Leadership and entrepreneurship

Author Joe Griffin Published 24 September 2009

Leadership is the ability to delegate tasks and responsibilities to others and to offer a sense of direction to followers. It is also the capacity to attract followers, and be entrepreneurial.

In a commercial business, providing direction may mean seeking greater market share with limited resources. In a public sector organisation it may mean adding public value or establishing new policy beyond the limits of political safety. Both these examples are also entrepreneurial – one commercial and one social. What they have in common is a trustworthy and courageous leader with the ability to stretch resources and push boundaries to achieve desired outcomes.

Leaders encourage innovation but are often limited by organisational control, which may in itself be the difference between leadership and management. Management establishes control functions and set the limits of innovation in a workplace. A responsible manager will do this as means of resources utilisation. Leaders, however, push these boundaries.

It is a leader who will develop the capacity of staff to take initiatives and reduce their staff's dependence on them. They do this by operating with a level of inclusive decision making – thereby enabling followers to make informed decisions with an appreciation for the balance of innovation and risk. Over time, an inclusive leader will be able to build their team's capacity to set levels of accountability, and in turn gain greater levels of innovation in the workplace. Without innovation, there is no claim to entrepreneurship.

To build a team that supports innovation and entrepreneurship, leaders must follow the principles above and also:

• Select senior personnel who are predisposed to innovation, entrepreneurship and who are results oriented
• Give staff are responsibility, accountability and encourage them to take ownership
• Take risks and treat mistakes as learning opportunities
• Collaborate with others
• Reward loyalty in performance management structures
• Be flexible
• Instils control within their team, not in themselves.