When Should an Entrepreneur Hire Operational Leaders?

It takes a very unique individual to become a successful entrepreneur. They have to understand the current marketplace, identify (or create) an unfulfilled need, develop a product or service that people want, know how to market and sell it and successfully deliver it to achieve a satisfied customer. Often, they start with just themselves or a couple of people. They have to do and be everything. They have to be hard-working, anticipate issues, and able to adjust to changing dynamics quickly.

Not only have we worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs, but our President, Hugh Massie, is one. While every person is unique, we have noticed there is a distinct trend of very strong natural behaviors traits that we consistently see in entrepreneurs: Take-Charge, Fast-Paced, Spontaneous, Pioneering, Risk-Taking, and Creative. They are natural Initiators, authoritative, Influencers, results-oriented, adaptable, very driven and resourceful.

Once an Entrepreneur starts to grow and hire people, the dynamics of their organization change. Now instead of doing it themselves, they have to rely on other people. They have to become managers and, hopefully, leaders. Many entrepreneurs struggle with this and in taking their business to the next sales and organizational level simply because some of their natural strengths that made them so successful, may need to be adapted to working with a team of different personalities who have different strengths. When these entrepreneurs don’t adapt, they can stifle the organization’s success. They can struggle with not listening to their team, being impatient, dominating, creating consistency or developing the right amount of structure and organization. They need to learn to lead instead of manage and dominate.

Can they do it? Yes, but it will not be easy. The stronger those natural strengths are, the harder it will be to adapt.

• They have to first take an inventory of what their natural gifts are…and what they aren’t.
• They have to learn how to strategically hire people that complement their strengths by being naturally good where they themselves struggle.
• Then they have to figure out how to relinquish some control while still remaining very informed and involved in the direction of the company.
• They have to learn how motivate, and not accidentally de-motivate, the team.

Behavioral awareness can be key to growth. Your leadership style will either help or hurt you, whether you choose to acknowledge it or not.
Take the first step in learning your entrepreneurial natural behavior strengths and struggles by completing the Natural Behavior Discovery.

• About the Author

Kriss Poll

Kriss Poll - Chief Operations Officer, Relationship Management Integration

Kriss is passionate about helping organizations unlock the power of behavioral understanding to successfully accomplish business goals. She works with leaders to further develop their organizational goals and to build collaborative teams that can execute. Kriss believes that tailoring solutions, communications, and experiences for customers, vendors and employees based on behavioral insights will propel companies ahead in our highly interactive and competitive landscape.