Here come the intrapreneurs ...

“Entrepreneur” has always been a heavily word in the business world – but now the age of the “Intrapreneur” is here. The latter, entrepreneurs within divisions of established companies, can do their work in many ways. They can be found in intra-disciplinary teams, collaborative international teams or any other structure. What matters more is that they are using imagination, creativity and innovation to drive themselves and others forward. And intrapreneurs are the theme of a forthcoming Merit Regional Summit for 2019 – “Leading Change for an Intrapreneurial Culture” – to be held in Manchester on 13th November.

Intrapreneurship is a learnable skill. Leaders and managers at every level can develop their entrepreneurial skills sets, by working with their colleagues or by bringing in expertise from business schools, to drive their learning capabilities further forward. The aim of the Regional Summit is to stimulate HR and L&D decision makers to create the space and right environment for intrapreneurship - and let it flourish across organisational silos.

Intrapreneurship is all about encouraging employees to feel free to behave instinctively, as though they were entrepreneurs of their own businesses themselves. There are so many reasons why intrapreneurship is important, particularly during times of economic uncertainty. It acts as a bulwark against this uncertainty by fostering innovation, the chief source of competitive advantage in a rapidly changing world.

In every business there are perhaps already “born” intrapreneurs, but they need to be discovered, nurtured and encouraged. By giving people the right tools, resources, support, and recognition at the workplace, it is possible to create an intrapreneurial culture, with happier and more engaged teams to make businesses more productive. There are so many benefits - including the new leadership skills we need to lead culture change, better strategies for talent and focusing on what learning and development is really there to do.

At the MERIT Regional Summit in Manchester experts will deliver talks on current trends and recent findings in agility and innovation, while L&D leaders will share case studies on how they overcame learning challenges. Participants will have both the in-depth knowledge and the skills necessary to build their entrepreneurial culture.

Entrepreneurs and corporates need not feel so different – and they can learn so much from each other. So how do we to get started with intrapreneurship? Does it depend on recruiting people with certain capabilities, or on a learning strategy empowering individuals and teams to grow and not be afraid to fail? These issues will be tackled in moderated debates – one of which I will be lucky enough to chair - and the conversation will give an amazing insight into a fast-evolving field.

Trevor Merriden, Managing Director, Merriborn Consulting