LESSON 7: ENTREPRENEURSHIP - LEADERSHIP

Learning Objective:

✔ Know the main leadership qualities that entrepreneurs have and why they are important.

Entrepreneurial leadership involves organizing and motivating a group of people to achieve a common

Leaders are born, not made. What do you think? Many people disagree. While some people seem to
come out of the womb with leadership qualities, they don’t have a monopoly on leadership, especially
when it comes to business. Leadership qualities can be taught and learned.

Countless examples are available of tech entrepreneurs who learned to be leaders of their
companies—and are quite good ones. Mark Zuckerberg, the cofounder of Facebook who was coached by
business veterans, comes to mind. Once a reserved geek, he is now a dynamic CEO of a billion-dollar
company.

⮚ Act in spite of how you feel: Don’t let your emotions or fatigue let you miss out on valuable

opportunities

⮚ Push beyond your fear: Let your goals propel you

⮚ Be a maverick: Lots of successful entrepreneurs were rebellious.

⮚ Make your dreams come true. 

⮚ Make difficult sacrifices: The best entrepreneurs are willing to make extreme sacrifices that go

beyond just eating ramen.

⮚ You have unbelievable endurance: Endurance is the most important trait for entrepreneurs.
⮚ Be prepared to lose it all: Despite the media hype, this is what happens to many
5 Essential Leadership Skills and Practices

1. Self-development
Because businesses today operate at breakneck speed, leaders should prioritize a half-hour a week to
focus on themselves, whether that means learning something new or taking time to plan for the week
ahead, Bullock says.

“This could be seeking out quick learning experiences, whether they’re through online videos or short,
online trainings,” he says. “Maybe it’s learning about how to work with difficult people, how to have a
difficult conversation, or how to motivate someone who’s difficult to motivate. Learning isn’t something
that should ever end; it should be continual.”

Self-development might also mean setting aside time each week to prioritize what you want to achieve in
the week ahead. This helps you become more intentional; Bullock says.
“When you step into your workspace, you’re immediately flooded with communications and fires to put
out. This whirlwind hinders your intentionality because you’re only reacting,” he says. “Think about what’s
most important for you and your team in the upcoming week and set strategic actions to accomplish
them.”

2. Team development

Equally as important as your own development is the development of your team members, Bullock says.
Some of the most successful managers today are adopting a leadership approach that embraces
developing partnerships with employees, he adds. In this paradigm, superiors embrace developing
partnerships with employees, working together with them to develop and achieve goals, and allowing
employees to take a more independent approach in completing their work.

“Leaders today might check in once a week for 10 to 15 minutes with the people on their team to review
priorities, what they’re working on, and how they’re feeling—whether they’re overwhelmed or engaged, for
example,” Bullock says. “It’s more about collecting real-time data on their team to make sure they’re
focused on the right things at the right time.”
Moreover, as job-hopping trends continue to increase, retaining talent is more important than ever.
Leaders should meet with their team members quarterly to discuss the employee’s interests, ambitions,
and goals and then work together to develop a path with resources to get there.
“Many times leaders aren’t aware of all the resources that are available to them,” he says. “When people
think about development, their mind goes to sitting in a classroom—but that’s not necessarily the only
option. There are videos, e-learning opportunities, on-the-job trainings, and even networking events that
can be useful. The leader’s job is to facilitate this process.”

3. Strategic thinking and acting

Companies today must remain nimble and responsive to change, which is why strategic thinking are
among the most highly effective leaders, according to Harvard Business Review. In the report, HBR found
that a strategic approach to leadership was 10 times more important to the perception of effectiveness
than other behaviors it studied, including communication and hands-on tactical behaviors. Strategic
thinkers take a broad, long-range approach to problem-solving and decision making that involves
objective analysis, thinking ahead, and planning.

“Leaders need to think about the best route to get to the outcomes that exceed the expectations for the
people they serve,” Bullock says. “There are many ways to go about that, including setting a vision and
being clear about what that means, along with everyone’s role in achieving that vision.”

4. Ethical practice and civic mindedness

Leaders set the standard for teams based on their values, Bullock says. “The things you talk about, do,
and allow all become part of your team’s culture,” he says. “If you’re talking about ethics and doing the
right thing, your team will pick up on that,” he says. “What you value gets valued by your team.”

Ethics and civic mindedness are often dictated by the organization through written policies and
procedures that leaders should learn and periodically reference. Many leaders are aware that these
policies exist, but only seek them out in times of crisis, Bullock says. Instead, leaders should familiarize
themselves with the policies and procedures so they’re prepared when an ethics situation arises.
“Most leaders don’t take ethics as seriously as they should,” he says. “Mishaps happen when something
drastic happens and they get caught up in the whirlwind. Leaders should have ethics front-of-mind so
when a problem happens, they can handle it quickly and effectively.”

5. Innovation
For businesses to keep pace in today’s competitive marketplace, innovation needs to be an
organizational priority—and this type of culture starts at the top. It’s easy for leaders to get stuck in a rut
performing their everyday responsibilities because people are creatures of habit, Bullock says. Innovation
is a good way for leaders to change things up and try something new—which sometimes leads to great
ideas and better methods