In my career, I have had the wonderful opportunity of observing a few very successful entrepreneur-turned institution builders and this particular piece of writing looks at clustering a few of the oft observed behaviour patterns in them. For ease of coding, I choose to call them ‘aspects’ in this article. Much like a trait of such entrepreneurs, let’s kick into action without much more ado (aspect # 1).
One of the most striking aspects of such entrepreneurs seems to be a high level of energy, by that; I mean channeled energy that seems well under their own will and control (aspect #2). This allows them to regulate the same with the finesse of a electric loco driver. Absolutely under control. Physical fitness apart, the energy exhibited seems to rise from a certain purpose that they apparently draw from, which ‘glide slopes’ us towards the underlying vector’s direction. The purpose that drives such individuals (who appear to be almost always naturally respected by those working with them) seems to have a certain rootedness in service orientation that underlies the extraverted observables and continuous improvement (aspect #3).
This preference for purposeful continuous improvement is often also fuelled by a futuristic, positive exploratory behaviour (aspect #4). It might be interesting to mention that this seems to have a mutually feeding forward relationship with the purpose itself. In order to make the exploratory behaviour sustainable, such entrepreneurs (I would also call them institution builders vs. the mercenary variety of the same species) also have a high ability to listen (and think) with rapt attention to messages, however weak the signal may be, and however lower down the hierarchy, the sender may be (aspect #5).
The ability to listen with ‘simultaneous processing’ ensures that those who spend a minute with the individual need to do their hours of thinking well in advance. This ensures a natural gating of interactions, leading to effective time management (aspect #6). To explain this a little more, since the focus is completely on the person who is speaking and there is parallel processing happening between the ears of the entrepreneur, it doesn’t require an executive assistant or display of ‘power-distance’ to regulate those who interact or want to interact. Those who do not have a complete and robust idea or message to deliver, simply stay away from interacting! This allows further effective utilization of every second by the entrepreneur in purposeful thinking (aspect #7).
Aspects 6 and 7 seem to help such individuals become effective networkers as well. The very fact that they have a purpose and a ‘straw man’ of the future helps them place those they meet, in a place holder for the future (aspect # 8). Needless to say, this strengths play approach has its multi-fold returns in areas of commitment and ‘giving back’ from those ‘recruited’.
The last aspect of such institution builders is their keen sense of caring for those around them as human beings irrespective of their position in the hierarchy (aspect #9). This includes asking others whether they have had food, enough rest and so on – very genuinely. By genuinely, I refer to such leaders being ready to defer the immediate task at hand if need be.
The last aspect of such institution builders is their ability to work for long hours and on weekends. A possible cause is their ability to find play in work and work in play (aspect #10).
I have tried my hand at articulating a few behavioural indicators given below, that might be useful to readers;
1. Articulates or shares purpose
2. Displays a bias for action
3. Observed to be physically agile
4. Respects others’ point of view
5. Constantly scanning environment for opportunities
6. Future facing while confronting issues
7. Listens attentively
8. Responds with meaningful responses after listening
9. Captures key thoughts in a conversation
10. Reflects key thoughts in a conversation
11. Clarifies when in doubt
12. Instinctively spots opportunities for those met
13. Expresses intent of working with new acquaintances
14. Enquires about the well being of subordinates
15. Ready to defer immediate tasks for people oriented reasons
If you have a few aspects to add, do write in and let’s begin a conversation!
