Freeing the Social Entrepreneur

This article discusses how social entrepreneurs can build strong leadership teams to help their organizations grow. The author argues that successful social entrepreneurs are passionate about their missions but often struggle to delegate tasks and relinquish control. To avoid bottlenecks and inefficiencies, they need to hire qualified individuals to complement their own strengths. The article outlines five key leadership roles: evangelist, scaling partner, connector, program strategist, and realist. The evangelist champions the organization's mission, while the scaling partner translates vision into reality. The connector cultivates relationships with key stakeholders, and the program strategist ensures programs achieve desired outcomes. Finally, the realist keeps the organization grounded in financial reality. These roles can be filled by one person or multiple people, depending on the size and needs of the organization. By building strong leadership teams, social entrepreneurs can ensure their organizations have the capacity to achieve lasting social impact.