The intrapreneur can be described as a future executive leader within a company where they play a pivotal role in growing a business. Generally, the intrapreneur is a passionate problem solver with knack for innovating ideas that spark innovation and contribute immensely to the company. An example of an intrapreneur is Healey Cypher; he worked for eBay as Chief of Staff in Global Product Management – he discovered that the company was missing out on a market that continued to rely on physical retail as opposed to e-commerce using his retail expertise. Now look at eBay today!
The Intrapreneur contributes to business growth and product expansion
The traditional employee can be seen as a cog in the machine that simply executes tasks whereas an intrapreneur takes ownership of the tasks by applying an objective business mind. The intrapreneur doesn’t simply take orders, they closely analyse the viability and profitability of a product feature and even participate in innovating new concepts that grow the business.
To inspire this, you need to ensure that employees are in a place where they feel valued so that they actively contribute to professional development and business growth.
Creating a culture centred in excellence
An organisation that hones intrapreneurs is likely to succeed by creating a culture and/forum that encourages transparency and honesty across all levels. An intern can feel comfortable enough to criticise a new product feature and the CEO can take their suggestions into account. If they can see their ideas thriving, employees feel as if they matter and that their ideas matter.
Finding the right talent is challenging but rewarding
When you recruit people, you need to ensure that they fit into this ethos and way of operating. You also need to integrated it into the strategy of the business, creating an organic employee structure that promotes and inspires intrapreneurship. Once the strategy is defined it becomes easier to locate and retain the right people to grow the business. You can do this by creating a checklist in line with the organisational structure and ensuring that each candidate fulfils the criteria
The culture of mentorship is enhanced
The employee-employer relationship becomes less intimidating. This means that the junior employee can closely observe their manager and take practical lessons on a daily basis. Management can take on a nurturing role, and intrapreneurs ultimately gain the potential to create their own business ventures.
The culture is evolving the way businesses operate
With freedom and autonomy in the workplace comes constant experimentation and innovation which is pivotal to the growth of any business. As entrepreneurs we tend to cling to our ideas, and this can be dangerous because it limits business growth. Intrapreneurship means that your ideas can be challenged and learning to let go can help you evolve your own business in new and surprising ways. Again, strategy comes into play because the business needs to create a foundation that encourages constant engagement and processes that encourage cross-departmental collaboration.