How can you lead a social enterprise and thrive?

2 Build your team

Your team is your most valuable asset. You need people who share your passion, complement your skills, and challenge your assumptions. You also need people who can execute your strategy, deliver your services, and grow your network. Building your team means hiring, training, empowering, and retaining talent. It also means creating a culture of collaboration, feedback, and learning. To build your team, ask yourself: What skills and roles do you need? How do you recruit and develop them? How do you motivate and reward them?

3 Define your model

Your model is your way of creating and delivering value. It is how you generate income, manage costs, and measure impact. Defining your model means finding your niche, identifying your customers, and designing your products or services. It also means testing your assumptions, validating your market, and scaling your operations. To define your model, ask yourself: What is your unique selling point? Who are you competing with? How do you prove and improve your results?

4 Seek your partners

Your partners are your allies , your supporters, your collaborators. They are the organizations or individuals who can help you achieve your goals, access resources, and amplify your voice. Seeking your partners means building relationships, finding synergies, and creating win-win scenarios. It also means managing expectations, aligning interests, and resolving conflicts. To seek your partners, ask yourself: Who are your potential partners? What value can you offer and receive? How do you communicate and coordinate with them?

6 Lead with integrity

Your integrity is your reputation, your credibility, your trustworthiness. It is what sets you apart from others, what attracts and retains your stakeholders, and what guides your decisions. Leading with integrity means being transparent, accountable, and ethical. It also means being humble, respectful, and compassionate. To lead with integrity, ask yourself: What are your values and principles? How do you demonstrate them in your actions? How do you handle mistakes and conflicts?

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?