Aprender como empreender

Ótimo artigo de Tom Evslin comenta sobre a importância de entender o papel de liderança que os empreendedores precisam desempenhar perante aos seus subordinados.

The toughest thing for an entrepreneur to learn is that most people want to be led. The entrepreneur is an entrepreneur to a large degree because he or she doesn’t want to be led (or isn’t capable of accepting direction). So it’s natural to think that other people are the same way: just give them something challenging to do and leave them alone and you’ll get great results – at least if you have good people. Sounds good but it isn’t true. Such an enlightened approach to leadership is really abdication and is bound to fail.

É importante entender que o comportamento dos subordinados é necessariamente diferente do líder. O liderado busca inspiração e segurança do seu líder, e o líder deve fornecer as certezas e a fé no futuro.

There’s a reason why kings wore such elaborate trappings; it’s harder to be a leader in jeans than in ermine robes; but even given that a pompous overdressed ass doesn’t make a good leader for an entrepreneurial high tech firm, you still need to assert leadership both symbolically and substantively in order to make your company successful – and your followers happy and secure. Weak leaders induce anxiety in their followers – revolt comes next.