Entrepreneurship in organisations: from distrust to trust

In the Netherlands we have a flourishing entrepreneurial culture. We see more and more people making the leap and launching their own businesses, driven by passion and responsibility for building something up. But entrepreneurship is not just for entrepreneurs. Increasingly often, managers in organisations say they want their staff to show more entrepreneurship. Staff who proactively see opportunities, are creative and work with the same commitment as if this were their own business – surely a worthwhile goal. But in practice we often see a gap between what managers expect and what staff feel. Staff say they lack the space to be entrepreneurial, whereas managers would like to see more entrepreneurial behaviour. So how can we close the gap and encourage entrepreneurship within organisations?

What do we mean by entrepreneurship in organisations?

We believe entrepreneurship involves a cycle of three stages which every staff member can go through in every situation: seeing opportunities, grasping opportunities together, and creating value. But what does that actually mean?

1.???? Seeing opportunities Entrepreneurship starts with being able to see opportunities: smarter, faster or more innovative ways of working. We often see more opportunities than we realise, but awareness requires space. If staff are constantly running through their to-do lists without taking time to catch their breath, they have little mental space left to think creatively or seek new solutions. Getting staff to think entrepreneurially means taking time and creating space for reflection and ideas.

2.???? Grasping opportunities – together

Seeing opportunities is important, but the next challenge is doing something with them. Ideas are only valuable if they are acted on. This step takes courage, but is easier if staff grasp opportunities together. Sharing ideas, gaining support from colleagues and asking for space to experiment makes the ideas more likely to be carried out. Cooperation plays a crucial part at this stage – for entrepreneurship is something you do together.

3.???? Creating value The last step is using the opportunity to add value to the team or organisation. Value may be financial, but may also be in the form of time gained, enjoyment of work or improved quality. If the team or organisation creates added value, the importance of entrepreneurship becomes visible and is felt.

The role of trust in entrepreneurship and cooperation

Cooperation makes it more likely that ideas will lead to action, but the key to cooperation is trust. Without trust – between colleagues, and also between managers and staff – it is hard to develop entrepreneurship. Trust provides the basis for staff to take responsibility, dare to take risks and show initiative without fearing punishment if they make mistakes.

From distrust to trust

There is often a previous history that fuels distrust: experiences that have undermined trust and make open dialogue difficult. Whether people can handle criticism often also plays a part in this, as well as a feeling that it is unsafe to share this previous history. Yet there is often a sense that not sharing experiences leads to distance and a culture of struggle rather than cooperation. The challenge is then to take the step towards dialogue and clarity on both sides. This allows the team to build up entrepreneurship and trust, by focusing not only on tasks, but on cooperation itself.

Building up trust and setting clear goals

To encourage entrepreneurship, it is crucial to build up trust and create clarity. A good place to start is discussing a number of key issues together:

·?????? What are our goals and our course? Do the manager’s and the staff’s goals match, or are there differences between them? Discussing these differences makes it possible to work towards a shared goal.

·?????? Who does what? And what is the minimum that has to be done? Making each other’s expectations clear helps people to share responsibility and set priorities. Staff can then talk to each other, and ‘not taking time’ becomes recognisable as a priority choice rather than an obstacle.

·?????? Where do we provide space for experimentation? Trust develops when staff are given the space to learn, including by experimenting and making mistakes. It is important to set limits: how far should an experiment go? Providing trust, within limits, gives entrepreneurship the space to grow.

If we direct and support what is done on the basis of trust, rather than controlling it on the basis of distrust, this creates a work culture that allows entrepreneurship. This is a learning process in which staff and managers learn together to take responsibility and contribute step by step to the greater whole – for entrepreneurship in organisations starts with trust.