7 ways to retain entrepreneurs as employees

Entrepreneurs are the ones who can start a company on their own and develop it to the level of profitability. These people are full of ideas, passion, and responsibility.

Based on the above definition, in large organizations, we have another term called intrapreneur. These people are not business owners but they have enough capabilities to take the organization to the next level. They are passionate, hard-working, responsible and self-disciplined.

The problem is that many managers find them as headaches. Usually higher management judges them as those who speak too much, those who are always in rush and those who don't follow rules and procedures.

From the other side, these people are the rebels who Steve Jobs praised in his famous quote:

"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently - they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do."

The fact is that these kind of employees don't stay long if they don't find their way. Their way is a bit different than others' ways. Excitement, calculated risk, and change make them energized while other employees are scared of any of those words! That's why they truly call them crazy ones.

If we have these employees in our teams before they leave us we would better understand them and let them fly in the sky of their dreams as high as possible. Leadership is not about pushing everyone to follow our rules. Leadership is providing enough chances and facilities to reach goals by giving freedom to people to find their own way.

Now that we know who intrapreneurs are, let's see how we can keep them inside our organization to support them to develop their skills and our company together:

1. Project-based tasks:

Intrapreneurs usually don't like micro-management at all. Most people don't, but these guys hate it. It's advised to let these people have their project and based on the size manage the entire or big part of it by themselves. This is the only way that we can keep them happy and satisfied.

2. More authority & responsibility:

These kinds of people are self-disciplined. When they are excited about something, they put a huge effort into it to make it happen. The role of you as their leaders should be balancing their authority and responsibility.

3. Connect their bonus to their performance:

Most companies are trying this but in this case, you should always try to either make them a partner or let them own their project by connecting their performance and their bonus. They enjoy this a lot!

4. Protect them:

Since they are successful and they have big ideas, other employees don't like them that much. They see them as the ones who "boss loves them". They don't understand the reasons. They think that these people would like to flatter you to climb the corporate ladder faster!

It is unfair.

Try to make a balance in their relationship with others. Show to others that if they are interested they can handle their own projects too but then they must accept the risk and responsibility at the same time.

5. Bigger projects:

After finishing each project, assign them for something bigger. They get bored if you give them the same level of the job. They love challenges and usually what motivates them is recognition.

6. Create a growth culture:

We already spoke about it in our previous article Growth culture and how to achieve it. They love exactly this company culture and it helps them to stay with you.

7. Don't blame them:

Failure is a part of growth. If you would like to keep your organization not as a follower but as a leader in your industry then you should try new things and you should be ready to fail.

When they fail, don't blame them. Ask them to share the lesson and to analyze it in detail.

It is a big chance if you have these kinds of employees in your team or organization. Obviously, if they leave they won't lose so much as we lose. Let's take care of them.