The role of leadership in the management of small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) is an unending test that requires constant answers.

Unlike leadership in a big organisation with many heads to deal with challenges and benchmark ideas, leading a startup is a whole different ball game. The quality and capability of the startup entrepreneurial leader, matters a lot, in that it determines the business’ direction, success, or failure.

Recommended article: Creating a Great Start-up Team: What to Look out for?

Leadership in a startup matters most because every decision the leader makes has severe consequences, and the impact of those mistakes on the enterprise will be there for all to see. Leadership in startups becomes the pivot of the enterprise.

For this reason, these three characteristics of a startup leader must be considered as essentials:

Be visionary

As a startup leader, you are held accountable for almost every aspect of the business. Consequently, you think several years ahead with the sole aim of ensuring that the company survives now and in the future. That thinking includes making sure that you engage the right staff with the requisite skills to manage the available resources responsibly, identify appropriate resources including technology, and at the same time create an environment that promotes innovations, a customer centric culture and competitive products, or services for the market.

It is all on you, the leader, to ensure things happen.

Being visionary as a leader will require you to maintain a calm demeanour in the face of humongous challenges and be a good communicator to be able to commiserates with the staff. Master these traits, and you will have a good entrepreneurial leadership journey.

Boss and leader

To succeed as a startup leader, especially when dealing with employees at the initial stages of the enterprise, a leader must wear two hats: a boss and a leader. At the strategic level, where big plans of the organisation are set out, a leader must do everything to be an effective boss. In this context, the boss must be well-grounded in strategic matters to execute the business’ supervisory needs as expected. There are employees who will need a push to deliver, and the boss character must manifest effectively.

Recommended article: 5 Essentials for Start-ups’ success in the Digital Economy.

The other hat is empathy and the ability to connect and rally staff to a common goal. Assuming these two different responsibilities can be akin to doing the balancing act on a tightrope. Regardless of how hard it can be, you must strike that balance in your leadership to drive the business to the promised land. Leadership is an arduous journey, and it is more so for startups in Africa. Learning the trick of wearing these hats is a skill you must have as a startup entrepreneur.

Learn to be Resourceful

Unless you have a God-father millionaire who will accept to bail you out every now and then, your startup will not have excess funds or resources to work with. Hence, being able to make the most of what you have is vital as a leader. You must be able to leverage your available resources to create a lasting positive impact on the enterprise.

In startup businesses, it is vital to create flexible approaches to work for the team and align business policies with employees’ growth.

But in doing so, the startup leader must know when and how to be assertive, and at what stage to discontinue approaches or processes without compromising on the effectiveness and efficiency of the systems in place. But for this to happen, a leader must consistently invest in him or herself to be resourceful.

Leadership is a challenging task, and for a startup leader, it is a must to consider these three attributes, among others, to ensure that your enterprise blossoms and offer such needed products, or services, to become sustainable.

I will not say it will be easy, but just stay focused and optimistic each day, and with time your efforts will pay off!

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