1.1 Setting the Scene
Leadership is arguably one of the most discussed and debated academic subjects, and no more so than in the field of business. But, new challenges in the world of business are bringing new and serious levels of confusion and stress to the leaders of organisations. In a time of extraordinary uncertainty and exceptional turbulence, business organisations require all of the leaderâs capacity, as well as shared responsibility by the whole team in order to survive. Yet, amid the plethora of leadership books, research articles, documentaries, and media, it is evident today people respond differently to leadership than they used to. Not only must leaders bounce back rapidly from catastrophic events and display resilience , but they also must find meaning and connection in relationships . In this new wave of leadership there is a greater focus on the follower, who seeks a different culture of leadership found in authentic or genuine leaders who know their purpose and work with courage.
The demands are the same for leaders of big or small businesses. However, the spotlight on large organisations over the years has failed to account for the distinct leadership challenges and opportunities of leading a small business. In countries across the globe, small businesses make the significant majority of the business populations. They are all too often unsung heroes in spite of employing nearly half of the UKâs private sector workforce. Government and professional body organisations have published various reports on leadership capability in small firms as a key function of survival and growth with significant impact upon economic productivity. Yet, within academia there is little recognition of the leadership concept in a small business context. Characterised by one-person centred organisational structure and highly personal approach to management, these business owners are intrinsically different in their approach to leading, solving business problems and making decisions. Not only deserving of attention from theoretical, practical and policy perspectives, we do well to remember it is small businesses that often provide the success stories of the future; after all big businesses were once upon small.
1.2 Purpose and Scope of the Book
The overall aim of the book is to provoke interest in, and generate new knowledge of, small business leadership . Specifically, it seeks to first, help the reader understand why purpose driven leadership is critical in business terms and especially for small firms. For small business owners this can present a significant challenge; the practice and concept of leadership is often considered irrelevant even though they are âdoingâ leadership everyday (Barnes et al. 2015). Secondly, to explain how stories help find leadership purpose for the small business owner, and finally, to explore how storytelling communicates purpose effectively to others in a way that yields real business impact . There are many texts about the small business organisation, but none that bring to life the story of small business leaders and their personal and professional development. Demonstrating the power of storytelling that can reach minds and touch hearts (Forman 2013), this book captures the narrative of leading with purpose in real time by focusing on the stories told by small business leaders at different stages in the journey (see Chaps. 7, 8).
According to Harvard research, purpose is touted as the key to navigating the complex volatile and ambiguous world today, where strategy is ever-changing and few decisions are obviously right or wrong (Craig and Snooks 2014). So, taking on board the relevance of authentic leadership theory and building upon the Harvard model of purpose driven leadership, this book explores the application of this ethos in a way that connects the purpose of the owner manager to the growth and performance of the business. From this, a new model of leadership development for very small firms is proposed built from the authorâs recent empirical research and experience of working with entrepreneurs in the small business sector, underpinned by the ethos of purpose driven leadership. Unlike the approach of traditional case studies told with the benefit of hindsight and written to illustrate a point, the metaphorical expression and storytelling herein invites participation by the reader, whether lecturer, student, practitioner or small business entrepreneur in the story of small business leadership.
1.3 Research for the Book
My research for this book derives from a range of sources and experiences. With a Ph.D. in small business management, the focus of attention has always been the small firm, encompassing the dimensions of internationalisation, marketing , management, and business support . More recently, lecturing in the area of leadership and management teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students on the subject have provided a sound knowledge of the theoretical perspectives of this vast subject. Perhaps most important, over the course of the last four years has been experience of designing and delivering different small business leadership programmes. The Lead2Grow model draws upon primary research with over 50 entrepreneurial leaders of micro firms registered on two leadership development programmes.
In search for a relevant theoretical perspective for understanding small business leadership and development, it was taking part in a leadership programme by the Authentic leadership Institute based in Harvard that was the starting point of a new journey. This experience brought to life the benefits of leadership purpose , and provided the underpinning ethos for the development of small business leaders applied in the Lead2Grow programmes of learning designed and delivered by the author. Some of the entrepreneurial leaders in Chaps. 7 and 8 took part in the learning and other did not, but regardless, each story illustrates the significance of knowing and driving purpose with real business benefits. In crafting each story, the author worked closely with the entrepreneur, but the data was also triangulated with various secondary sources to ensure validity. Telling your story is not an easy task, identified in the literature as a challenge for many leaders (Guber 2007). Ultimately, it proved that despite the vulnerability and self-awareness required in the process, the opportunity to make a bigger difference by inspiring and informing was reward enough.
1.4 Preview of Chapters
1.4.1 Chapter 2 the Story of Small Business
Chapter 2 presents the âwhyâ of small business underlining their significance from theoretical, practitioner, and policy perspectives. The discussion seeks to capture the key aspects of small business that provides an understanding for the subsequent discussion of leadership , without rewriting existing textbook and research publications. Applying the art of storytelling , the world of plant life is used as a metaphor to capture the distinctiveness of small businesses and their operations as well as providing better understanding of their significant social and economic contribution .
1.4.2 Chapter 3 Leadership in Small FirmsâThe X Factor
The owner of the small firm plays centre stage in the story of the small business organisation and warrants the focus of attention in the third chapter. Discussion herein seeks to rectify low recognition of the small business leadership phenomenon and the weak desire to study it (Kempster 2009). In doing so, it provides a much needed and detailed examination of leadership...