Why should you invest in creating an entrepreneurial culture for your
organisation? Quite simply, you will create a team of people who push
the boundaries, look for hidden opportunities and understand profitable
growth.
Once you’ve developed a workplace that breeds innovative thinking,
you won’t accept talent into your business that doesn’t have that spirit
about them. New staff will immediately see a culture where challenging
and pushing the boundaries is encouraged and rewarded.
Every workplace is unique however there are some core values you can
introduce into your business to begin developing a culture of
entrepreneurship.
Make creativity a cornerstone of your business
Make sure everyone knows that creativity is highly valued. When an
employee presents a unique solution to a problem, acknowledge the
achievement and celebrate with the entire team.
It is also important to incorporate creativity into everyday
practices of the business. Creative incentives such as an annual
allowance for staff to engage in creative or cultural pursuits, or fun
team outings, can break the routine and provide inspiration to your
employees.
Encourage and support risk taking
Taking
measured risks is part of every day for an entrepreneur. So if you truly
want to create a team of entrepreneurs, you have to support risk
taking. Failure is also part of entrepreneurship, so when it inevitably
does happen, have an open conversation about how it came about, what the
lessons were, and how to avoid it again in the future. Scar tissue of
failure makes you stronger in that place in the future, so never look at
it as a negative.
Provide training opportunities
Training can take
many forms, which is why it’s important to think about the outcomes you
want to achieve when deciding what training will best develop
creativity relevant to your organisation. Entrepreneurs thrive on
learning, growing, opening their mind to new ideas and concepts. Generic
training may not be enough to foster new ways of thinking, whereas
industry-specific training may be more beneficial.
The method you choose to deliver training will also impact the
results. For example, online training provides greater flexibility,
whereas time away from the office may be seen as inconvenient.
Alternatively, employees may feel more inspired by off-site training
such as attending industry events and rubbing shoulders with their
peers. Otherwise consider the possibility of designing your own training
in-house – this will help you set organisation-specific goals to focus
on achieving.
Mentoring
Finally, it’s important for senior
team members in the business to act as mentors to more junior employees.
It is up to you whether you provide mentoring to the entire team or
whether you select a few high-achieving individuals. Mentoring will
allow you to help people reach their potential and to align the process
to your business goals.
An example of a mentoring approach could involve monthly
communication sessions where staff catch up with their managers to talk
specifically about their personal growth and goals. There needs to be
structure, commitment and energy from both sides for this approach to be
successful.
Training geared at inspiring innovation
The
ability to think creatively often improves with practice, so give your
staff opportunities to flex their creative muscle in new ways that are
distinct from everyday tasks. Regular business plan competitions to find
business solutions are a great way to encourage structured creativity.
For example, Pulse Marketing introduced an eight-week creative
thinking course called Pulse Ideas School. The course involved a weekly
session where the Creative Director discussed how to develop great ideas
for real advertising challenges. At the end of each session, the group
was given a creative brief to solve and present back the following week.
The true test was that this was company-wide, so the Finance Manager
was tackling a creative brief, which would not happen otherwise.
Immediately they had a greater appreciation for our offering, and for
the work that the team produces every day.
Treating the team as business owners
When
employees are treated as an integral part of the business, they are more
likely to take on more responsibility and proactively engage in
creative thinking.
Make sure your team understands the broader business goals and
involve them in the business discussions that matter. For example, all
staff should be informed of new business wins and be given relevant
information about the new clients as well as about the vision for the
business.
Just as a business owner should know every development in their
business, every employee should be aware of what’s going on. Part of
that information flow should include keeping staff in the loop with any
changes that may affect them and consulting them when possible.
For example, if you are planning an office relocation for the
business, discuss possible office locations with staff to make them feel
more involved in the decision. This will promote a culture of openness
and trust, and will make sure that staff happy with their new weekday
home.
Recruitment based on talent and passion, not skills
You’ll increase your chances of cultivating innovation and
entrepreneurship in your organisation by hiring people who have an
entrepreneurial spirit.
Be very mindful of the culture you aspire to create during your
recruitment process. When it comes to choosing between the right skills
and the right mentality, skills shouldn’t necessarily come first.
Skills can be learned; a way of thinking is more difficult to change.
Understand what qualities matter to your organisation culture most, and
hire based on passion and personal attributes first, followed by skill.
There is a multitude of ways you can begin to create an
entrepreneurial culture in your business. While you may have to work
hard to implement change, always remember that the outcomes will be
worth your efforts. People and processes will churn as you work through
the implementation, which can feel like a setback, however it’s the
long-term gain that holds the greatest value.
A collaborative team of people who can think creatively and develop
solutions, will automatically give your organisation a competitive edge
and make it a company people want to be part of.
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