Business Leadership: Entrepreneurial vs. General Leadership Analysis

This assignment delves into the core differences between entrepreneurial and general leadership styles, arguing that entrepreneurial leaders are better equipped to run a business. It explores the qualities that distinguish these leadership approaches, such as risk-taking, innovation, and the ability to create a learning environment. The essay further examines historical leadership theories, including contingency, situational, behavioral, autocratic, and trait theories, providing a comprehensive overview of leadership evolution. Additionally, it discusses contemporary leadership theories like charismatic and transformational leadership, highlighting their role in motivating employees and driving organizational success. Through this comparative analysis, the assignment underscores the importance of entrepreneurial qualities in modern business leadership, emphasizing adaptability, effective decision-making, and the ability to inspire employees.

Business
Leadership

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Discussion of the difference between entrepreneurial and general leadership............................1
Historical and contemporary theories of leadership....................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Leadership can be defined as a quality which is vital for all the managers and leaders to
have as it guides them to manage all the subordinates who are responsible to follow their
command. In order to execute a business properly it is vital for top level executives to acquire
characteristics as it can help them to reach the organisational goals (Covin and Slevin, 2017).
This assignment is based upon the statement of “An entrepreneurial leader is better equipped to
run a business than a non-entrepreneurial leader or manager.” In order to analyse it in detail
various topics are discussed under this project which are difference between entrepreneurial
leadership and general leadership. Along with this, historical and contemporary leadership
theories are also discussed under this assignment.
MAIN BODY
Discussion of the difference between entrepreneurial and general leadership
An entrepreneurial leader is better equipped to run a business as compare to an non
entrepreneurial leader because because a manager who is highly skills and having qualities of an
entrepreneur will have more capability to control and guide the staff members. In order to
complete all the tasks related to their job role could be achieved by them with the help of such
types of qualities. Concept of entrepreneurial and general leadership is discussed below:
Entrepreneurial leadership: It can be defined as the quality of leaders which helps them
to organise staff members in such manner in which they can work productively for the
attainment of a common goal. While formulating teams they focus on various aspects such as
innovation, analysing change in the market etc. With the help of these factors they try to manage
teams and motivate all the members so that long term business goals could be achieved (Freeman
and Siegfried Jr, 2015). Leaders with entrepreneurial leadership focuses on building various
qualities of employees which are self generate, reflect and correct. In order to achieve the
objective of organisation it is vital for the managers to build trust and confidence among staff
members and communicate with team effectively. When they provide information of all the
business plans to the employees then it helps to inspire them to increase their engagement level
in operation and enhance their productivity. In order to build trust and confidence they can
interact with the workforce on regular basis and try to resolve all their problems. It will help to
establish a good image in the mind of workers and increase reliability of them.
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Entrepreneurial leadership guides leaders to interact with staff members as it is a key for
organisational success. If employees are not aware of vision of enterprise and they have no right
to communicate with upper management then it may result in decreased engagement rate of them
in their jobs. This type of leadership aids to self improvement, possessing technical skills,
accepting challenges, formulating effective decisions and becoming a role model to the
subordinates. When a manager is having all these skills then it can help them to run a business in
effective manner (Harrison, Leitch and McAdam, 2015). Lack of such qualities may result in
occurrence of risks and issues for the business.
General leadership: It can be defined as a quality of leaders which guides them to
motivate the team members who are responsible to follow their command. It states that a
managers with non entrepreneurial leadership quality is responsible for inspiring and engaging
staff members, push boundaries and supervise subordinates to accomplish all tasks successfully.
Along with this, they have liability to mentor employees and interact with them to analyse the
issues that are affecting their involvement level in their jobs.
Individuals with non entrepreneurial leadership try to make sure that a clear vision is
established by them so that all the other people can work productively for the achievement of
them. Main role of leaders in the organisations is to make sure that if conflicts are taking place
among staff members or managers then all of them get resolved appropriately so that good
relationship could be established within the company. For all the business entities whether it is
large or small leadership is an essential element because it helps to coordinate with top as well as
lower level workforce to determine that predetermined goals of business will be achieved or not
(Huggins, Morgan and Williams, 2014).
Difference between entrepreneurial and general leadership: There are various
differences between general and entrepreneurial leadership. Leaders with both types of qualities
try to run the business in best possible way but there are some specific factors which are
differentiating between their style of leading. All these factors are described below:
Leaders with entrepreneurial skills have ability to run a business in more effective
manner as compare to the individuals who are having general leadership. The quality of self
belief is the main factor which differentiate both of them because managers with entrepreneurial
leadership have high level of it but on the other hand people with non enterprising quality of
leading have low level of it.
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Entrepreneurial leaders have experience of failure, learning and experiments but general
leaders do not have such qualities which creates difference in the way of running business of
them. Sometimes managers give up on the situations when they face failure again and again but
the entrepreneurial leaders do not give up and they keep going till they find the way of success or
achieve the goal they are working for (Leih and Teece, 2016).
General leaders have ability to learn from the environment but on the other hand
individuals with entrepreneurial leadership establish a learning environment for all the
individuals who are working for the organisation. This quality of them helps to execute all the
business operations in appropriate manner because when employee learn new things then it
results in increased capabilities of them to work productively.
Entrepreneurial leaders have ability to think outside the box as they believe in taking risk
but the individuals who are getting a fixed pay from the employers, ignore risks as they are not
sure about that it will result positively or negatively. Creative minds of people with
entrepreneurial leadership helps them to reach the organisational goals and run operations in
appropriate manner.
From the above analysis it has been assessed that the way of running a business
differentiate according to the leadership qualities of leaders and managers. If they are having
entrepreneurial qualities then it can guide them to execute the operational activities effectively
and lack of such skills may affect the success of the organisation. In order to become an
entrepreneurial leader individuals are required to develop some characteristics which includes
adaption of change, formulating effective decisions, taking risks, becoming role model for all the
staff members and keep for self improvement. With the help of all these qualities all the business
activities could be performed effectively and growth can be acquired (Leitch and Volery, 2017).
Historical and contemporary theories of leadership
There are various contemporary and historical theories of leadership which are followed
by leaders in order to fulfil requirements of their job role. Both of them with different types are
as follows:
Historical theory of leadership: All the theories which were used by leaders in past for
the purpose of managing organisational operations are considered as historical theories. There
are various types of historical theories which are implemented by general leaders. All of them are
described below:
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Contingency leadership: This theory of leadership states that leaders are required to
perform effectively in unfavourable events which may take place in future. With the help of it
different problems which may leave negative impact upon business could be dealt properly. It
also states that behaviour of the leaders depend upon the circumstances which are taking place
within the organisation. It guides managers to analyse different problems such as employee
turnover, absenteeism, reduced productivity etc. and then formulate effective strategies to
respond all of them in appropriate manner. It also states that there is no best way in which an
enterprise could be managed by leaders or managers effectively (Lewis, 2015).
Situational leadership: According to this theory, leaders who are implementing
situational leadership theory are required to perform various functions which includes directing,
coaching, delegating and supporting. It states that managers should make modifications in their
nature according to behaviour of staff members so that organisation can attain success and
growth. In this style of leadership, leaders have to make changes in their style and followers are
not required to adapt the style of them (Situational leadership, 2019). The changes could be
made continuously so that needs and expectations of staff members could be met and
organisation can reach to the goals.
Behavioural leadership: Under this type of leadership leaders try to study behaviour of
each and every staff members so that their needs and requirements could be analysed. When they
achieve success in the analysis then they form strategies and try to motivate all of them
accordingly. In order to influence the employees it is very important for managers to be aware of
their behaviour so that the ways in which they could be inspired can be identified. The skills that
are required by the leaders who are focusing on this theory are interactive nature, good observing
power, communication ability etc.
Autocratic leadership: According to this type of leadership theory, leaders are the
person who are responsible for the development of strategies and formulating decisions for
organisations. They believe in holding power of making judgement in their hand. All the
employees in the company have to follow the command of leaders in order to achieve their
personal and organisational goals. In this style of leadership fast and effective decisions could be
taken by the top level executives because they do not have to ask for opinion of staff members
and make changes in their decisions. The skills that are required for an autocratic leader are
power, control, authority and passing effective judgements (Muchiri and McMurray, 2015).
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Trait theory: This theory is used by leaders for the purpose of studying the behaviour of
different staff members working within the organisation. With the help of this theory leaders try
to analyse different traits of the employees and try to allocate them jobs according to it. While
implementing this theory it is vital for managers to acquire some specific traits such as
cooperative, decisive, persistent, energetic, adaptive to change etc. With the help of all of them
they will be able to manage the staff members in appropriate manner (Trait theory, 2019).
Contemporary theory of leadership: According to this theory, leadership is a quality of
individuals which guides them to motivate all the subordinates so that long term business goals
could be achieved. Different types of contemporary leadership theories which are implemented
by entrepreneurial leaders are as follows:
Charismatic leadership: It is a type of leadership in which leaders are mainly
responsible to encourage staff members with the help of their personality, communication and
persuasion. Such types of leaders try to make sure that all the employees get motivated and make
sure that improvements are made in the ways in which success will be attained by the
organisation. There are various qualities which are required to be acquired by managers using
this leadership. These are confidence, optimistic, self motivated, highly inspiring etc. When the
leader is confident then it helps to enhance confidence level of staff members that the projects on
which they are working can attain success in future (Parkay, Anctil and Hass, 2014).
Transformational leadership: In this type of leadership leaders guide all the
subordinates to be creative so that effective strategies for betterment of organisation could be
formulated. Main responsibilities of them includes motivating, inspiring and encouraging the
staff members to enhance their productivity so that future success of the company can be
assured. Different skills under this leadership style are clear vision, courage, setting standards
and knowing all the employees. With the help of all these qualities leaders can run the business
in appropriate manner and they can also assure success of the company by motivating workforce
to perform all the tasks with high level of involvement.
Quantum leadership: This type of leadership states that leaders should have ability to
establish good working environment for all the staff members. It demonstrates that they should
be able to establish relationship between personal needs and care giving settings. Leaders that are
following this style of leadership make sure that all the members in their team have a good, safe
and secure environment for work (Pihie, Asuimiran and Bagheri, 2014). It could be used within
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different business entities at the time of dealing with a group of people. Leaders who are
following this style of leadership are considered as the out of box thinkers who are capable of
finding creative solutions for the business problems.
Transactional leadership: Leaders who are focused with transactional leadership, values
structure and order. With the help of it, their ability to manage and lead international projects get
developed as they are capable of managing all the work in the given time limit. Managers with
this leadership style do not fit at such places where there is high requirement of innovation and
creative ideas. Under this type of leadership success of the company depends upon the
individuals who are working in well structured manner and highly self motivated. Main
responsibility of managers in it is to maintain routine of the enterprise by making sure that
performance of all the employees is managed and group performance is facilitated appropriately.
Shared leadership: It can be defined as leadership in which various people are
responsible for the decision making process of running a business. It is very important for large
as well as small organisations because it helps to enhance competitive advantage by formulating
highly effective decisions for betterment of enterprise. When top level executives start to form
strategies for the entity then they ask other employees to pass judgement regarding them in order
to make vital modifications in it. In order to enhance motivation level of staff members it is used
by most of the leaders so that goals of the company could be achieved in appropriate manner
(Terry, 2015). Main skills that are required by the leaders who are focusing on this leadership
style are collaborative nature, good decision making skills etc.
Servant leadership: In this type of leadership, leaders behave as a servant as they are
responsible for the fulfilment of needs and requirements of all the team members and afterwards
they think about their own. Individuals using this style of leadership try to make sure that all the
staff members get support of superior so that they can work productively for the attainment of
their personal and organisational goals. With the help of it they receive various benefits such as
high level of employee engagement, trust and good relations with employees. If there is
hierarchical structure is followed within the organisation then it is not the best suitable style of
leadership because in such companies top level executives form decisions. Main characteristics
that are required for servant leaders are empathy, persuasion, stewardship, conceptualisation,
awareness and listening (Yousafzai, Saeed and Muffatto, 2015).
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Relational leadership: According to this style of leadership, a leader must create
effective relations with the team members in order to accomplish all the business goals. There
are five different skills that are required for the managers using this type of leadership. These are
inclusiveness, empowerment, ethical behaviour, process oriented and purposeful. With the help
of it long as well as short term goals could be achieved (Zhou, Vredenburgh and Rogoff, 2015).
When leaders achieve success in establishing strong relationship with staff members then it can
help to deal with various business issues such as employee turnover, decreased productivity etc.
From the above analysis it has been analysed that contemporary and historical leadership
theories differentiate between entrepreneurial and general leaders and they way in which they
run the business. While implementing contemporary theories managers pay attention to
attainment of organisational goals and try to motivate the staff members so that they can work
productively. At the time of implementing historical theories they focus on effective decision
making and execution of business operations. In both the ways operational activities are
performed differently because in entrepreneurial leadership workers are free to provide opinion
on strategies. On the other hand, in general leadership staff members are not allowed to take part
in decision making process as they have to work according to the command of superiors.
CONCLUSION
From the above project report it has been concluded that effective leadership is required
for the success of an organisation. In order to deal with challenges such as decreased
productivity, high employee turnover etc. managers and leaders have to acquire various skills
such as effective decision making, problem solving, collaborative, motivative etc.
Entrepreneurial and general are two different leadership styles which create difference in the
business execution. Leaders with high entrepreneurial skills are able to run the operations in
appropriate manner as compare to other because they are highly focused with risk taking,
organisational development etc. There are various contemporary and historical leadership
theories which are used by leaders to accomplish all the tasks allotted to them.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Covin, J. G. and Slevin, D. P., 2017. The entrepreneurial imperatives of strategic
leadership. Strategic entrepreneurship: Creating a new mindset. pp.307-327.
Freeman, D. and Siegfried Jr, R. L., 2015. Entrepreneurial leadership in the context of company
start‐up and growth. Journal of leadership studies. 8(4). pp.35-39.
Harrison, R., Leitch, C. and McAdam, M., 2015. Breaking glass: Toward a gendered analysis of
entrepreneurial leadership. Journal of Small Business Management. 53(3). pp.693-713.
Huggins, R., Morgan, B. and Williams, N., 2014. Regions as Enterprising Places: Governance,
Policy and Development', Enterprising Places: Leadership and Governance Networks
(Contemporary Issues in Entrepreneurship Research, Volume 3) (pp. 1-28). Emerald
Group Publishing Limited.
Leih, S. and Teece, D., 2016. Campus leadership and the entrepreneurial university: A dynamic
capabilities perspective. Academy of Management Perspectives. 30(2). pp.182-210.
Leitch, C. M. and Volery, T., 2017. Entrepreneurial leadership: Insights and
directions. International Small Business Journal. 35(2). pp.147-156.
Lewis, K. V., 2015. Enacting entrepreneurship and leadership: A longitudinal exploration of
gendered identity work. Journal of Small Business Management. 53(3). pp.662-682.
Muchiri, M. and McMurray, A., 2015. Entrepreneurial orientation within small firms: A critical
review of why leadership and contextual factors matter. Small Enterprise Research.
22(1). pp.17-31.
Parkay, F. W., Anctil, E. J. and Hass, G., 2014. Curriculum leadership: Readings for developing
quality educational programs. Prentice Hall.
Pihie, Z. A. L., Asuimiran, S. and Bagheri, A., 2014. Entrepreneurial leadership practices and
school innovativeness. South African Journal of Education. 34(1).
Terry, L. D., 2015. Leadership of Public Bureaucracies: The Administrator as Conservator: The
Administrator as Conservator. Routledge.
Yousafzai, S. Y., Saeed, S. and Muffatto, M., 2015. Institutional theory and contextual
embeddedness of women's entrepreneurial leadership: Evidence from 92
countries. Journal of Small Business Management. 53(3). pp.587-604.
Zhou, W., Vredenburgh, D. and Rogoff, E. G., 2015. Informational diversity and entrepreneurial
team performance: moderating effect of shared leadership. International
Entrepreneurship and Management Journal. 11(1). pp.39-55.
Online
Situational leadership. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://johnkwhitehead.ca/situational-leadership/>
Trait theory. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.leadership-central.com/trait-theory.html>
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