Entrepreneurs tend to cite funding availability as the ‘make or break’ for business success. But a recent report by private foundation RippleWorks found that while funding matters, talent is one of the biggest constraint for entrepreneurs. And critically, finding and developing skilled people is the only challenge that gets tougher as a company expands.
Infographic on RippleWorks Report
The report, based on a survey of 628 social entrepreneurs plus dozens of interviews, urges entrepreneurs to act now to empower their teams and to make recruiting great people a top priority. It also encourages entrepreneurs to develop from within and to work on ‘growing leaders’, not just training employees.
RippleWorks’ findings are closely aligned with AMI’s own approach to lifelong learning and development, outlined in our recent report ‘Training Talent’.
The report showed that 38%of entrepreneurs rank ‘training from within’ as their preferred route to building capacity – significantly more popular than other tactics such as using mentors, hiring consultants or hiring additional staff.
The report, which was supported by McKinsey with funding from Omidyar Network, features AMI’s partnership with Acumen as an example of a programme that focuses on developing future leaders through a practical and transformational approach to workplace learning.
Read the full RippleWorks report or an HBR article about it, for more on how you can start building the talent in your organisation. And get in touch with AMI at info@africanmanagers.org if you’d like to develop a transformational approach to learning and development for your own team.
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