The Mindset Shift That Changes Everything
Let’s talk about the mindset shift required for the next-level paycheck.
Whenever I hear someone say they’re an entrepreneur, I sometimes think, “unemployed.” You know, someone with a side hustle selling caps or DVDs. But that’s not the real definition.
An entrepreneur is more than a hustler. An entrepreneur is a builder, a risk-taker, and a visionary. They create value where none existed before. They put something on the line—time, money, reputation—to make an idea real.
For years, I thought I wasn’t one. I graduated from college, got my good government job, and convinced myself that risk-taking wasn’t for me. Stability felt safer. But I learned quickly that even inside a bureaucratic organization, innovation demands risk.
The Vineyard That Taught Me Leadership
During an executive development program, we were asked to simulate the process of building a vineyard—picking where to plant, how much to invest, and what risk to take. It was just a game, but what it revealed was powerful:
I was willing to take a risk.
I was ready to plant seeds, water them, and wait for a harvest. That exercise helped me realize I was an entrepreneur at heart—but one operating inside an organization.
That’s when I discovered the other side of the coin: the intrapreneur.
What Is an Intrapreneur?
An intrapreneur is an entrepreneur who operates inside a larger system. Instead of starting a new company, they innovate within the one they’re in. They look around their organization and ask:
“What’s broken, and how can I fix it?”
“What’s missing, and how can I build it?”
The difference between entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs isn’t courage—it’s context. Both require imagination, ownership, and persistence.
The Communication Action Team: My First Intrapreneurial Venture
One of my earliest intrapreneurial experiences came when I volunteered for a communications action team at work. Communication was terrible—messages didn’t flow upward, feedback rarely came downward, and teams worked in silos.
So, I joined a group tasked with fixing it. What I learned changed my leadership style forever.
We studied upward, downward, and lateral communication. We explored the power of the grapevine—the informal conversations that carried truth faster than any memo ever could. We learned how vital it was to connect with isolated people—because when employees don’t hear anything, they disengage.
By approaching this problem like an intrapreneur, I wasn’t just “doing my job.” I was building something new inside something old.
That mindset—see a gap, take ownership, experiment—became my career DNA.
Why Intrapreneurship Matters for Women Leaders
For women leaders, intrapreneurship is often the hidden path to advancement. You don’t need to quit your job to act like a founder. You just need to create internal value—spot the friction points and turn them into opportunities.
Entrepreneurs build businesses.
Intrapreneurs build systems.
Both build legacies.
In today’s workplace, intrapreneurs are the ones who rise faster, earn trust quicker, and lead teams better—because they prove that they can think beyond their role and lead beyond their title.
How to Think Like an Intrapreneur
- Take Ownership Without Permission. Don’t wait to be assigned impact—create it.
- Solve Problems at the Root, Not the Surface. Ask “why” five times before proposing a fix.
- Communicate Up, Down, and Across. The best ideas die in silence.
- Be Courageous, Not Reckless. Courage means risk with strategy, not chaos.
- Track Your Wins. Entrepreneurs measure profit; intrapreneurs measure progress.
Closing Thought
Whether you’re planting grapes in a vineyard or building systems in a company, the principle is the same: risk and growth are two sides of the same paycheck.
When you think like an entrepreneur and act like an intrapreneur, your value multiplies—and that’s when your next-level paycheck starts showing up.
