GREAT entrepreneurial leaders do not arise by chance.
They are products of their internal and external environment.
This article includes some of the key lessons I have learned from creating Micro-Tyco, an entrepreneurial leadership programme.
To date over 34,000 participants across 19 countries have taken part.
Why? Why do you do what you do? Why do you want to lead? Your “why” is intrinsically linked to your personal values. Your “why” not only gets you started and helps you persist but it also informs the next step in your journey. It is a leader’s guiding principle, your “North Star”.
Here’s a personal example: I created WildHearts with the belief that business must be a force for good.
I set myself one rule; I did not want to rely on public money or donations.
As a result it was a natural extension of my founding “why” to invest the profits from WildHearts Office to help poor micro-entrepreneurs globally; businesses helping the poor to start businesses.
Knowing clearly why you do what do makes your decisions easier, congruent and authentic.
As a result people will also be more likely to follow you.
Never underestimate the power of a compelling “why”. All great leaders have one. What’s yours?
Where? Money and material goals alone make for a weak leader.
This is reflected in some very significant research by Babson College in Boston and in a separate study by Deloitte: 80% of millennials want to work for a company that cares how it contributes to society and 86% of workers believe it is important that their employer is responsible to society.
The danger for the leader who does not have their own compelling “why?” nor is able to communicate an exciting “where?” to their team other than monetary reward, is that they will fail to attract the best talent or tap in to the talent of their existing team.
Even worse, the best talent will leave to join a leader of a competing organisation who can.
Here’s a local example: St. Joseph’s Primary School in Aberdeen are the reigning global school Micro-Tyco champions after growing £1 into over £14,000 in four weeks (yes you did read that correctly!).
As with all Micro-Tycos they attribute their performance to the fact that all the money they created funded poor micro-entrepreneurs.
The exponential growth of Micro-Tyco and the entrepreneurial excellence it reveals are a result of the values mentioned earlier in this article.
These are the brilliantly talented young people who are entering the job market.
So the final crucial question to ask yourself is, are you the kind of leader these kids will want to follow, has your style of leadership created the kind of culture they will want to join?
If not … all is not lost.
The St. Joseph’s superstars were only ten years old when they won Micro-Tyco so you still have some time to get your act together.
- Dr Mick Jackson is the founder of the WildHearts Group and the creator of Micro-Tyco. To date WildHearts have transformed over 100,000 lives globally through ‘compassionate entrepreneurship’. He is speaking at the Chamber's business breakfast on Wednesday April 20, held as part of North East Business Week.