The art of developing entrepreneurial leadership

Abstract

Leaders are made not born. Basically people can become leaders through learning, teaching, and observation. It is a set of skills, knowledge and abilities that can be learned by training, perception, practices and experience. Entrepreneurial activities are associated with various uncertainties, complexities, and challenges. Higher education is need for the building of competencies of the Entrepreneurial knowledge, skills and abilities. Additionally, for successfully deals with the challenge, the student's engagement is essential to create interpersonal relationship, teamwork, enabling task delegation, and building confidence among the group members. Actually the entrepreneurial leader takes responsibility for their actions and those actions must be more proactive than reactive. The leader must have ability to learn fast and within environments of indistinctness and change, while providing clarity and rationality for those around them. Amey (2006) stated that the leaders are key to how organizations function, and there is little doubt that the leaders who are needed to guide postsecondary institutions in tomorrow's complex environments have to think about their work differently than did their predecessors.

Full text

International Journal of Research in Management
18
The art of developing entrepreneurial leadership
Wasib Bin Latif 1, MD Mobarak Karim2
1-2 Department of Business Administration, World University of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Abstract
Leaders are made not born. Basically people can become leaders through learning, teaching, and observation. It is a set of skills,
knowledge and abilities that can be learned by training, perception, practices and experience. Entrepreneurial activities are associated
with various uncertainties, complexities, and challenges. Higher education is need for the building of competencies of the Entrepreneurial
knowledge, skills and abilities. Additionally, for successfully deals with the challenge, the student’s engagement is essential to create
interpersonal relationship, teamwork, enabling task delegation, and building confidence among the group members. Actually the
entrepreneurial leader takes responsibility for their actions and those actions must be more proactive than reactive. The leader must have
ability to learn fast and within environments of indistinctness and change, while providing clarity and rationality for those around them.
Amey (2006) stated that the leaders are key to how organizations function, and there is little doubt that the leaders who are needed to
guide postsecondary institutions in tomorrow’s complex environments have to think about their work differently than did their
predecessors.
Keywords: entrepreneurial leadership teaching, entrepreneurship education, leadership education
Introduction
The concept of entrepreneurial leadership was introduced in 2000
by McGrath and MacMillan who suggested that in dynamic
markets where there is increased uncertainty and competitive
pressure a new type of leader is required. They described this as
the "entrepreneurial leader". These fast changing markets or
situations give those with an "entrepreneurial" approach the
ability to exploit opportunities to gain advantage for their
organization faster than others (McGrath et al., 2000) [13].
Entrepreneurial leaders are individuals who, through an
understanding of themselves and the contexts in which they work,
act on and shape opportunities that create value for their
organizations, their stakeholders, and the wider society.
Entrepreneurial leaders are driven by their desire to consider how
to simultaneously create social, environmental, and economic
opportunities. They are also undiscouraged by a lack of resources
or by high levels of uncertainty. Rather they tackle these
situations by taking action and experimenting with new solutions
to old problems, as our industry research shows (Wilson and
Eisenman 2010) [24].
Entrepreneurship is one of the strongest forces shaping the
societies of the 21st century, characterized by ongoing
globalization and growing complexity (van Praag & Versloot,
2007) [22]. Curious individuals are taking the initiative to explore
and exploit opportunities for various reasons—be they self-
fulfillment, profit seeking, support of their families, fulfilment of
customers’ needs, or even for world abundance. The leaders are
always ready to challenge, change, and create new ways to
address social, environmental, and economic problems through
these different organizations. Entrepreneurial leaders are united
by their ability to think and act differently to improve their
organizations and the world. The successful entrepreneurial
leadership is a boundless font of optimism that never seems to
end. When the faces any problems, then they see it as a challenge.
When faced with a setback, they view it as a new direction, when
told no, they say, “Maybe not now, but I know you’ll change your
mind later. This characteristic contrasts sharply with the vast
majority of people who project a more pessimistic, defeatist
quality. The teaching and learning practices develop the
knowledge, skills and abilities of the students.
Academics can also encourage curricular innovation from other
subject disciplines and learn from the Higher Education Academy
Subject Centers and the Centers for Excellence in Teaching and
Learning (CETLs). As course leaders, tutors and careers advisers,
faculty members can encourage students to take up
entrepreneurship education opportunities. They can also
demonstrate the importance and relevance of the skills it fosters
to wider academic achievement. Engaging internal and external
stakeholder’s means talking to national, regional and local
government, funders and employers. Stronger relationships
between entrepreneurs and university leaders, lecturers and tutors
are particularly important if entrepreneurship education is to be
rigorously grounded in academic theory, while drawing on the
fast-changing realities and practice of commercial and social
entrepreneurship.
For Developing entrepreneurial teaching and learning there is
need to shift from transmission models of teaching (learning
‘about’) to experiential learning (learning ‘for’), where students
can learn entrepreneurial techniques that can be applied in a broad
range of settings. Experience is crucial for understanding and
embedding entrepreneurial concepts and can be delivered
through innovative pedagogies that challenge students,
encourage input from outside the university and bring ‘real
world’ experience into the classroom or laboratory.
Consequently, HEIs have increasingly become more involved in
International Journal of Research in Management
www.managementpaper.net
Online ISSN: 2664-8806; Print ISSN: 2664-8792
Received: 06-11-2018; Accepted: 08-12-2018
Volume 1; Issue 1; January 2019; Page No. 18-21

International Journal of Research in Management
19
regional economic and social development (through closer
business, industry and third sector collaborations, for example)
and activities such as the commercialization of intellectual
property (Lambert, R. (2003). These initiatives have also
emphasized how HEIs can develop entrepreneurial and
innovative individuals through entrepreneurship education.
Educators can provide project management and budgeting
training, and teach the other professional skills needed to carry
out these roles successfully. Such practical roles can help develop
an entrepreneurship curriculum that is more focused on hands-on
experience rather than theory; one that integrates experience with
the taught curriculum.
Literature review
The University of the 21st century requires leadership capable of
responding to these as well as emerging global opportunities to
deliver life-long learning across the world (Duderstadt, 2006) [7].
On the other hand, in case of higher education, Burnett & Collins
(2010) [4] has said that the university leaders who develop ways
to operate efficiently and connect their programs to the
university’s mission are more likely to maintain robust
enrollments, provide excellent academic programs, balance
budgets and prosper in the 21st century.
The scarcity of knowledge on entrepreneurial leadership
competencies among university students as potential
entrepreneurial leaders either in their own businesses or
previously established organizations (Fuchs et al., 2008; Hynes
& Richardson, 2007; Hytti & O’Gorman, 2004) is more serious.
While, entrepreneurial leadership competencies can be learned
and developed through engaging in entrepreneurship education
(Kempster & Cope, 2010) and university entrepreneurship
education can play significant roles in developing entrepreneurial
qualities in students (Anderson & Jack, 2008; Fuchs et al.,2008;
Man & Yu, 2007; Hannon, 2006).
The entrepreneurship concept assumes different definitions
regarding its evolution. It is defined as a systematic innovation
(Drucker 1985) [6], which consists of a purposeful and organized
search for changes, and it is the systematic analysis of the
opportunities, in which such changes might offer economic and
social innovation. It is the mindset and process to create and
develop economic activity by blending risk-taking, creativity,
and innovation with sound management within a new or an
existing organization.
According to Reynolds (2005) [18], entrepreneurship can be
conceptualized as the identification of opportunities and the
creation of new businesses or organizations. It is a dominant
driver of economic growth and job creation: it creates new
companies and jobs, opens up new markets, and nurture new
skills and capabilities. Besides, Entrepreneurs are individuals
who take significant risks regarding capital, time and the
commitment of his/her career providing value through the
products or services that may be new or exclusive, but the value
somehow must be infused by the employer to locate and obtain
the skills and resources (Ronstadt 1984). Whatever, Being
entrepreneurial and the creation of an entrepreneurial culture goes
beyond the fear of risk (McMullen and Shepherd 2006) and the
stigma of failure that influences the entrepreneurship context
decisively?
According to Miller (1983) [15] referred entrepreneurial
management characterizes an entrepreneurial organization
capable of innovating in products and markets, with some degree
of risk in business, and acting proactively as to their competitors.
On the other hand, every day, the world witnessed the birth and
death of companies, products, processes, and services, and the
goal of entrepreneurship learning is to seek and to systematically
explore new business/new practices that add value to the market
and streamline the economy (Larso and Saphiranti 2016) [9].
Despite, Zepke and Leach (2010) [25] and Syakir (2009) said that
entrepreneurial skills can enhance the ability of entrepreneurs by
encouraging them to take risks, identify the practical methods of
business and prepare them to make all the opportunities available.
The Entrepreneurial leadership shares many qualities with
transformational leadership, emphasizing the development of a
shared vision, promoting the empowerment and autonomy of
followers, tolerance of ambiguity, and flattening the organization
to allow leadership to permeate the organization at all levels.
The academic leaders create learning environments that include
cultural awareness, acceptance of multiple intelligences and ways
of knowing, strategic thinking, engagement, and a sense of
collective identity as collaborators in developing knowledge and
active investigators into practice (Amey, 2006) [1]. While, While
Burnett and Collins (2010) [4] trusted that higher education
“evolution will make certain the survival of colleges and
universities” willing to embrace “prudent change” and remain
grounded in the mission responsiveness and consistency towards
the needs of their clientele.
Besides, the Colleges and universities are frequently viewed by
business partners as key constituents in the creation of knowledge
including the knowledge-based economy supporting both
industry-university partnerships and the market–oriented trend of
academic entrepreneurship (Mars & Metcalf, 2009) [12].
Additionally, the several higher education leaders that stated a
“recurring theme from participants was having the courage in
leadership to think and act creatively, to take considered risks and
to help staff deal with the impact of change (Drew, 2010) [5].
According to Newman & Couturier (2004 [16], the leader in an
entrepreneurial framework must conceptualize the organizational
analysis of an institution because “innovative models for
structuring higher education are emerging around the globe.
While the institution of higher education identity through a
cultural lens provides insight for the leader since it can be
assumed, contemporary leadership includes constituents who
have an investment in the organization (Leithwood, Jantzi, &
Steinbach, 2000) [10].
The higher educational institutions should design creative and
innovative strategies by students, professors, and practitioners
within colleges and universities with the intent of solving a wide
range of societal problems” (Mars & Rios-Aguilar, 2010) [11].
Otherwise, it is important to understand that the faculty and staff
can adopt entrepreneurial mindsets themselves and the academy
must teach students to think like entrepreneurs in order to change
the model of higher education. The mindset of social
entrepreneurship needs to flow through the entire institution to
impact the leadership (Welsh and Krueger, 2009) [23].
It is clear that the University of the 21st century requires
leadership capable of responding to emerging global
opportunities to deliver life-long learning across the world
(Duderstadt, 2006) [7]. Besides Smith (2008) [21] assumed that the
leadership of higher education will be encouraged to shift toward
more executive styles of leadership and decision-making in a

International Journal of Research in Management
20
knowledge-based society seeking dynamic visionary leadership.
The vision theme depicted by the participants expanded upon the
importance a campus leader strives for in leading the institution
for the 21st century.
University entrepreneurship education programs have been
dedicated to developing students’ entrepreneurial leadership
competencies (Kempster & Cope, 2010; Mattare, 2008; Okudan
& Rzasa, 2006) [8, 17]. Besides, developing the basic
entrepreneurial leadership knowledge and skill in areas such as
motivation, innovation, communication skills, and team working
(Okudan & Rzasa, 2006) [17].University entrepreneurship
education programs can play influential roles in developing
entrepreneurial leadership competencies among students through
engaging them in leading entrepreneurship clubs and projects
(Plumly et al., 2008; Okudan & Rzasa, 2006) [, 17].
The scarcity of knowledge on entrepreneurial leadership
competencies among university students as potential
entrepreneurial leaders either in their own businesses or
previously established organizations (Fuchs et al., 2008; Hynes
& Richardson, 2007; Hytti & O’Gorman, 2004). Entrepreneurial
Leadership is organizing a group of people to achieve a common
goal using proactive entrepreneurial behavior by optimizing risk,
innovating to take advantage of opportunities, taking personal
responsibility and managing change within a dynamic
environment for the benefit of the organization (Roebuck 2004)
[19].
Developing entrepreneurial leadership competencies through
university entrepreneurship development programs.
Entrepreneurs’ leadership skills in new venture creation,
performance, and success (Fery, 2010; Murali et al., 2009; Baron,
2007) [14]. While early definitions of entrepreneurial leadership
focused on personal attributes and characteristics of
entrepreneurial leaders (Swiercz & Lydon, 2002; Vecchio, 2003),
more recent definitions concentrate on the interpersonal and
influential processes through which entrepreneurial leaders
mobilize a group of people to achieve the entrepreneurial vision
(Kempster & Cope, 2010) [8].
Entrepreneurs lack the entrepreneurial leadership capabilities
required for the success of their entrepreneurial venturing (Murali
et al., 2009; Firdaus et al., 2009).While implementing
entrepreneurship development programs has recently become
compulsory for institutions of higher education (Mastura &
Abdul Rashid, 2008), little attention has been directed to
developing specific entrepreneurial leadership competencies
among students. A review of entrepreneurship education
programs and activities offered by institutions of higher
education in Malaysia indicate that university entrepreneurship
programs are dominated by theoretical courses and programs and
least attention has been directed to providing opportunities for
students to experience leading a real entrepreneurial venturing
(Cheng et al., 2009).
Objective
 To develop Entrepreneurial leader and leadership
Methodology
Literatures are collected from different published journals. These
literatures are accumulated for the “The Art of Developing
Entrepreneurial Leadership”.
Recommendations
 Vice-chancellors should do more to encourage academics
and entrepreneurship educators to work with entrepreneurs
and students to overcome any barriers to creating an
entrepreneurial culture.’
 Vice-Chancellors can also encourage leading entrepreneurs
to bring new thinking to their HEIs, drawing on the
entrepreneurs’ life experience, to enliven the theoretical base
of entrepreneurship education.
 Students should have the chance to experiment, discover new
ways of thinking, and meet successful entrepreneurs. They
should be encouraged to explore both theory and practice;
building commercial awareness and developing venture
creation skills.
 Entrepreneurship education can both accentuate individual
achievement, and provide opportunities for team-work and
the development of other ‘soft’ skills that are so valuable to
business and society today.
 Students should seize the opportunities that entrepreneurial
education presents to enable them to prepare for their futures
whether they want to build a career in the private, public or
third sector, students need opportunities to learn and practice
entrepreneurial skills.
 Positions in student unions, clubs and societies can offer
students genuine entrepreneurial experiences that allow for
experimentation with new ideas and concepts. They can also
be a source of practical problem solving, opportunity
spotting, project management, budgeting, communication,
team-work, coping with pressure and managing complexity;
all of which are skills in demand by employers.
 HEIs can also offer, through their links with business and
alumni bodies, the opportunities to network and build social
capital that are part of the essential fabric of a successful
entrepreneurial career in any sector.
 Government can support entrepreneurial education by
providing overarching strategic goals.
 Pedagogic practices include high levels of learning through-
doing, problem creation and solving, and project-centered
learning that often simulates ‘real-world’ situations. So we
can say that the educators should incorporate
experimentation, discovery, practice, reflection on theory,
and opportunities for students to learn from each other, into
their practices
 For increasing the knowledge, skills and abilities, multi-
disciplinary approaches should be engaged for the students
and academics from a range of departments – bringing
different forms of knowledge and perspectives to the
learning process.
 The Vice-Chancellors should ensure the -campus
opportunity available to all students and academic faculty
and that delivers clear entrepreneurial outcomes both inside
and outside the university.
 Also the University Authority Encourage a more coordinated
approach that ties in student societies, the careers service,
student placement schemes, senior management, all
academic faculties, science parks, incubators and other
knowledge exchange activities

International Journal of Research in Management
21
Conclusions
Challenges of leading entrepreneurial venturing and the
competencies that enable entrepreneurial leaders to successfully
deal with the difficulties have been one of the main concerns of
entrepreneurial leadership research (Gupta, MacMillan, & Surie,
2004). To create such entrepreneurial leadership competencies in
university students, it is suggested that educators engage students
in leading entrepreneurial projects and activities where they can
experiences real entrepreneurial leadership tasks and roles
(Mattare, 2008; Okudan & Rzasa, 2006) [17]. However,
developing competencies of leading entrepreneurial activities is
not a thing that happens overnight and is a long-term effort which
requires integrated and continuous interventions (Kuratko, 2009;
Mumford et al., 2008). Moreover, the challenges and
competencies of student entrepreneurial leaders can be tested
among entrepreneurial leaders both leading their own businesses
and leading entrepreneurial activities in established
organizations.
References
1. Amey MJ. Leadership in higher education. Change,
November/December, 2006, 55-58.
2. Bagheri A, Pihie ZAL. Entrepreneurial leadership learning:
In search of missing links. Procedia-Social and Behavioral
Sciences. 2010; 7:470-479.
3. Brown R. Ternouth P. International Competitiveness
Businesses Working with Universities. London CIHE, 2006.
4. Burnett DD, Collins ND. Higher Education for our time.
Journal of Computing in Higher Education. 2010; 22(3):192-
198.
5. Drew G. Issues and challenges in higher education:
Engaging for change. The Australian Educational
Researcher. 2010; 37(3):57-76.
6. Drucker, Peter Ferdinand. Entrepreneurial Strategies,
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Practice and Principles.
New York Harper & Row, 1985, 207-43.
7. Duderstadt JJ. A university for the 21st century. Ann Arbor,
MI The University of Michigan Press, 2006.
8. Kempster S, Cope J. Learning to lead in the entrepreneurial
context. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior &
Research. 2010; 16(1):5-34.
9. Larso Dwi, Dona Saphiranti. The role of creative courses in
entrepreneurship education. A case studyin Indonesia.
International Journal of Business. 2016; 21:216-25.
10. Leithwood K, Jantzi D, Steinbach R. Changing leadership:
A menu of possibilities. In changing leadership for changing
times. Philadelphia, PA: Open University Press, 2000, 3-20.
11. Mars MM, Rios-Aguilar C. Academic entrepreneurship
(re)defined: Significance and implications for the
scholarship of higher education. Higher Education. 2010;
59:441-460.
12. Mars MM, Metcalf AS. Entrepreneurship in the
contemporary academy. ASHE Higher Education Report.
2009; 34(5):1-111.
13. McGrath RG, MacMillan IC. The entrepreneurial mindset
strategies for continuously creating opportunity in an age of
uncertainty. Boston, Mass. Harvard Business School Press,
2000.
14. McMullen Jeffery S, Dean A Shepherd. Entrepreneurial
action and the role of uncertainty in the theory of the
entrepreneur. Academy of Management Review. 2006;
31:132-52. [CrossRef]
15. Miller Danny. The correlates of entrepreneurship in three
types of firms. Management Science. 1983; 29:770-
91.[CrossRef]
16. Newman F, Couturier LK. Rhetoric, reality and risks.
American Academy. 2004; 1(1):61-75.
17. Okudan GE, Rzasa SE. A project-based approach to
entrepreneurial leadership education. Tech novation.
2006; 26(2):195-210.
18. Reynolds Paul D. Understanding business creation:
Serendipity and scope in two decades of business creation
studies. Small Business Economics. 2005; 24:359-64. [Cross
Ref]
19. Roebuck Chris. (2011-12-22). "Critical need for
Entrepreneurial Leaders during turbulent times". Chris
Roebuck. Retrieved 2017-07-24.
20. Ronstadt Robert C. Entrepreneurship: Text. Cases and
Notes. Dover Lord, 1984.
21. Smith D. Academics or executives? Continuity and change
in the roles of pro-vice chancellors. Higher Education
Quarterly. 2008; 62(4):340-357.
22. Van Praag CM, Versloot PH. What is the value of
entrepreneurship? A review of recent research. Small
business economics. 2007; 29(4):351-382.
23. Welsh D, Krueger N. Defining social entrepreneurship.
BizEd. 2009; 8(4):36-37.
24. Wilson HJ, Eisenman E. Report on Business Uncertainty:
2010 Global Survey Results. Babson Executive Education
working paper, 2010.
25. Zepke Nick, Linda Leach. Beyond hard outcomes: Soft
outcomes and engagement as student success. Teaching in
Higher Education. 2010; 15:661-73. [Cross Ref]