ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP

Entrepreneurial Leadership

Entrepreneurial Leadership

1. Discuss the common elements described in the theories/philosophies of Case, Kouzes, and Drucker including how their principles/strategies relate to the new definition of entrepreneurial leadership presented in Understanding Entrepreneurial Leadership in today's Dynamic Markets (Case, 2010).

Listening to Case and Kouzes's podcast and reading Drucker's article, some familiar fundamentals in their theories/philosophies was observed. Steve Case the founder, former CEO and Chairman of AOL discussed the three Ps: People, Passion and Persevering. Mr. Case believes that the right people need to be aligned to the right priorities and that the underlying passion cannot exist with only the founder and CEO but also spread throughout the entire company . Unlike Mr. Case, James Kouzes's theory consisted of five distinctive of an effective leader and how to attain ideal leadership. Leadership is not about position, but the ability to lead. The first theory Mr. Kouzes spoke about was “Model the Way”. To model the way is to lead by example and not just by words. Modeling the way is achieved by establishing a clear set of values and expectations for the organization . The second is to “Inspire a Share Vision.” Vision is defined as "an ideal and unique image of the future." The leader with a share vision helps maintain the team's motivation, and also has an outlook on the future. The third is “Challenge the Process”, meaning the leader should always ask questions like “What have I done this week that is different from last week? What new learning have we completed this week to make us better than the last week. Searching for opportunity to grow and be innovative also “Challenge the Process.” “Enable others to Act”, was the forth point, and is relevant to the supervisor on top. That individual is about focusing on what the team and individual need to function at their best. The last and final point is to “Encourage the Heart”. Encourage the Heart is the expression of caring. People work harder and longer for leaders that they like. . If workers believe the management has their best interest at heart, they will more likely do their best. One thing a leader can do to demonstrate caring to people who work for them is by simply saying thank you. . It's also about the managements non verbal actions, and facial expressions when an idea is brought up, and also recognizing individuals for their ideas (Case, 2010).

Mr. Drucker's article proposed two theories for entrepreneurial strategies. “Being fustest with the mostest” this theory aims at market domination through innovation . “Hit them where they ain't”, this strategy suggests exploiting success from others by using “creative imitation” and “entrepreneurial judo” . The first entrepreneurial strategy discussed in Drucker's article was “fustest with the Mostest”. Not all fustest with the mostest strategy work. It's not one of the dominant ones let alone the one with the lowest risk or the highest success ratio. It is also a great gamble, no allowances for mistakes or ...