Own It: Unleashing The Intrapreneur In You
Lately I’ve been thinking about how to get people at all levels of an organization to feel invested in the business side of things. Not just invested in the company, the culture, or a particular team, but to see themselves as part of the core driver of business, like profits, new business, growth, and more. Essentially: how can employees start thinking more like CEOs?
By embracing intrapreneurialism.
Why we should be thinking about this now
For decades, work was entrenched in the status quo. Offices and work were very prescriptive; they were created for people to come in, be assigned tasks, and be supervised by someone authoritative. People and performance were measured by output and production. Even on Mad Men — a show that drew attention to an innovative, creative office — you were a task-focused minion unless you were in the upper echelon (basically Don Draper).
Then technology disrupted and transformed work, and everything around work, too. How we communicate, how we set up offices, where we work (in-office or remotely), and who we work with (teams could be spread all over) all shifted.
While work used to be a transactional exchange — time for money — it’s now a relational one. Employees have to offer value (not just time and output) and companies have to offer compensation (which is more complex than simply money). Org charts used to be triangular — boss at the top and employees underneath — now team structures can be circular, flat, or, in some cases, completely non-existent.
Technology has also forced business to move differently. Customers’ expectations of companies have made businesses of all kinds reevaluate how they go to market, as well as what they bring. Meeting these new demands requires creative thinking, growing and globalized competition requires quick action, and always-evolving technologies require constant learning.
Within this new landscape, no company or person can afford to operate in the old way. That’s when I started thinking about intrapreneurialism. While the concept has been around since the 1970s, we’re seeing it in mainstream business conversations more and more recently because of all these shifts. So what is it?
Intra- & Entre- preneurialism
The word entrepreneur is, by definition, “a person who found, organizes and runs businesses.” If we dig deeper into the word, we find that “entrepren” translates as “to undertake,” which itself means, “commit oneself to and begin (an enterprise or responsibility).” In other words, to do something.
To do something: this is the thing that separates an entrepreneur from an employee. Employees, in the traditional sense, look for direction. Entrepreneurs look to do something. They’re active, impactful, and effective, and that spirit is evident in everything they do.
Intrapreneurism is applying that same thinking and spirit to an internal position or role. Intrapreneurs are inside and looking to do something — to make a difference, to make change, and to help the organization evolve. They see themselves as part of the greater purpose, no matter what level they’re at. They come in every day with the intention of helping the company be all that it can be. It’s these work habits that add value. Intrapreneurs are highly desirable because they’re high-performing and have high potential, which extends to the organization itself.
Characteristics of an Intrapreneur
The qualities below have long been associated with entrepreneurs and have always been considered core to an entrepreneurial approach. They still are. They’re also a useful framework for thinking about working within an organization.
What are intrapreneurs like?
They’re proactive. They don’t wait to be told what to do. They come in ready to lead — to lead a team of people, lead with good ideas, or lead by working hard and setting an example for how to do good work. They have a vision and are willing to work toward that incrementally.
They’re committed. They exhibit persistence. They’re committed to ideas, adding value, and something bigger than “work.” They have to be so committed to doing the right thing that they persevere but also recognize when they need to throw in the towel, which is all part of the entrepreneurial process.
They have integrity. They carry themselves with respect and treat others with equal respect. Always. And they have a strong ethic to work intelligently and productively.
They are open-minded. They think about people, business, and change. They are open to trying new things, assessing old things, and experimenting. They are tolerant of people and ideas.
They are resilient and adaptive. Rejection and failure are certain. True intrapreneurs learn from these moments instead of letting them get in the way. They can take feedback (emotionally) and do something with it (practically).
They are emotionally intelligent. They’re in touch with their instincts and can make decisions without being paralyzed by fear of doing something wrong. (See: failure is certain.) They understand, can see and hear, and express value in people. They have good boundaries and don’t take on other people’s stress, negativity, or energy.
They are authentic. They don’t fake it, with “it” being anything. They don’t need glamour. They know that when you’re stepping out of the box and putting yourself out there, there’s nothing glamorous about it. Intrapreneurs are true to themselves and are willing to show their true selves.
And to top it all off, they bring good energy to the room. They understand that this — their energy — is the singular thing they can control within any situation and they do it.
Challenging Yourself to be an Intrapreneur
Are you some of those things? Or maybe all of them? Either way, there are a few tactical things you can do to approach work like an intrapreneur.
Take initiative. Take initiative with everything: relationships, conversations, ideas. Do what needs to be done, see gaps in the process or the business offerings, and improve what needs improvement. Be less worried about status, or job title/description, and more worried about quality and about being part of something. Don’t let perceived barriers stand in the way of good thinking and sharing that thinking with others. New ideas will always challenge old ideas, so don’t worry about pissing anyone off (you probably will).
Take ownership. Treat the company, its reputation, and its future like it’s your own. Because it is. Value being well-respected and being part of a well-respected company, and understand that you are accountable for that. Take ownership of ideas and outcomes: make sure your contributions are making the end product or service better.
Let go of ego. Oddly, ego is a big part of having the courage to take risks, and yet ego is the thing you have to set aside in order to find real success. Getting familiar with that balance will help. Nothing happens because of just one person, so share credit. Find ways to lobby collective attention around good ideas. Intrapreneurs want to make change, but also want to work with others to make that change happen.
Be focused and open. Have your eyes on the goals, but be aware of what’s happening around you. As you make improvements and adjustments, also listen to changes to objectives, moods, or approaches and take it all in. You may have to switch gears based on new information.
Don’t give up easily. You won’t win every time, and you will definitely fail. That’s okay. Intrapreneurs aren’t people who sulk, pout, or become passive aggressive when things don’t go their way. It’s hard to be a part of something big.
Always add value. Showing up isn’t enough. Think about how you can do more than just check the boxes. This doesn’t necessarily mean do more, it means add value.
Think strategically. Moving something through the pipeline requires careful thinking. Getting ideas from conception to execution is tricky. It’s important to know when to bring big ideas to leadership and when to fine-tune them first. Navigating business requires earning and spending social capital — when you make your team and leaders look good or when you have an actionable idea, you earn social capital. Be sure to spend it wisely by thinking strategically and testing your ideas.
Be humble. No one wants to follow a jerk. Period.
Work is changing. People at work are changing too. As we recognize the need for more meaningful and purposeful work, we can’t deny our own power to create it. There’s more room for risk and risk takers in the corporate world than history at work would suggest. But we won’t know it for sure until we put ourselves out there and take the risk. Only then will we discover the intrapreneur in each of us.
Stay tuned for Part 2. I’ll dig into what organizations can do to enable and elevate this kind of thinking.
