Common elements in entrepreneurial leadership theories and philosophies

Entrepreneurial Leadership

Of the many theories and frameworks of entrepreneurial leadership, those from Jim Kouzes and Peter Drucker have over time proven most applicable to a broad range of situations and leadership challenges. Noted entrepreneurs including Steve Case, co-founder and CEO of America Online has often said that the key to succeeding as an entrepreneur is combining the best possible people, being passionate about a vision, and having a strong sense of perseverance (Gendron, 2004). Clearly, Dr. Kouzes and Peter Drucker have influenced Steve Cases' mindset about what it takes to succeed when launching a new business. The common elements of Steve Case, Jim Kouzes and Peter Drucker are analyzed in this paper, as is a discussion of the leadership style aspired to. An assessment of how best to use the Small Business Administration and SCORE services is also discussed in this analysis. Finally, my personal principles of leadership are defined at the end of this work.

Common Elements of Entrepreneurial Leadership

The most prevalent common trait of entrepreneurial leaders is the ability to transform organizations and create significant commitment, energy, enthusiasm and intensity of effort towards a common goal. This transformational leadership element is prevalent throughout the findings from Kouzes (1999), Drucker (1985) and the current research into the most valuable attributes of entrepreneurs (Kuratko, 2007). Transformational leaders have the ability to provide each member of an organization with a very clear understanding of how their efforts and focus will benefit the company over the long-term, providing a very strong motivator in the process to continually contributing more to the shared goal. This aspect of being able to gain the commitment, enthusiasm and effort of team members is only possible when a leader has gained the trust of their employees (Darling, Leffel, 2010). Trust only comes over time, when a leader chooses to be authentic, transparent and self-sacrificing in the attainment of a complex goal, as these attributes the heart of leadership (Kouzes, 1999). The concept of a leader being able to combine the people, passion for a shared goal, and have the perseverance to attain the long-term objectives is also central to Drucker's view of leadership, as evidenced by Steve Case endorsing these values in his many lectures and discussions on entrepreneurship (Gendron, 2004). The world's leading theorists of entrepreneurial leadership ascribe to the concept of authenticity, transparency and trust being the cornerstones of effective transformational leadership in creating and leading new companies (Darling, Leffel, 2010) (Drucker, 1985) (Kouzes, 1999).

Assessing My Leadership Style

In aspiring to be an entrepreneur, the goal of creating an effective series of strategies that can span across the immediate need for action and the long-term commitment to a compelling vision is my goal. My leadership style concentrates on achieving tactical action items very quickly and infusing teams with a sense of the long-term value of a compelling goal. In essence, the combining of transactional and transformational leadership is what works best for my specific management and leadership tasks today. The benefit of this is the ability to use short-term rewards to get work done immediately, while also working to infuse a very high level of task ownership and identification with the vision and mission of the department and company overall.

Defining the Resource Strategy for SBA and SCORE

In using the resources and tools available from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and SCORE, the first area in any business that needs the most focus is the financial strategic plan. Defining the pricing, product strategy and gross margin focus is critically important to revenue growth and viability. There is also the need for coordinating the finance aspects of the strategic plan with local banks and potentially angel investors who specialize in supporting start-ups. Once these aspects of the business model are created, the definition of the go-to-market strategies is necessary. The senior executives who specialize in these aspects of a business' operation are the most critical to any start-ups' success, and their insights can be gained quickly as many of them volunteer their support through the SBA and SCORE.