It is difficult for small businesses to retain and attract the right kind of talent. In my office, I need Indians and I need chiefs. Not every task requires a high level of skill; in every business there are certain jobs that simply require a warm body. However, in most areas of my business, I need leaders who will go out and do a great job regardless of if someone is looking over their shoulder or not. Someone who has an entrepreneurial bent can’t handle being treated and managed like an employee. Conversely, and much less common, is an entrepreneurial culture within an organization that expects employees to act more like entrepreneurs, but it is a lot more common in smaller businesses.
Because it is more common, let’s focus on entrepreneurs being treated like employees. Having an entrepreneurial spirit doesn’t mean someone is going to be the ubiquitous free-spirit who starts their own business. The desire to be an entrepreneur isn’t an on-off switch; it is definitely a continuum and people fall on various places on this sliding scale. If you are treating someone who has an entrepreneurial inclination as an employee, chances are quite high that they leave work every day feeling unhappy most of the time, professionally speaking.
When the entrepreneurial spirit is crushed (inadvertently or not), a few things happen:
- They feel under valued
- Your organization loses their creativity and innovative ideas
- Your turnover increases
- Your leadership development suffers
- Your culture and vision can seem like more hype than substance
There are more negative things that can happen when an entrepreneurial spirit is crushed, or at a minimum held captive in some capacity. These 5 things are just a sampling of how your organization can be negatively impacted. So what’s the alternative? The argument I typically hear is, “We don’t want to give some people certain options and not give the same to others. It doesn’t seem fair.” So, by all means…be fair by handcuffing some of the more creative people in your organization! Doesn’t make much sense, does it?
The reality is, the people who are employees won’t have much of an interest in the entrepreneurial opportunities if you structure them correctly. The entrepreneurs will huddle around these opportunities like a feeding frenzy. If you’re smart, you’ll incorporate these things into your leadership development program.
It could be something as simple as giving them the opportunity to sit in on meetings for product/service development. Invite them to give their ideas. Ask them to make a business case for their ideas. The employees who are just trying to suck up will lose interest when they are asked to act and think like an entrepreneur. This is not to say that employees should be viewed as 2nd rate talent. You just need to understand what expectations you should have for certain people. All people should be given ample opportunity to achieve their absolute potential, so don’t misread this post.
The point is to not force employees to work and act like entrepreneurs and don’t try and manage entrepreneurs like you do employees. If you are truly leading them, you should be paying attention to these things. These aren’t the only 2 archetypes at work within an organization, but it is a high-level distinction that should definitely be on your radar. Managing from an understanding this distinction can have a monumental impact on your level of engagement and satisfaction.
-William Brown
