False Negatives 2: Interacting-for-Benefit

Successful entrepreneurs definitely fit the leader mould and are intensely market-centred. They are commonly reality-centred as well. This form of leadership is of great importance to wider society. More…

Such people often lead a relatively small group and may well depart a firm once the business is established. As the numbers of staff and bureaucratic complexity increases, the work becomes too burdensome for serial entrepreneurs.

  Q: So why was the category omitted?

● Perhaps because of a focus by R&T on large bureaucratised organizations.
● Perhaps because a feature of entrepreneurs, fed by both reality-c and market-c impulses, is to avoid academic consultants (who are typically cause-c or perspective-c) like the plague.

Is Entrepreneur a Good Name? Yes. It's well-known and well-understood.

The combination of market-centred and power-centred mentalities is characteristic of the Business Leader. Commonly reaching CEO posts in large firms, leaders in this category tend to stick with convention. They are allowed to lobby government and speak for their firm or industry by other CEOs. They regard the use of power as a natural aspect of ensuring profitable business deals.They also use power-based methods to handle people and problems in ways that do not waste their valuable time.

Is Business Leader a Good Name? I think so. It is well -understood. But how much leading they actually do is another matter.

Leaders who are primarily Community-centred value community life, social groups and wider society. They emphasize cooperation and are particularly antagonistic to power-centred ploys. This mentality aligns rather well with rationalist and systemicist decision-making—cf. similar positions in the TET plots. 

It is the complementary interaction approaches that shape application of any leadership potential that they may happen to possess.

Markets: Leadership may be shown in a diverse range of organizations targeting social arenas: e.g. running «cooperatives» that compete directly in sectors like banking or retailing; or running enterprises or projects in socially-based sectors like the arts, festivals, education.

Enterprise-focus: There is a well-recognized category of Social Entrepreneur— it contains leaders who can imaginatively develop viable schemes serving the community. Typically these occur in areas that the relatively unimaginative bottom-line oriented Business Leaders avoid. In some cases, the venture is non-profit and about generating social improvement. However, in many cases the venture is all the stronger due to the expectation of profits.

Causes: Such people become activists and if able enough, seek leadership positions in advocacy groups or charities.

Perspective-centred individuals are not natural leaders or even doers. Nevertheless, such persons may reach leadership positions within government bodies where performance is rather bureaucratised and cool balanced judgement is valued above energetic pragmatism.

Kinship-centredness — those for whom the family and family life is everything are generally unwilling to give the time that leadership positions demand. The only exception is a family business, which may generate intense commitment and become extremely successful.

Reality-centredness seems to correspond to R&T's Individualist.  Despite the contribution that can be made by such people (clearly evident in the TET), this Type is not strongly leadership-oriented except as an entrepreneur. Read THEE's look at R&T's Individualist.