Second, the participating entrepreneur connects with other people both inside and outside the enterprise. By encouraging broad-based participation, she fosters relationships and builds networks. Whereas assertive, inspiring and thoughtful executives sometimes are inclined to go it alone, the participating executive works with others and pulls people out of their spaces of isolation into a world of interdependence and connectivity.
Inappropriate Uses of Strength
The strengths of participating entrepreneurs also get them in trouble. This type of executive is sometimes unpredictable. She takes on many different roles and shifts from moment to moment depending on the needs of the organization. These shifts can be perceived as a sign that this person doesn’t know what she wants to do. Alternatively, this approach to executive functioning is considered highly expedient. Some members of an organization will conclude that the participating entrepreneur can’t be relied on to take a consistent position on any critical issue. These accusations often have little substance. Nevertheless, the apparent inconsistency of participating entrepreneurs sometimes engenders a lack of trust among those with whom they work. If these changes do have substance, it is often because the participating executive is focusing too strongly on the needs and dynamics of the group, while forgetting about the needs of the closely-held enterprise or the enduring vision to which the group should direct its attention.
A second recurring problem concerns the participating entrepreneur’s lack of control over the environment in which she works. The holding environment that is so critical to effective group participation can never be guaranteed by the participating entrepreneur. The participating entrepreneur can shape the stimulus but not manage the response. She can spark the debate and conflict but never fully orchestrate it. There is also a tendency for participating entrepreneurs to be viewed in quite different ways by various constituencies of the closely-held enterprise, lending even more weight to the problem of trust. Members of the closely-held enterprise who are looking for the thoughtful executive are likely to perceive the participating executive as too idealistic or action-oriented, whereas those who are looking for the inspiring executive will perceive the participating executive as too anchored in the current world or too impulsive. Finally, those members of the closely-held enterprise who are looking for an assertive executive will perceive the participating executive as wishy-washy and indecisive or too idealistic.
