INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

ENTREPRENEURSHP

Elikem Nutifafa KuenyhiaManagement Consultant & Corporate Lawyer

CLASS 10: ATTRACTING AND MANAGING HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGING INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL

Agenda for Class 10

• Understanding the role of the entrepreneur as a leader

• Importance of hiring the right employees

• How to build a company’s culture• How to motivate employees• Speaker: Herman Chinery-Hesse,

Founder & CEO, Soft Tribe

Leadership

• The process of influencing and inspiring others to work to achieve a common goal and then giving them the power and freedom to achieve it.

• Without it, entrepreneurs and their companies never achieve the full potential of the organisation or that of the employees.

• Effective leadership requires the entrepreneur to know each person as an individual, as well as the unique conditions that impact the employees and the firm.

Leadership vs Management

• They are not the same.• Leadership without management is unbridled.• Management without leadership is uninspired.• Leadership gets a small business going;

management keeps it going.• Leadership deals with people, management

deals with things.• You manage things; you lead people.• Leadership deals with vision; management

deals with logistics toward that vision.

Behaviours of effective leaders

• Create a set of values and beliefs for employees and passionately pursue them.

• Respect and support their employees.• Set the example for their employees.• Focus employees’ efforts on challenging

goals and keep them driving toward those goals

• Communicate with their employees.• Value the diversity of their workers.

Behaviours of effective leaders II

• Celebrate their workers’ successes.• Encourage creativity among their workers• Maintain a sense of humour• Keep their eyes on the horizon• Set clear goals, shares their vision and

rewards employees who meet or exceed the firm’s performance targets

• Behave with integrity in all situations and at all times

Hiring the right employees

“Every new hire a business owner makes determines the heights to which the company can climb-or the depths to which it can plunge.”

Hiring the right employees (a)

• Create practical job descriptions and job specifications

• Plan an effective interview– Develop a series of core questions and

ask them of every candidate– Ask open-ended questions rather than

questions calling ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers– Create hypothetical situations candidates

would be likely to encounter on the job and ask how they would handle them

Hiring the right employees (b)

– Probe for specific examples in the candidate’s work experience that demonstrate the necessary traits and characteristics

• Conduct the interview– Break the ice– Ask questions– Sell the candidate on the company

• Check references• Conduct employment tests

Building the right culture & structure

• A company’s culture is the distinctive, unwritten code of conduct that governs the behaviour, attitudes, relationships and style of the organisation.

• Culture plays an important part in gaining a competitive edge.

• Culture reflects the deep-seated philosophy of the founder or executives on how employees should behave toward clients as well as toward themselves.

Basic principles of modern organisational culture

• Respect for quality of work and a balance between work life and home life

• A sense of purpose reflecting a connection between the behaviour of each employee and the mission of the organisation

• Respect for diversity in all forms• Integrity in ALL behaviours and a commitment to

ethical and socially responsible actions by all employees

• A learning environment that encourages & supports lifelong learning

• Empowerment of employees to make decisions and take actions that further the objective of the organisation

Management styles

• The Craftsman• The Classic• The Coordinator• The Entrepreneur –plus-Employee

Team• The Small Partnership• The Big-Team Venture• Team-Based Management

Organisational structureTraditional Organisation• Management driven• Isolated specialists• Many job descriptions• Information limited• Many management levels• Department focus• Management controlled• Policy & procedure based• Seemingly organised• Incremental

improvement

Team-based organisation

• Customer driven• Multiskilled workforce• Few job descriptions• Information shared• Few management levels• Whole-business focus• Team regulated• Values & principles based• Seemingly chaotic• Continuous improvement

Communication

• Entrepreneurs should have the ability to communicate their visions and set of values so everyone in the company can embrace them

• The other aspect of the entrepreneur’s job as chief communicator is – LISTENING!!

Common barriers to effective communication

• Managers and employees not always feeling free to say what they really mean

• Ambiguity• Losing messages due to information

overload• Selective listening• Defence mechanisms which block

messages• Conflicting verbal and nonverbal messages

which tend to confuse listeners

How to overcome barriers to effective communication

• Clarify your message before you attempt to communicate it

• Use face-to-face communication whenever possible

• Be empathetic• Match your message to your audience• Be organised i.e. organise your messages• Encourage feedback• Tell the truth• Don’t be afraid to tell employees about the

business, its performance and the forces that affect it

• Listen!!

Motivation

• Empowerment– Give workers all the authority and responsibility

they can handle– Play the role of coach and facilitator, not the role

of meddlesome boss– Recognise that empowered employees will make

mistakes– Train workers continuously to upgrade their skills– Recognise workers’ contribution– Listen to workers when they have ideas,

solutions or suggestions– Share information with workers– Trust workers to do their jobs

Motivation II

• Job design– Job enlargement (adding more tasks to a job to

broaden its scope)– Job rotation (cross-training employees so they

can move from one job in the company to another, giving them variety of skills)

– Job enrichment (building motivators into a job by increasing the planning, decision-making, organising and controlling functions workers perform)

Motivation III

• Rewards & compensation – Pay-for-performance– Praise– Recognition– Respect– Feedback– Job security– Promotion

Motivation IV

• Feedback – Decide what to measure– Decide how to measure– Compare actual performance against

standards– Take action to improve performance– Performance appraisal

Guidelines to creating a performance appraisal

• Link employee performance criteria to his/her job description

• Establish meaningful, job related, observable, measurable and fair performance criteria

• Prepare for the appraisal session by outlining the key points to be covered with the employee

• Invite the employee to provide an evaluation of his own performance based on the performance criteria

• Be specific

Guidelines to creating a performance appraisal II

• Keep a record of employees’ critical incidents-both positive and negative

• Discuss an employee’s strengths and weaknesses

• Incorporate employees’ goals into the appraisal

• Keep the evaluation constructive• Focus on behaviours, actions and results• Avoid surprises• Plan for the future