The entrepreneurial leader possesses unique character traits: a mix of tenacity, eagerness to learn and improve, curiosity and a keen eye for details.
TENACIOUS
The entrepreneurial leader is a tireless, result-oriented worker. They endure stress and fatigue, and they bear with hardships in difficult times, which are usually the ones that make the difference. Difficulties, aggressive competitors or a tense financial situation can put the entrepreneur to test, and tenacity is called in. A leader doesn’t show tension and doesn’t convey it to their co-workers.
Success is built thanks to tenacity and dedication to the business. An entrepreneurial leader never ‘switches off’, not even during leisure. In fact, this is when they usually come up with new ideas. The entrepreneur’s lateral thinking skill activates when they are relaxed or seemingly inactive (driving, plane travels, etc.).
EAGER TO LEARN AND CURIOUS
The entrepreneurial leader has a natural inclination to learning. They want to learn everything, from anyone, both inside and outside their work, and especially, about things that don’t belong to their industry. To be eager to learn means being open minded and curious, it means being willing to put yourself out of your comfort zone. This is surely stressing but an entrepreneur knows this is the only way to innovate and to keep doing business. Moreover, curiosity is “contagious”, and a leader knows how to spread it to their co-workers. Curiosity and eagerness to learn are necessary when building a successful enterprise, because business is about results.
EYE FOR DETAILS
The entrepreneurial leader is a perfectionist. Nothing is left to chance. Their project is closely supervised. The entrepreneur is strict, almost brutal, in their attention to the smallest detail and in wanting all the co-workers to pay the same attention to the project, because it’s the small details that make a great work. They know a single mistake can threaten the outcome of the entire project.
This character trait is not opposed to the ability of economic synthesis. A leader can both get an overall, strategic, perspective and have an eye for details which basically translates into a demand of perfection, both from themselves and from their co-workers.
Angelo Vergani and Sergio Cordone
Contract Manager s.r.l.