Embracing an entrepreneurial mindset – a gateway to success

The professional growth of employees has been a vital topic for every organisation. The business landscape is dynamic, and volatility is the only constant. Juggling between market fluctuations, brand strategy, and stakeholders can be tedious unless we train ourselves to turn challenges into opportunities. Developing an entrepreneurial mindset helps drive innovation alongside calculated risks to enhance problem-solving skills and decision-making abilities.

Understanding the entrepreneurial mindset

Creativity, risk-taking, and problem-solving are only a beginning. An entrepreneurial mindset empowers the mind to believe in initiative and self-reliance. It cultivates critical thinking, explores newer avenues of collaboration, and enables flexibility and adaptability to recognise future opportunities for growth. In a larger perspective, the entrepreneurial mindset prepares you to thrive in every market condition.

Employees should be provided with a valuable framework that encourages them to assess their strengths and identify mindset domains for future growth.

The role of leadership

Leaders must recognise their role in cultivating an entrepreneurial culture with the required support and commitment. At Zurich, our leadership champions this mindset through encouragement, empowerment, and leading by example.

We’ve always encouraged our teams to embrace challenges, learn from failures, and continuously seek opportunities for growth and improvement. ‘Think like an entrepreneur and act like an innovator’ is gradually gaining ground throughout our system. Since it’s a comprehensive mindset that teaches you to identify, assess, and act on opportunities across settings, leadership must encourage an entrepreneurial attitude at every level in the organisation.

Alignment with company values

At the core, it must all align with the larger picture and values of the organisation. Our aim to develop an entrepreneurial mindset contributes well to the company’s mission of understanding customer needs and tailoring solutions to meet those needs.

We inspire curiosity about the future and help build resilience. Accountability and independence are inherent to our work culture and the action-oriented trajectory keeps the momentum going at Zurich.

One example of this is the Zurich Innovation Championship, the largest global open innovation contest for startups in the industry. The objective is to provide startups across the globe with an opportunity to collaborate on solutions tailored to the needs of customers. This initiative allows startups to work closely with Zurich’s leaders and businesses, to validate how their joint solution can meet evolving customer needs and prepare an operational business plan to adopt across the Zurich Group.

Driving change

Zurich's commitment to this approach has resulted in numerous success stories where out-of-the-box thinking led to tangible outcomes for our clients and the company. We encourage our team to focus on creating value and solving a problem for a meaningful change. Those who reveal characteristics that hone a growth mindset are also suitably rewarded at Zurich.

For example, we have developed a ‘Day in Their Shoes’ programme to encourage knowledge sharing and new experiences at work. We strongly believe in providing exposure to nurture curiosity and support our employees in honing their entrepreneurial skills through robust training and mentorship programmes. Autonomy, authority, responsibility, and trust are integral to Zurich’s work culture as we continue to empower the workforce to develop an entrepreneurial mindset.

Believing in success

Guided by values of optimism and reliability, the entrepreneurial mindset makes us forward-thinking and determined as we bring a sense of purpose to our business. The benefits include a work environment that fosters innovation and encourages growth. A creative and resourceful team trained to think with a problem-solving attitude will always contribute to the organisation’s upward growth. And when leadership promotes initiative with example, it helps develop a new generation of entrepreneurs and leaders.

Establishing an entrepreneurial mindset is imperative for businesses to stay relevant in the flourishing Middle East market.

By Mufi Kajiji, CEO, Zurich International Life – Middle East.