5 Characteristics of Effective Entrepreneurial Leaders
Suresh U. Kumar
Author of Girl in Scarlet Hijab, Serial Entrepreneur, Innovation Ecosystem Evangelist, Professor, & Dad!
What does it take to be an effective entrepreneurial leader? Often we hear of terms such as: Determination, Dreamer, Grit, Resilience, Risk-Taking etc- which are difficuly to visualize. How do these traits manifest as modes of thinking and acting? Here are My "top 5" characteristics of effective entrepreneurial leaders (in any setting) that are based on my deep experience in the startup trenches (and two near-death experiences):
1. Owner Mindset - This is multifaceted and includes ways of thinking and acting such as deep curiosity about the inner workings of complex systems, a willingness to take charge, having skin in the game, putting the interests of other stakeholders first, ability to see the big-picture (that others may often miss) and having a long-term orientation.
2. Balancing Action-Orientation vs. Delayed Gratification. This can be complicated as it involves offsetting the desire to get things done immediately with the knowledge that all good things take time to see results.
3. Unease With the Status Quo. This is often in the form of internal conflict about the current state versus the desired state. Being pragmatists, even if they are uncomfortable with the current state of affairs, founders may often learn to temporarily live with it for tactical reasons and bid their time to make more impactful change happen.
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4. Pervasive use of Trust and Personal Influence. Effective founders rarely use positional authority in interpersonal settings. In other words they rarely "pull rank" over employees because of their self-confidence and because they value co-operation over compliance. Instead, they rely on Trust to delegate work and leverage Personal Influence to win over people.
5. Decision Making: Ability to make quick decisions despite uncertainty and incomplete information. This ability to cut through the weeds, evaluate options, and move fast is what makes founders appear to be eager risk-takers. In reality founders are no more risk averse than non-founders, just that they are better at managing risk.
Of course, this is far from a complete list. What would you add based on your own experiences?
President, AAAUM (OM) | Co-founder, HVB 88 Angels
8 个月Interpersonal communication skills
Talent Development Manager at INVIDI Technologies
8 个月Thanks for sharing Suresh! Your "top 5" traits of effective entrepreneurial leaders are perceptive and resonate with my direct experiences of your leadership when I worked with you. You nurtured your team based on principles of trust, empathy, and empowerment, fostering an environment that encourages innovation and embraces a growth mindset.
Founder & Chief Executive Officer @ TSG | Vice President @ GLI | Board Member | Podcast Host | Leading Transformation That Matters
8 个月This is a great list and very representative. The one I would add is Alignment CX/EX when we align the known, emerging, and unknown (as of today) priorities and needs of both our customers and employees so it is an integrated not just separate experiences. That is where we create a culture and business built on ownership not engagement.
Highly-Effective executive developing innovative methods to expand business growth and achieve company goals.
8 个月Perhaps emotional intelligence can be added to the list of characteristics of effective entrepreneurial leaders as the ability to understand, use, and manage one's own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict—plays a crucial role in leadership success. High EQ enables entrepreneurs to build stronger teams and fosters a positive work environment.
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8 个月Beautiful article as always Suresh. Your writing skills are so good!