

b) Supporting employee development and encouraging employees to follow their passion.

c) Exemplifying their duties and leading by example.

d) Developing a wide-reaching vision to create clarity and help navigate your teams to their ultimate missions.

e) Nurturing personal relationships, openness, and honesty within the team.

3) Being Driven By a Purpose

Entrepreneurial leaders understand who they are and what is important to them. They understand their purpose and what is important to them and their organization.

Having clarity of purpose is the root source of all the virtues to bud and blossom to make the organization thrive and prosper.

Being purpose-driven helps in building a community and helps make a business better fit for an industry in the long run.

4) Having the Ability to Articulate a Vision

Entrepreneurial leadership is all about having a vision of the business you have. Entrepreneurial leaders have clarity on:

a) What his or her vision is all about?

b) What they do and how they serve their stakeholders, and where their business is headed?

c) How can they resolve the pain points of their customers?

Leadership with vision can't go ambiguous. Entrepreneurial leaders who articulate their vision inspire others to work together for a common purpose.

5) Understanding the Importance of Human Resources

Entrepreneurial leadership is all about understanding people. It's about people who like and respect people and love to be around people. Entrepreneurial leaders are committed to people who work for them.

It's important as a leader to help employees grow so that your business can flourish.

6) Empathetic Listening

Entrepreneurial leadership is all about listening carefully and empathetically to your employees, clients, mentors, and others and giving them the best possible solutions.

Along with their own understanding of facts and situations, entrepreneurial leaders also need to carefully assess information from a variety of sources.

Empathetic listening helps in acting from a place of compassion that not only assists in creating more productive workplaces but also helps in providing the clients and customers with the products and services that they need and demand.

7) Innovation and Implementation of New Ideas

An entrepreneurial leader is one who is willing to innovate and take risks, no matter how good or volatile the business environment is.

As we move to the next normal, business environments are more fragile than ever before. Under such a situation being flexible and finding new initiatives fast to develop new products or services can prove and be the ultimate game-changer for any business. 

8) Self-Care, Staying Updated And Curious to the Environment Around You

Entrepreneurial leaders understand the importance of recreational activities and the much needed 'me-time'. They make it a priority to devote quality time to their friends and family and inspire others to do the same.

Not only do they take time for themselves and for being with their families and friends but they also relish vacations, hobbies, and interests outside of work.

At the same time, they are updated and curious about the business environment around them. Unwinding and rejuvenating their minds once in a while, only helps them deliver the best to their business environment.

9) Honesty and Perseverance

Honesty and Perseverance are the most important qualities of exceptional entrepreneurial leaders. This helps them win the trust of their employees and helps them keep going even amidst the toughest times.

Entrepreneurial leadership is all about transparency, leading with example, and never settling down until they find what they are looking for.

10) Creating an Environment of Learning and Development

Entrepreneurial leadership is not only about collaboration at work but also about investing significant time to collaborate in a congenial environment - to learn and grow. 

An environment for learning and development helps in tackling multiple challenges as employees are encouraged to think outside the box and equipped to search for creative solutions to their problems.

Wrapping Things Up

Entrepreneurial leadership involves organizing and motivating a group of people, often to achieve common organizational objectives through innovation, risk optimization, taking advantage of opportunities, and managing the dynamics of an organizational set-up.

Whereas the traditional corporate mindset is focused on systems and processes, entrepreneurial leadership is more risk-oriented. Extraordinary communication skills, vision, supportiveness, self-belief, and involvement to create an environment of shared success are some of the distinguished characteristics of entrepreneurial leaders.

Encouraging and developing entrepreneurial leadership helps organizations succeed in today's world of rapid change and intense competition.