Lesley Hetherington: Personality of an Entrepreneur

Summary

Leslie Heatherington, Director of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at the University of Abertay in Scotland, challenges the notion of a singular entrepreneurial personality. Instead, she emphasizes the importance of personal orientation, including sustainable motivation, a positive attitude, and the ability to innovate and persist through challenges. Heatherington believes everyone has entrepreneurial potential, which can be nurtured by uncovering and developing individual strengths and competencies. She advocates for reflective feedback as a tool to enhance entrepreneurial capacity and resilience.

Takeaways

• 🧩 The concept of an 'entrepreneurial personality' is not definitive and may not be as crucial as personal orientation towards entrepreneurship.
• 🌟 Personal orientation includes motivation, attitude, and stamina, which are more significant in supporting entrepreneurial success.
• 🌱 Motivation is key, especially the desire to make a difference in the world and leave a legacy.
• 🔎 Attitude plays a significant role, with a positive outlook being more conducive to identifying opportunities and overcoming challenges.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Stamina is essential for enduring tough times and persisting through failures, which is crucial for entrepreneurial endeavors.
• 💡 Recognizing and leveraging one's key signature strengths can lead to a state of 'flow', enhancing productivity and resilience.
• 👶 Entrepreneurial potential is inherent in everyone, including children, who naturally exhibit persistence, resilience, and innovation.
• 🚀 Uncovering or recovering an individual's personal orientation for entrepreneurship is vital for developing skills and behaviors that lead to success.
• 📚 Learning to reflect and provide self-feedback is a powerful tool for developing entrepreneurial capacity and resilience.
• 🔄 Double Loop learning, which involves understanding what could be done differently for future success, is a critical aspect of entrepreneurial development.
• 🏁 Knowing when to stop and pass on responsibilities is an important skill, indicating a strategic understanding of when to exit an endeavor.

Q & A

What is the main topic of discussion in the video script?

The main topic of discussion is the concept of an entrepreneurial personality and whether it truly exists.

What does Leslie Heatherington suggest about the entrepreneurial personality?

Leslie Heatherington suggests that rather than a fixed entrepreneurial personality, it is more about personal orientation and traits that can be developed and support success in entrepreneurship.

What are some of the personal orientations Leslie mentions that can support entrepreneurial success?

Leslie mentions motivation, sustainable motivation, attitude, resilience, and stamina as key personal orientations that can support entrepreneurial success.

What is the role of motivation in developing an entrepreneurial orientation?

Motivation plays a crucial role in developing an entrepreneurial orientation as it drives individuals to make a difference in the world and create a legacy.

How does attitude affect an entrepreneur's ability to succeed?

A positive attitude helps entrepreneurs see opportunities and overcome challenges, whereas a negative attitude can hinder progress and lead to self-sabotage.

What is the significance of stamina in the entrepreneurial journey?

Stamina is important for enduring tough times and persisting through challenges, which is essential for long-term success in entrepreneurship.

What does Leslie mean by 'knowing your key signature strengths'?

Knowing your key signature strengths refers to understanding one's unique abilities and using them effectively in various contexts, which can help maintain engagement and energy.

Why is it important for entrepreneurs to learn reflective feedback?

Reflective feedback is crucial for developing entrepreneurial capacity and resilience as it helps in learning from experiences, identifying areas for improvement, and reinforcing successes.

What is the 'feedback sandwich' method mentioned by Leslie?

The 'feedback sandwich' method involves starting with positive feedback, followed by constructive criticism, and ending with more positive feedback to encourage improvement.

How does Leslie view the potential for entrepreneurship in everyone?

Leslie believes that everyone has entrepreneurial potential, even children, as they exhibit persistence, resilience, and a willingness to innovate and experiment.

What advice does Leslie give for uncovering and developing an entrepreneurial orientation?

Leslie advises taking time to explore, learn, and reflect on one's personal orientation towards entrepreneurship, and developing the necessary skills, behaviors, and competencies to succeed.

Outlines

00:00

🧐 The Myth of the Entrepreneurial Personality

Leslie Heatherington, the Director of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship skills at the University of Abertay in Scotland, challenges the notion of a distinct entrepreneurial personality. She questions whether such a personality type even exists and suggests that it might be more about personal orientation that can be developed to support entrepreneurial success. Heatherington emphasizes the importance of motivation, the desire to make a difference, and the ability to sustain this motivation over time. She also highlights the significance of having a positive attitude, the ability to see opportunities, and the resilience to keep going through tough times. Heatherington introduces the concept of 'key signature strengths' and the idea of achieving a state of 'flow' to maintain stamina and enthusiasm in entrepreneurial endeavors.

05:03

🚀 Cultivating Entrepreneurial Orientation

In this paragraph, Heatherington delves deeper into how individuals can uncover or recover their personal orientation towards entrepreneurship. She discusses the importance of identifying one's motivations and the legacy one wishes to leave behind. Heatherington stresses the value of resilience, innovation, and experimentation, drawing parallels to the persistence and creativity of children in achieving their goals. She encourages individuals to reflect on their personal strengths and how to use them effectively in various contexts. The paragraph also touches on the importance of knowing when to continue and when to stop, suggesting that self-awareness and reflective feedback are crucial for developing entrepreneurial capacity and resilience. Heatherington concludes by advocating for the exploration of one's entrepreneurial potential and the practice of reflective feedback as tools for personal and professional growth.

Keywords

💡Entrepreneurial Personality

The term 'Entrepreneurial Personality' refers to the set of characteristics often associated with individuals who start and run their own businesses. In the video, Leslie Heatherington challenges the notion that there is a specific entrepreneurial personality, suggesting instead that it is a matter of personal orientation and attitudes that can support entrepreneurial success. The script questions the traditional image of an extroverted, confident individual as the only type capable of entrepreneurship.

💡Entrepreneurial Education

Entrepreneurial Education is the process of teaching and learning how to be an entrepreneur, including skills and mindsets that support the creation and management of new ventures. The video discusses the quest in educational research to identify an entrepreneurial personality with the aim of incorporating these traits into educational curricula to develop such personalities in students.

💡Personal Orientation

Personal Orientation, as discussed in the script, refers to an individual's inherent inclinations, motivations, and attitudes that can predispose them towards entrepreneurial success. It is suggested that these orientations, rather than a fixed set of personality traits, are what truly support an individual in becoming a successful entrepreneur.

💡Motivation

Motivation in this context is the driving force behind an individual's desire to create a difference in the world or leave a legacy. The script emphasizes the importance of sustainable motivation for entrepreneurial success, questioning whether traditional personality traits are as important as having a clear purpose or goal.

💡Attitude

Attitude is portrayed as a critical component of entrepreneurial success in the video. It refers to one's mindset towards challenges and opportunities, with a positive attitude being more conducive to entrepreneurship. The script contrasts individuals who focus on the negatives with those who see opportunities and are proactive in pursuing them.

💡Stamina

Stamina, within the video, is the ability to endure and persist through tough times, which is essential for entrepreneurs. It is linked to the concept of resilience and the capacity to recover from setbacks, a trait that is highlighted as more important than specific personality traits for entrepreneurial success.

💡Key Signature Strengths

Key Signature Strengths are the unique abilities or talents that an individual possesses. The script suggests that understanding and utilizing these strengths in various contexts can lead to a state of 'flow,' where one is so engaged that they are energized rather than exhausted by their efforts, which is highly beneficial for entrepreneurial endeavors.

💡Reflective Feedback

Reflective Feedback is the process of self-evaluation and learning from one's experiences. The video emphasizes the importance of learning how to reflect on one's actions and outcomes to improve and develop entrepreneurial capacity and resilience. It is presented as a tool for enhancing one's ability to make better decisions and improve future endeavors.

💡Double Loop Learning

Double Loop Learning is a concept from the academic literature mentioned in the script, referring to a deeper level of learning where individuals not only assess the success of an action but also question the underlying assumptions and strategies that led to it. This type of learning is crucial for entrepreneurs to adapt and grow their ventures.

💡Feedback Sandwich

The Feedback Sandwich is a method of delivering constructive feedback effectively, starting with a positive comment, followed by suggestions for improvement, and ending with another positive remark. The script uses this as an example of how to self-reflect and improve, which is vital for personal development in entrepreneurship.

💡Innovation and Experimentation

Innovation and Experimentation are presented in the video as natural behaviors of children, which are also essential for entrepreneurs. The script suggests that the willingness to innovate and experiment is a sign of entrepreneurial potential, as it demonstrates a proactive approach to problem-solving and opportunity creation.

Highlights

Leslie Heatherington discusses the quest for identifying an entrepreneurial personality and its existence.

The idea that entrepreneurial personality can be mimicked or developed in students is questioned.

Heatherington suggests that personal orientation, rather than personality, supports entrepreneurial success.

Motivation and sustainability are key factors in entrepreneurial success.

The importance of having a legacy or a specific difference one wants to make in the world is highlighted.

Attitude plays a significant role, with a positive outlook being more conducive to entrepreneurial ventures.

The willingness to face challenges and find solutions is more important than asking if one can do something.

Stamina and resilience are crucial for enduring tough times in entrepreneurship.

Understanding and utilizing one's key signature strengths can lead to a state of flow.

Heatherington believes everyone has entrepreneurial potential, including children.

Children's persistence and resilience are likened to entrepreneurial traits.

Innovation and experimentation are natural entrepreneurial behaviors seen in children.

The key is uncovering or recovering an individual's orientation towards entrepreneurship.

Developing skills and behaviors that support entrepreneurship is essential.

Reflective feedback and double-loop learning are powerful tools for developing entrepreneurial capacity.

The importance of knowing when to stop and pass on responsibilities is discussed.

Heatherington concludes by emphasizing the importance of personal orientation to entrepreneurship.

Learning to reflect and give oneself feedback is crucial for entrepreneurial resilience.

Transcripts

[Music]

my name is Leslie Leslie heatherington

I'm director of Enterprise and

Entrepreneurship skills at the

University of abedine in Scotland and

today you've asked me to talk a little

bit about entrepreneurial

personality and there has been

and there still is to some extent a real

Quest around entrepreneurial education

and entrepreneurial education research

to identify what is the entrepreneurial

personality I in some to some extent

with an intention to then if you could

identify it you could mimic it and maybe

you could more actively develop

entrepreneurial personality in students

but I have a question for you does

entrepreneur IAL

personality as such really

exist it's very easy to follow the the

imagery that says if somebody is

confident they're outgoing they're

extrovert and they jump in with both

three to make things happen this makes

for an entrepreneurial personality and

in some way somebody with that profile

is more likely to be successful in their

venture or even to they're not

successful in the first time they're

more likely to jump in recover fail a

few times but eventually come to be

successful but I'm not so sure about

that I would like to suggest it's not so

much entrepreneurial personality but

there are issues of personal

orientation which if you have them or

you develop them are more likely to

support you in being successful as an

entrepreneur um the issues I would

suggest we look for therefore are your

motivation and is it

sustainable that so that would be

questions like do you want to make a

difference in the world and if so what

difference do you want to

make is there some Legacy is there

something you would like to leave behind

you or be remembered for and is there a

specific Legacy and when you start to

spot people or they

uncover that an answer to that question

what specific difference would you like

to make actually

that is the starting Embers of saying

this person is developing an

entrepreneurial orientation which may

well lead to

success of course attitude makes a

difference um somebody who is always

looking for the negatives and what can't

be done is they're going to drown

themselves in their own reasons why not

and even if they get started probably

like to stop themselves so of course

someone who sees opportunities but maybe

more importantly somebody who went faced

with something that's important that

they really want to make happen doesn't

ask can I do it but is willing either on

their own or with support and

encouragement to go okay how can I make

this happen and how many different ways

can I make this happen and what if this

was possible what would I do what if I

had support what would I do and I think

you can probably see that these are

questions but they're questions that you

could ask somebody no matter what their

natural personality was and then the

last element in terms of personal

orientation would be the issue of

stamina

and being able to keep going being able

to keep going through the tough times

being able to pick yourself up and this

links to something I've talked to about

before and that's the idea of knowing

your key signature

strengths understanding them being able

to use them in different contexts and

situations and therefore being able to

go into this state that maaii sent mikai

describes as flow where you're so

engaged with what you're doing that not

only do you tend to lose track of time

when you're doing it and therefore keep

on going but when you come away from it

you're likely to be energized and

buzzing rather than exhausted by the

effort that you've put in if you can use

this in the Endeavor

of creating whatever Legacy whatever

entrepreneurial business or social

Enterprise that you're passionate about

your chances of keeping going through

the tough times leading other people

through the tough times and inspiring

those around you is instantly much

higher I have a personal belief I

believe that everybody here has

entrepreneurial potential I think

children have it in abundance any of you

who to observe a small child who wants

something like an ice cream is seeing

entrepreneurial personality in action

they have persistence they learn they

learn 20 ways not to get an ice cream

they learn a 100 ways not to get an ice

cream but on the 101th chances are they

have

breakthrough they are pretty resilient

towards failure and rejection and

they're very inclined to Innovation and

experimentation so I would say that the

key question here is more how can one

uncover or

recover an individual's personal

orientation for entrepreneurship for

entrepreneurial Endeavor for making a

difference for creating value to other

people and then having uncovered that

natural

orientation how can we develop the

skills the behavior behaviors and the

competencies that are actually going are

going to help somebody to take it to the

next step make it real make it

sustainable and attract the

collaboration the resources the team

that they will need in order to really

succeed key aspects in terms of what the

person would need to

do as B to answer the questions what is

it that I should be starting now some of

that is as much about knowing also what

to reject not being attracted to

anything that might be an opport

opportunity but being able to answer the

question is this an opportunity that is

in some way right for

me how to keep going and be engaged

which I've already discussed and then

finally and maybe actually this is the

thing that is in some ways hardest

knowing when to stop um um knowing when

it's time to get out and pass the re

over to somebody else so basically

therefore in conclusion I would say that

the real issue here is finding your

personal

orientation to Enterprise to

entrepreneurship to making a

difference and in order to do that the

thing I would

recommend is take the time to to explore

take the time to learn how to

reflect um one of the most powerful

Tools in terms of developing

entrepreneurial capacity and

entrepreneurial resilience is to learn

how to do reflective feedback um the

academic literature and this will is

covers things like double Loop learning

so how to learn not just was it a

success or not but actually what would

you do differently next next time what

would really make a difference but to be

able to apply this to yourself and use

that thing called the feedback sandwich

which starts with the idea of spotting

that something is good then the sandwich

layer is the developmental feedback the

thing that would make it even better or

the thing that's not yet in place and

the last bit being a reaffirmation of

what's good learn to do feedback

sandwiches for yourself learn to spot

what you're doing right and sort of put

your own success into your life as

something you believe in is credible

tell people about your

successes don't be afraid to reflect and

go okay I did that well but I could do

it even better but articulate what even

better would look like and assuming that

you are being true to yourself and it's

your vision and your strengths you're

playing to just reminded tell yourself

you've done really well and give

yourself a metaphorical pat on the back

keep going good luck look

[Music]