Inappropriate Use of Strengths
The inspiring entrepreneur is most often criticized for being impractical or soft. The first of these criticisms is justified when the inspiring entrepreneur distracts an organization from the needed consideration of its current reality. It is always tempting to look up at the sky and dream when the world that surrounds us isn’t very pleasant or when it is devoid of any prospects of success. Assertive executives often suggest that inspiring executives are too soft. They believe that the inspiring executive’s overriding concern with building community and commitment often keeps an organization from getting the job done. If we wait for everyone to make a firm commitment to a new project, it will never get off the ground. Furthermore, people often begin to feel like they’re part of a community only when the community begins to take action and achieve real results.
The assertive entrepreneur is correct in suggesting that desired outcomes are often not fully understood or appreciated until an organization begins to enact a new project or program. There are often unanticipated early benefits associated with a new project that add further value. Commitment builds when people see that something tangible really will occur. The inspiring entrepreneur sometimes fails to fully appreciate the compelling force of action and the potentially disruptive role that can be played by someone who is always pointing toward an uncertain future rather than celebrating what has already been accomplished.
