When to shed employee mindset
Published:Wednesday | July 13, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Glenford Smith, Career Writer
Whoever coined the term 'square peg in a round hole' must have been thinking of entrepreneurs-at-heart who are forced to work for others and employees-at-heart who attempt to go into business for themselves. Try as they might, they just cannot fit.
That's because they possess very different beliefs, attitudes and habits. You cannot succeed as an entrepreneur with the employee mindset.
Knowing the innate differences between entrepreneurs and employees can mean the difference between a career of failure and success, frustration and fulfillment. The following five distinctions will help you.
As you assess yourself, please note that entrepreneurial and employee mindsets are like being left and right handed - neither is better or worse, just different.
1. Autonomy
Entrepreneurs reject authority. They want to be in charge and run their own show. They are fiercely averse to reporting to a boss, although most did once. They are not necessarily control freaks who want others to kow-tow to them, they just don't want others telling them what to do.
People with the employee mindset don't necessarily like being bossed around either, the difference is, they tolerate it. They prefer the security of a steady job to pay the bills, even if it means taking orders from bosses they neither like nor respect.
2. Risk
Employees-at-heart treasure security above all else. They cannot fathom life without a guaranteed salary and predictable work hours.
Entrepreneurs intuitively regard security as an illusion. Their motto is 'no risk, no reward'. Successful entrepreneurs aren't reckless, however. They take calculated risks, not foolish ones.
Entrepreneur extraordinaire, Richard Branson who founded Virgin Airlines, captures the entrepreneurial mindset in his book "Screw it, Let's Do it".
"Calculate the risk and take them; be bold but don't gamble. Remember, if you opt for a safe life, you will never know what it's like to win," Branson writes.
3. Responsibility
Successful entrepreneurs hold themselves accountable to succeed. Their driving belief is: 'If it is going to be, it is up to me'.
They don't find excuses or blame anyone else for failures or mistakes. They depend upon themselves to find the answers to succeed.
Employee-minded individuals habitually find excuses for failures or mistakes. It's either a co-worker, the boss, the company, a lack of resources or something else, just never their fault. They don't take responsibility for their company's success, only their personal assignments.
4. Tenacity
Everyone who attempts to go into business fails. Real entrepreneurs persevere, employee-minded persons give up and look for a job. Successful entrepreneurs simply refuse to quit. They don't regard failure as final, but as valuable feedback.
Persons with the employee mindset find the stress and uncertainty of setbacks and failure unbearable.
5. Purpose
Entrepreneurs are driven by an obsessive vision to change the world and make a difference. They want to be wealthy, but also to contribute to society in meaningful ways.
People with the employee mindset see themselves as doing a job for wages. Talk of mission and causes bore them. They want a clear job description, the tools for doing a good job and the assurance they'll get paid on time.
Glenford Smith is a motivational speaker and success strategist.