Abstract
In this chapter, the entrepreneurial leader (Dennis Van Booma) of a growing Dutch technology business (Procentec) is presented. While spending the majority of his working life in one company, the leader adopts an outsider stance and perspective in a number of ways to best serve the needs of the business. In this context, while small in size, the business competes against much larger competitors by being different and utilising their resources advantageously. As co-founder, the studied leader is clearly an insider and ensures that their closeness to their colleagues is maintained. However, a key element of their strategy is blending outsider distance and insider connection, adopting a style that maintains control in key areas while facilitating empowerment where beneficial. The challenge of managerial recruitment is examined in the context of hiring from the inside or the outside. The chapter ends with a conclusion and a reflection on its content.
This chapter is written by Chris O’Riordan; Patrick C. Flood; Felicity Kelliher; Malcolm Higgs
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Notes
- 1.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) refers to one of sixteen personality types; an ENTJ (extraversion, intuition, thinking, and judgment) score suggests an individual who is self-driven, motivating, energetic, assertive, confident, and competitive.
- 2.
The Johari window (Luft and Ingram) is a technique that helps people better understand their relationship with themselves and others; four criteria (known to self, known to others, not known to self, not known to others) amounting to four cells: arena (known by all); blind spot (not known to self); Façade (not known to others) or unknown.
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O’Riordan, C., Flood, P.C., Kelliher, F., Higgs, M. (2019). Outsider Leader in an Outside Market: The Challenges of Market Entry. In: Outsider Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97463-7_7
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