When thinking about the topics for this assignment the first thing I had to do was analyze the relationship between the entrepreneurs from today and the entrepreneurs from yesteryears. The entrepreneurs from today can learn how to profit and be social responsibility by studying the leading entrepreneurs of the past. Throughout this paper I will analyze leadership styles and major principles for a profit-oriented entrepreneurial approach in which the primary goal to provide a product or service to consumers and to make a profit. Also their major business principles for a social-responsibility oriented entrepreneurial approach in which the primary is goal to make a positive impact on society (people, families, ecology, or similar) while providing a product or service to consumers and to make a profit. This paper will also show what three resources or tools available through the Small Business Administration and SCORE would be the most useful.
When thinking of leadership style I would say Blake Mycoskie who is the founder of Toms has an authoritarian or autocratic leadership style. This style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want done and how they want it accomplished, without getting the advice of their followers. Some of the appropriate conditions to use it are when you have all the information to solve the problem, you are short on time, and your employees are well motivated. They have clear expectations for their team's performance, and they communicate those expectations in no uncertain terms. Authoritative leaders are either experts or highly trained in the field in which they command- they know their stuff inside and out, and they expect their team members to keep their heads down and follow their directives to the letter. These leaders usually have no time for touchy-feely team building exercises, and no time to waste seeking consensus or input from others. They have a job to do, and that's the only thing that matters to them (Olden). The reason is because, the more Toms grow, the less time Mycoskie seems to spend in the office. He delegates the day-to-day operation of the company to his management team. That frees him up to spend much of his time traveling -- spreading the Toms gospel, delivering shoes to children in Africa and South America, and taking fairly lengthy vacations. When he is not on the road, Mycoskie, 33, reconnects with employees in quick, focused meetings and in relaxed afternoons on his sailboat (Schweitzer, 2010). This is evident by transcripts from an interview with Mycoskie below:
“In terms of leadership, what I’ve found is you really do have to wear every hat before you can ask other people to do it. So with TOMS Shoes, even though we’ve grown really fast, I have kind of worn every single hat along the way. I might’ve only worn it for a week or two. But at least when I hired that person or brought that person on, I’ve been able to say, “These are the challenges. These are the opportunities, and go after it.” And with that point, one of the things that is a cornerstone of my business philosophy and leadership is really not to micromanage people. Spend a lot of time making that decision on who to hire. But once you hire them, just let them go. And it’s very interesting in that I’m only in the office maybe five or six days a month. And there are times when I’m not in the office for two months at a time. So you can imagine a fast growing company of a lot of young people, who don’t have a lot of experience, with a boss that’s only 31 years old, who’s never around. So it really takes a lot of trust in the people that you have. And you also have to be a good leader from afar. You’ve got to be able to use technology and tools available to lead people. And so that’s one thing that I think that I have an advantage being young over a lot of older CEOs is that I really embrace the use of technology, writing a blog, keeping the whole team kind of understanding what I’m doing every day when they don’t see me every day (Mycoskie, 2008).
So here we can see he has all the signs of an authoritarian leadership style, he has worn all the hats and knows all about what’s done behind the scenes and he is very busy promoting his brand to he tells management what needs to be done give clear expectations and they get the job done.
Small businesses can benefit from using the resources provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA is the principal government agency concerned with helping small U.S. firms, and it is the advocate for small businesses within the federal government. The primary operating functions of the SBA include providing financial assistance, aiding in government procurement matters, and providing management training and consulting (Kurtz and Boone, 2010). The first resource would be Women's Business Centers. The Women's Business Centers represent a national network of nearly 100 educational centers designed to assist women start and grow small businesses. WBCs operate with the mission to "even the playing field" for women entrepreneurs, who still face unique obstacles in the world of business ("sba.gov local resources,"). Among the programs offered by the SBA is the Contract Assistance for Women Business Owners program which teaches women how to market to the federal government. Also it includes the Women’s Network for Entrepreneurial Training, which matches experienced female entrepreneurs with women trying to get started. The reason I would think this is a major resource because the number of female small-business owners has grown and they have also been able to establish powerful support networks in a relatively short time (Kurtz and Boone, 2010). Next would be Small Business Development Centers. SBDCS provides management assistance to current and prospective small business owners. SBDCs offer one-stop assistance to individuals and small businesses by providing a wide variety of information and guidance in central and easily accessible branch locations. The program is a cooperative effort of the private sector, the educational community and federal, state and local governments and is an integral component of Entrepreneurial Development's network of training and counseling services ("sba.gov local resources,")
The first useful resource would be SCORE. SCORE which is known as the “Counselors to America's Small Business," is a resource partner of the SBA dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of small businesses nationwide. There are more than 12,400 SCORE volunteers in 364 chapters operating in over 800 locations who assist small businesses with business counseling and training ("sba.gov local resources,).
When thinking over the various leadership styles the one I identify most with the participative approach. Participative leadership is a style of leadership that involves all members of a team in identifying essential goals and developing procedures or strategies for reach those goals. From this perspective, participative leadership can be seen as a leadership style that relies heavily on the leader functioning as a facilitator rather than simply issuing orders or making assignments. This type of involved leadership style can be utilized in business settings, volunteer organizations and even in the function of the home.
One of the main benefits of participative leadership is that the process allows for the development of additional leaders who can serve the organization at a later date. Because leaders who favor this style encourage active involvement on the part of everyone on the team, people often are able to express their creativity and demonstrate abilities and talents that would not be made apparent otherwise. Effective participative leadership allows the talents and skills of all the team members to be utilized in arriving at decisions and taking courses of action. While the team leader is usually still responsible for making the final decision, this sharing of functions within the team provide the perfect environment for everyone to provide input that has the potential to make that final decision more well-rounded and ultimately profitable for the company as a whole ("What is participative," ). I am not very fond of just having the boss tell me what to do and then I complete the task and all he knows is that it got done. I want to collaborate and show my talents off although I have come to the realizations that most conventional businesses do work under autocratic leadership style. Some people tend to think of this style as a vehicle for yelling, using demeaning language, and leading by threats and abusing their power. This is not the authoritarian style, rather it is an abusive, unprofessional style called “bossing people around ("Leadership styles,").

References Kurtz, David L., and Louis E. Boone. Contemporary Business. [Hoboken, N.J.]: John Wiley, 2010. Print.

Leadership styles. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadstl.html

Mycoskie, B. (2008, April 28). [Audio Tape Recording]. , Big think. , Retrieved from http://bigthink.com/ideas/1119

Olden, Q. (n.d.). The authoritative leadership style - does it fit you best?. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Authoritative-Leadership-Style---Does-It-Fit-You-Best?&id=6079462

Sba.gov local resources. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/managing-business/local-resources

Schweitzer, T. (2010, June 1). [Personal Interview]. The way i work: Blake mycoskie of toms shoes. , Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/magazine/20100601/the-way-i-work-blake-mycoskie-of-toms-shoes.html

What is participative leadership?. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-participative-leadership.htmhttp://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-participative-leadership.htm