Based on research by Bell, R. G., & Whittington, J. L.
Entrepreneurs who launch firms rarely possess the skills to scale them. Bell and Whittington explain why leadership must evolve as firms grow—from bold vision and risk-taking to professionalization, talent systems, and strategic delegation. Leaders who fail to adapt trap their ventures in chaos, burnout, or decline.
Key Points
- Entrepreneurial success requires different leadership behaviors during different stages of a firm’s growth.
- The Full-Range Leadership Model (FRLM) blends transformational and transactional behaviors to drive performance.
- Early-stage entrepreneurs must inspire, attract talent, and challenge assumptions to establish markets.
- As firms grow, leadership must shift toward delegation, professionalization, and talent development.
- Misaligned leadership behaviors—especially ego-driven founder control—create stagnation and organizational decline.
Why This Matters
The central managerial insight is simple: leadership must grow with the company. Founders often excel in the chaos of birth—pitching, persuading, and ideating—but then collapse when scale demands systems, roles, and accountability. This is where so many startups fail: not because the product was wrong, but because the leader refused to evolve.
For example, Elon Musk’s early leadership at Tesla was visionary and transformational—challenging incumbents and rallying investors. But as the company matured, execution failures forced professionalization in manufacturing and finance. Apple experienced the same evolution: Steve Jobs’ charismatic creativity required experienced operational leaders like Tim Cook to scale global supply and profit structures.
Bell and Whittington warn that ego traps make transition difficult. Founders who insist on controlling every decision suffocate growth. This shows up in the “founder’s trap,” where the organization cannot decentralize because the leader cannot delegate. Leaders who cling to early-stage leadership tools eventually burn out employees, create coordination failures, and stall.
Effective leaders therefore treat behaviors as a portfolio, not an identity. Early phases require bold vision and recruiting energy. Growth requires clarity, incentives, process, and removing dysfunctional contributors. Plateau and decline stages require intellectual stimulation—challenging assumptions, refreshing markets, and revisiting the “theory of the business” (Drucker, 1994).
Ultimately, the winning organizations are not led by superhuman founders. They are guided by leaders (or leadership teams) who understand that transformation is not optional—it is a continuous leadership discipline.
Based upon the Analysis Of: Bell, R. G., & Whittington, J. L. (2018). Exploring the full range of leadership across the organizational life cycle and growth states of entrepreneurial firms. In Research handbook on entrepreneurship and leadership (pp. 173–194). Edward Elgar Publishing.
