ADMINISTRATOR & LEADERSHIP

Common Elements of Entrepreneurial Leadership

According to the new global economic order, “Entrepreneurial Leadership” is one of the

key characteristics of the successful business concept.

Today, social changes, information, technology, and day by day increasingly worsening

economic conditions, urge business people to behave rationally and more carefully. Thus the

presence of the businesses is threatened by uncertainties. Under these circumstances the old

school management lost its currencies, leadership gained emphasis and became the main element

for the success of the business. The leader, facing these difficulties and threats, uses his/her

emotional intelligence and activates all the systematic operation resources. “Emotional

Intelligence” is the key word for the definition of the “Leadership”

The major task of the leader is creating and producing a solution. At this point; we should define

“the leader” and “the administrator” and address the basic differences between these two

professionals.

LEADER - ADMINISTRATOR

Manager/administrator

Management Professional is the person, who has certain managerial skills to operate the

enterprise in a daily basis. Some of those managerial skills are: some experience, education,

knowledge, problem solving skills, probably, some of them might have good people skills,

customer service skills etc… Some typical characteristics of a manager’s work styles are; Old

schooled rigid, dull, risk aversive, drudges driving, facing obsolescence and more… But it is not

enough to be a leader. Administrator has to have some personality characteristics to be a leader.

Leader

Leader is the person who has some extra ordinary interpersonal skills, to influence people

admiring, following him/her and impress them with charisma, intellectuality and sharp, witty

acumen. There are lots of skills to be added to the list.

The summarized phrases below will be very illuminative for the definition of the “Leader”

 Researcher and patient

 Creator of the change and improvement

 Acting in the frame of the principles

 Warrior against the difficulties

 Holding the ethic rules in front of the individual interests

 Team work participator ( decision making and critical thinking)

Leader has much more valuable skills, talents and power other than the statements above.

In the following passage, Bennis W. (2003) outlined what he saw as the major differences

between leaders and managers: “The differences between leaders and managers as the

differences between those who master the context and those who surrender to it.

There are other differences, as well, and they are enormous and crucial:

The manager administers; the leader innovates.

The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.

The manager maintains, the leader develops.

The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.

The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.

The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.

The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.

The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why...

The manager initiates; the leader originates.

The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it...” (The Crucibles of Authentic

Leadership).

In addition to these interpersonal skills, if there is a good education and experience, the leader

is going to be a golden resource for the success of the business.

If we want to create “ key words” for the work style of the leader with couple of words; those

would be: Modern, innovative, flexible, new horizons, exciting, lead by an example, building

trust, passionate, patience, perseverance, positive, prepared, productive, purpose-driven and

more…