Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

When we think of what it means to be an entrepreneur, it brings the immediate thought of a person starting a business and being a sole proprietor. While this is obviously true, those that truly are successful, are those that are able to pass that entrepreneurship onto their employees; to empower them to take ownership in the business.

What are some of the tools we can use to make this a reality within our businesses or departments?

1. Help them to think like an entrepreneur

The first thing is that the way we think entrepreneurily must be passed onto our people. What do we as managers or business owners do to make sure we are thinking in that same way?

We understand what it is we stand for. It is still a weakness in a great many companies that the workers have no idea what it is the company stands for. Most entrepreneurs know what it is they stand for and understand there can't really be a success to a business unless that's known. Make that one of your evangelistic priorities within the company toward your people.

2. Support them in any way

What's another thing that we do concerning ourselves? We have a support system in place. Those that are successful as entrepreneurs know that they can't do it alone. They have to have a team around them that give them input in the areas that they need it in. For example, accountants, attorneys, other business owners, associations, etc.

Within our companies or departments, we need to have support programs in place all across the company. W need to encourage the entrepreneurial thinking needed to make any company successful in our business climate.

3. Have an entrepreneurial attitude

Not only do we as managers need to have the entrepreneurial skills and knowledge to do our jobs, but we need more than anything else the entrepreneurial attitude that is more valuable than any other tool needed to infuse our people to take ownership.

We can't pass on what we don't have ourselves.

4. Empower them to assess themselves

One thing that great managers and companies do is to empower their people to assess their own job performances. That is a very entrepreneurial skill.

When people look at their performance within the company, they will actually be much more open to their strengths, weaknesses, successes and failures. Entrepreneurs constantly look at themselves to see where they need to improve so that they can excel even more.

Managers need to ask them questions that lead them to discover all sides of their performance at their job. While this can be set up officially, and probably must be. I think that it is even more important to train ourselves to do this on a consistent, daily basis.

Immediate feedback, discovery and impact are how it happens with entrepreneurs within their businesses, and is much more apt to be adapted when it's fresh in a worker's mind. It needs to be a daily lifestyle, not only a quarterly evaluation.

Implement these in your business or department and you'll see many of the employee retention and behavior problems disappear and be replaced with people that know that they have a stake in the company and are motivated to make it a success.