Leadership and management prodigies encourage companies to empower their employees to take ownership of their responsibilities and afford them the freedom and support to succeed. Well, there is a word for that—intrapreneurship. This is a management system that allows employees to act like entrepreneurs within the company.
Intrapreneurship has become a vital imperative for all businesses and a survival strategy for others. Research indicates that companies that have embraced this approach have achieved higher financial success, higher levels of employee satisfaction and engagement, more innovation, and increased productivity. Isn’t it time you took a closer look at intrapreneurship and what it could mean for your business?
What is Intrapreneurship?
Before looking at the various individual benefits of intrapreneurship, it is vital to first understand what the terminology really connotes. As suggested prior, intrapreneurship implies a system that allows employees to act like an entrepreneur within the organization. Intrapreneurship is actually a clever combination of two terms: ‘intra’ which means within (the company) and ‘preneur’ which is borrowed from entrepreneurship. So basically, intrapreneurship is an approach that allows workers to be entrepreneurs within the bound of the company.
Unlike entrepreneurship, which has had a long history in the business world, intrapreneurship did not occur until the late 1970s. The key difference between entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship is that the intrapreneur is not a lone risk taker, but a servant of the company. While entrepreneurship involves running a business or venture, intrapreneurship involves running new programs, policies, innovations, services, products, or programs within the firm.
Intrapreneurs are self-motivated, action-oriented, and proactive individuals who have the leadership skills to run the business on their own. Characteristically, these individuals have the capability to think outside the box. Intrapreneurship affords these individuals greater job satisfaction because they are able to exercise their creativity, build credibility, take a leadership position, and make a meaningful contribution to the organization, all within a safe business environment.
Why is Intrapreneurship Important for Businesses?
Intrapreneurship is so essential for innovative businesses today because all companies need workers that can take initiatives and use their entrepreneurial spirit to drive innovation and sharpen the organization’s competitiveness in the market. In a massive way, it’s correct to say that intrapreneurship is today’s recipe for corporate innovation. Here are five reasons why any business should adopt intrapreneurship:
1. Supports and Sustains Innovation
Innovation plays a fundamental role in the growth and sustainability of any company. One of the vital characteristics of intrapreneurs is that they have the creativity and drive for trying new things without risking their own investment. For any organization, idea generation is the foundation for development. Intrapreneurship has been credited for supporting and sustaining innovation while also driving firm performance in competitive and challenging markets.
Although innovation is shown to provide aggressive first-rate growth for entrepreneurs, doing one or two innovation ingenuities annually cannot support or sustain innovation. Companies need to be innovative all the time, and intrapreneurs can help support and push innovative ideas. Innovation and intrapreneurship are knotted, and companies today need both to have a competitive edge.
2. Permits Economic Stability
In most cases, intrapreneurship is undertaken to help business companies address economic downturns and market instability through strategic innovation. Intrapreneurial ideas and strategies will always assist a company in achieving its targeted goals and remain competitive in the market. Intrapreneurs with an entrepreneurial mentality will always make the best of their strategy and know that ideas will work best under different circumstances.
The goal of intrapreneurs is to bring an innovative spirit to the company and the infrastructure needed to support growth. This strategy takes a systems view of growth and development. It’s a paradigm for transformation and sustainability.
3. Fosters Engagement
According to recent Gallup research, US companies lose over $450 billion in productivity due to disengaged employees. It is estimated that only about 30% of US workers are engaged and committed to their work and companies. Losing productivity means slow or no growth for business organizations.
Intrapreneurship is a system that allows companies to address the issue of disengagement by providing a platform to engage workers in various parts of the business. Intrapreneurs are highly motivated, and engaged workers since their determination and desire enthuse them to get involved and try new things within the organization. As they grow their entrepreneurial spirit, the company also grows.
For start-ups looking for persons with experience, intrapreneurs are the ones to bring on board because they recognize the corporate mayhems but will still be drive and committed to growing your company. As such, encouraging intrapreneurship as a culture within the organization cannot only permit keeping the best talent but also helps in creating and sustaining the momentum and enthusiasm that is required to propel the company forward towards an innovation-driven growth.
4. Encourages True Leadership
The significance of true leadership cannot be overstated. Research studies have identified leadership as a vital predictor of innovation success. Intrapreneurs work passionately and know what is expected of them. They also have the ability to make critical decisions and solve problems whenever they face challenging situations. These individuals also possess the ability to lead and control a team, making them better leaders who can lead and guide.
When you bring deserving intrapreneurs into the organization and give them the freedom and real responsibilities, they will be bound to feel engaged, motivated, and emerge as true leaders. This enhanced leadership across the company will inspire other employees to do better and contribute towards creating a self-motivated working atmosphere for all.
5. Brings Positive Change
Analytical thinking and innovative ideas are considered vital for any organization’s progress and development. However, most companies don’t understand better how to go about change and adapt to different market times. Studies show that risk-averse organizational cultures impede a company’s ability to grow sustainably.
Intrapreneurship brings a positive mentality to an organization allowing it to blaze new trails. This system doesn’t only drive change but allows a company to accelerate and manage change effectively. To attain successful intrapreneurial results, the company should be will ti embrace change, be interested in idea generation, remain open to taking risks, and provide support to its intrapreneurs’ initiatives.
