A Phenomenological Study of Successful Female Entrepreneurs' Leadership Mindset
Authors:   , Walz Alexandra Leigh , Phillips Joy C. 
Published: January 2022

An entrepreneur's leadership ability is one of the most important factors in the success or failure of a business venture. An entrepreneurial leader guides their team to create, develop, and launch uniquely innovative products and services in markets with identifiable needs. During the last few decades, there has been a consistent increase in the number of females operating in the entrepreneurial marketplace. Female entrepreneurs have been pioneers in the development and production of game changing technologies, policies, products, services, institutions, and more. The driving force behind an entrepreneur is their leadership philosophy and their capability to cultivate and develop a leadership mindset. It is the leadership mindset that prepares, provokes, and launches an entrepreneur into pursuing their vision and is a crucial component in the continual development and growth of the organization they establish. Despite substantial growth in the number of successful female entrepreneurs currently in the marketplace, there has been limited research conducted specifically on the leadership mindset of female entrepreneurs, thus, the purpose of this phenomenological study is to examine the leadership mindset of female entrepreneurs. A total of 15 female entrepreneurs participated in this study with 12 who participated in one-on-one interviews, and three who submitted personal journal entries describing their lived experiences as female entrepreneurs. According to their responses, the female entrepreneur journey requires an openness and willingness that welcomes opportunities for and promotes personal and professional development for themselves and their employees as a component of the entrepreneur leadership mindset. The participants' had an ability to lead their company with a mindset that includes expressions of empathy, empowerment, self-awareness, and communication. An overall consensus by the study participants was their agreement that while there may be a wrong way to lead, there is no singular right way to lead-a concept that is reflected across a variety of disciplines and industries. Through discussion and discovery, the study concluded that successful female entrepreneurial leadership is in part comprised of a combination of specific characteristics that are learned and developed through experience. The participants also shared a common desire for changes to occur in society and the marketplace where gender is no longer a consideration when acknowledging, defining, hiring, or promoting a leader. The study participants believed that the qualities of experience, personality, and ethics could help develop a leadership mindset. Based on the study's findings, the researcher recommended the following actions: (1) an increase in initiatives made available and accessible for potential female entrepreneurs to develop businesses, (2) an increase in accessible mentorship opportunities directed to recruit and support female entrepreneurs, (3) an increase in the funding opportunities directed to recruit and support female entrepreneurs, (4) an increase in the number of opportunities for females to be exposed to entrepreneurship as a career, and education opportunities for learning best practices to achieve that objective, and (5) females supporting females, where there is an increase in the opportunities and venues that recognize accomplishments and support of female entrepreneurs.