A Successful Entrepreneurial Leadership - Term Paper Example

?Philosophy One of the key areas where entrepreneurs have to make themselves successful is the creation of a passion to lead right from the start. The ability and passion to achieve the mastery and leadership right from the start of the venture therefore is the essential requirement for an entrepreneur to succeed. It is however important to understand that in order to be an effective leader, it is critical the entrepreneur must be able to model the success of others. He or she must be able to learn how to model the success of those who have been successful in the chosen field. Aiming at leadership right from the start therefore must be accompanied by the ability of the entrepreneur to model the success of the leaders besides developing a shared vision. It is also critical to understand that an entrepreneur should show the perseverance because a typical entrepreneur challenges the existing processes and innovative. As such the overall chances of failure increase and in such a situation, it is critically important that the entrepreneur must develop the ability to deal with the people and enable others to act. This allows the leverage to the entrepreneurs to gain required time to further innovate and refine the overall process to become successful. A successful entrepreneur therefore is the one who is able to clearly establish the priorities besides taking on a leadership role to challenge the conventional wisdom and present a new way of solving the problems. This could however, only be achieved if an entrepreneur is able to preserve and enable others to act. Leadership Styles and Organizations A transactional leader always works and succeeds in an organization which only exists as it is without any conscious effort to change itself. Thus the transactional leaders focus more on the present issues and are more responsive in nature rather than being more proactive in managing the overall affairs of the organization. In such an organization, transformational leaders are least likely to be successful. (James C. Sarros & Santora, 2001) Transformational leaders however are more proactive and innovative in nature and therefore focus on developing solutions for the problems while at the same time taking the organizations in new directions. (Tarabishy). Transformation leaders therefore can succeed in those organizations which are ready to make a turnaround. Organizations which have reached their maturity stage or experiencing slow growth may be more suitable for the transformational leaders. Further, learning organizations can also be most suitable for the transformational leaders because they create opportunities for their followers to learn and innovate. Transactional leaders therefore may not be able to completely successful in learning organizations. Authentic leaders can be successful in organizations which are risk taking and new in nature and therefore focus on making their way fearlessly. An authentic leader always ready to face anything and take unconditional responsibility therefore the organizations which are looking to make their way up will find authentic leaders as most suitable persons to lead the organization and make it one of the dominating forces in the industry. Transactional leaders however, may not be successful in such organizations. Tools One of the most important tools offered through Small Business Administration as well as the Score is the information about how to secure capital for the startup of the business. Since most startup businesses fail to obtain seed capital to start their business therefore it is really critical that they must have an access to the required funding. Another important tool is the providing information regarding how to develop ideas and actually find the successful mentors and coaches to get inspiration. Many entrepreneurs do not understand the dynamics of the business and it becomes necessary that the critical information must be provided in order to make them aware about the startup businesses and critical risks involved. This allows entrepreneurs to actually assess the risks in more rational manner besides allowing them an opportunity to weigh risks and returns. The tool of disaster assistance is also important too to allow entrepreneurs to develop the strategies to cope with the challenge situations as well as the failures. Tools about contracting and how to deal with different other stakeholders along with the government is also important in the sense that it offers a readymade available information to find the right stakeholders to network with. I however, personally believe that tool of understanding how to secure loans as well as capital is most important because it offers a critical insight to the entrepreneurs to know about the life blood of their organizations. Understanding the way as to how to secure financing at relatively cheapest costs besides tapping into other sources of finances in order to successfully materialize the ideas generated by the entrepreneurs in real business ventures. It is also critical to understand that securing the financing can allow the entrepreneurs to focus on other aspects of doing business therefore I believe it is most critical. Best Practices of Leadership Having a shared vision One of the best practices of leadership is to create a shared vision for the organization as a whole and how each and every stakeholder within the organization will actually contribute towards the success of the organization. Shared vision also sets the overall direction for the organization and how it is going to move forward in an uncertain environment. Leaders therefore must have to define this shared vision across the whole organization. (Boone & Kurtz, 2011) Setting direction for the organization Setting a clear and definite direction for the organization is one of the key aspects of leadership process and leaders must be able to provide this otherwise the business may fail. Setting up future direction and actively following that direction therefore what sets apart a good leader from an ordinary leader. Inspiring Another key leadership practice is how actually the leader can inspire the followers and take best out of them. This practice is also critical because leaders ultimately rely on their followers to deliver results therefore it is critical that the leadership must be inspiring enough to allow followers to follow the direction set by the leaders. Bibliography Boone, L. E., & Kurtz, D. L. (2011). Contemportary business. New York: John Wiley and Sons. James C. Sarros, & Santora, J. (2001). The transformational-transactional leadership model in practice. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 22(8), 383 - 394. Tarabishy, A. (n.d.). Understanding Entrepreneurial Leadership in today’s Dynamic Markets. Retrieved October 20, 2011, from Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship: http://www.academia-research.com/writer/index.php?pg=ordp&e_id=582544 Read More