Three Uncomfortable (but Vital) Leadership Truths for Entrepreneurs

Being an entrepreneur doesn’t make you a great leader,

Creating opportunities for others is commendable, but true leadership goes beyond business ownership. There is so much more to leadership that builds community and creates impact.

As I grow into my new role as EO’s Global Board Chair, I begin by looking back on my entrepreneurial journey over the past decade and see now, with the benefit of hindsight, how my understanding and approach to leadership have drastically evolved. In the spirit of experience sharing and vulnerability, which are hallmarks of the EO member experience, I wanted to reflect on some of these learnings, and I hope these insights help you on your entrepreneurial path.

First, a brief background about me. Over the past two decades, I have worked in a diverse range of positions and industries, some in corporate roles and others in business ownership. Like some of you, I was introduced into entrepreneurship through a family-owned business; my family’s restaurant and catering company in Kenya. After several years of expanding that legacy brand, I launched a property technology company to help renters and property owners find and exchange opportunities in Kenya. Then I learned about the Entrepreneurs’ Organization and its chapter in Kenya from a friend and fellow member. Intrigued and optimistic, I joined with the intent of expanding my business and network. Soon after, I successfully exited one of my companies and a few years later founded a real estate development firm that just completed its first residential tower in my home city, Nairobi.

Leadership is Not About Power

While the industries I worked in changed over time, my leadership skills and understanding of what makes an effective leader have shifted even more. As a young professional, I believed that leading with title and power was the most effective approach to creating impact and followership. I thought I was invincible and that I was the reason for success. That’s how a lot of entrepreneurs view leadership. After all, our companies were the results of our ideas, our investment in time and capital, and our sweat equity. We grow into the entrepreneur role believing that the actualization of our ideas is chiefly our responsibility. And because we are entrepreneurs, building something out of nothing, many of us automatically assume that we are capable, experienced leaders. In some ways, that’s true.

But that mindset trapped me into an assumption that when tough decisions in my companies had to be made, it was my way or the highway. I insisted that employees follow my direction on my terms, and they had to keep up. I was brash and overconfident in my ability to make the right decisions. My ego was a barrier and my focus was solely on results. I failed to make the time to nurture relationships and instill confidence in my employees, so they could contribute and collaborate with me in a shared journey of growth and success.

In hindsight, the difference back then was that I lacked a strong network of peers and mentors to call me on my misunderstandings and mistakes. They would have pushed me to look at the challenges I faced through another lens, nudging me to accept others’ perspectives.

Leadership Flourishes with a Coach’s Mindset

It took me several years—and time in EO Forums and leadership programs—to realize that to grow as a leader, I needed to become comfortable enough to release some of that power, and lead with a more nuanced and mindful approach: influence. Put another way, I learned to think of myself as a sports coach, strategizing and motivating my team to perform at their best. A great coach doesn’t play every position but brings out the strengths in each team member with the mindset of improving the team as a whole. I learned to listen more, talk less, and inspire and lean on my employees to develop and execute strategies.

I began to learn that respecting my employees and earning their trust was the result of me listening more and talking less. This evolution in my mindset allowed me to give my team the time they needed to first buy into me as a leader—and then flourish on their own with my confidence and trust.

Leadership Challenges Us to be Vulnerable

I wouldn’t have reached that inflection point if it were not for my peers in EO Kenya and other chapters. Over the past decade, they opened me up to trying to view things differently and allowing myself to venture outside my comfort zone. The process was uncomfortable at first. But looking back at my brashness as a young leader, I believed I had to lead with power because I did not want to show my vulnerabilities.

What I have learned since then, in this community of equals, was that there is strength in allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and accept feedback. That can only start when we are open to listening and learning from each other, especially when others show their own courage to be vulnerable and open about concerns. Each difficult interaction and each discomfort that I felt allowed me to accept, adapt, and grow as a more effective, persuasive leader. Or as one of my EO Board Chair predecessors, Marc Stockli, once wrote, as a Leader’s Leader.

What I still find today is that many entrepreneurs feel as if we are alone on this long road to success. EO has taught me that we don’t need to go solo. We learn more when we share our experiences. Together we grow. Our global network of nearly 19,000 entrepreneurs keeps teaching me that success only continues if we open ourselves to new experiences, new ideas—and new vulnerabilities that, in the end, allow us to learn and grow as leaders, together.

Contributed by Jamie Pujara, EO’s Global Board Chair and a member of EO Kenya.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog.