1. Introduction to Entrepreneurship: Leadership and Teams
By: Venture Highway

2. Objectives
Discuss the importance of teams and how they assist with achieving business goals
Describe the process used for building a good team
Outline the qualities of an effective leader
Describe the expectations and accountability that leaders are held to

3. Great vs. Poor Leadership
Leadership and Teams
Section 1: Introduction
Great companies have been brought to the edge of destruction through poor leadership and small companies have risen to greatness with great leadership.
Which would you rather be?
Which would you rather work for?
You may want to open up with the scenario that is used in the introduction of section 8.1. Discuss the importance of leadership and how it affects the success of businesses.
Great vs. Poor Leadership

4. Leadership and Teams Section 1: Team Matters
Entrepreneurs are tasked with leading a business, but team members are vital to the successful launch and growth of the business. Their roles may include:
Bringing additional skills and expertise
Providing a variety of viewpoints and opinions
Generating new ideas and approaches
Contributing their knowledge, sweat and enthusiasm to the launch
May be another source of funding
Describe the roles that team members play in helping entrepreneurs to implement their ideas and overall business operations.

5. Leadership and Teams Section 1: Team Matters Designing a Team
When searching for team members you should consider designing your team around yourself and your product. A good place to start is to ask the following questions:
What things are you good at?
What things will need to be done that you aren’t good at or don’t want to do?

6. Leadership and Teams Section 1: Team Matters Leveraging Skills
Starting a business requires a broad skill set including expertise in some or all of the following areas:
Technology
Finance
Sales and Marketing
The Consumer Market
Your Targeted Industry
Fundraising
Research
Patents, Copyrights, Contracts (Law)
Engage the class in a discuss about the varying skills that team members bring to an organization and how these skills can be utilized to advance the business goals.

7. Leadership and Teams Section 2: Building an Awesome Team
Building a Team
When an entrepreneur lacks technical expertise to implement an idea, (3) steps could be used to build a team that will bring those ideas to life. The steps may include:
Have a compelling vision
Recruit great people who have the skills you need
Select the ones who will make an awesome team
Engage the class in a conversation about the steps used to build a team of technical experts. The 3 steps are explained in the next slide.

8. Leadership and Teams Section 2: Building an Awesome Team
Building a Team
Compelling vision: Your vision must be exciting and clear for others to be excited about it.
Recruit great people: Ideally you’d like to recruit a pool of great people so you can choose the best ones. A great team member is someone who:
Is excellent in the field of necessary expertise
Is flexible and can handle uncertainty
Is able to work well with other people
Is excited about and committed to your vision
Discuss each step in detail. Reference the course notes in section 8.2.

9. Leadership and Teams Section 2: Building an Awesome Team
Building a Team
Select the ones you want: Once you have a pool of people you then have to choose who would be best. You only want the individuals who:
Have the best mix of commitment to your vision
Has the ability to be flexible
Has the skill sets you need
Discuss the importance of selecting team members that will be a good fit for your company. Reference the notes, as well as the article in section 8.2 of the course outline.

10. Leadership and Teams Section 3: Being an Awesome Leader
What Makes a Good Leader No two leaders will have the exact same style for leading their teams, but there are some key leadership qualities that are universal.
Compare the styles of prominent leaders such as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. While both are successful as business leaders, their strengths and personalities will vary. Reference the notes in section 8.3 for further emphasis on qualities of effective leaders. Also, you may want show the video of Steve jobs that is linked in section 8.3.

11. Key Qualities of Great Leaders
Leadership and Teams
Section 3: Being an Awesome Leader
Key Qualities of Great Leaders
Honesty
Ability to delegate
Communication
Sense of humor
Confidence
Commitment
Positive attitude
Creativity
Intuition
Ability to inspire
Engage the class in a conversation about the key qualities of great leaders. Use each one as a discussion point.

12. Leadership and Teams Section 4: Expectations and Accountability
Important Functions of a Leader One of the most important functions of a leader is to set the tone for the group by setting up expectations and accountability.
Discuss the importance regarding entrepreneurs role for setting expectations. While one of the draws of entrepreneurship may be that you are “on your own” and “don’t have to follow other people’s rules” it is also true that you can’t have complete chaos. Reference the notes in section 8.4 to support this discussion. Also, discuss the role of written team contracts and why they are used in businesses.