Advisor I Mentor

Sparring partner

Piotr

Kania

A conference room in an office building in the center of Warsaw. A meeting with the CEO of one of the global corporations. Only the two of us, sitting across a long table.It’s one of those meetings where I listen more than I speak. The topic is a project aimed at strengthening entrepreneurship within the company — encouraging initiative, faster responses, and courage in decision-making. The CEO speaks calmly, but there’s tension in his voice:

“We have a good team. Experienced, committed people who know how to deliver results. The past few years have been really good. We met our plans, headquarters was pleased.But this year is different. The market has slowed down, competitors are entering our clients, personnel costs have risen sharply, and I’m hearing more and more questions from HQ about the risk to our targets — and how we plan to deliver them.”

He pauses.

“Without a course correction, it’s going to be tough. We need a different mindset. Not just a focus on executing the plan, but faster reactions, courage, ideas. People who don’t wait for instructions but can see when something stops working — and act before the problem grows.”

In that moment, you can feel the tension between ambition and reality. Many leaders I speak to are in exactly this place. They want entrepreneurship, yet over the years they’ve built a system that quietly kills it. Not out of distrust in people, but out of a culture of safety and control that once guaranteed success. Unfortunately, what once protected the organization now limits it. When every decision needs to be approved, entrepreneurship stops being a value.It becomes a risk no one wants to take.

Slogans vs. Reality

Most companies today talk about innovation, agility and entrepreneurship.It sounds great — in presentations, posters, strategies and internal messages.But daily reality looks very different.

Modern slogans collide with traditional operating habits: complex structures, multiple approval layers, and a culture of avoiding mistakes.Beneath it all, the same mechanism still operates — the fear of being wrong and the need for control.

Managers talk about trust, yet keep their hands on the wheel.They want entrepreneurial people around them, but are not ready to give them real responsibility.

As a result, entrepreneurship in organizations often ends exactly where it should begin — at the point of decision-making.

Entrepreneurship on a Leash

Many managers genuinely want their people to think independently. The problem begins when independence means making decisions they themselves wouldn’t make. When entrepreneurship carries the risk of a mistake, the instinct to control takes over. Trust then becomes a declaration, not a practice.

In one corporation I worked with, the decision-making structure was formally flexible, yet in reality, every move required approval. Decisions made in good faith were reversed or corrected at higher levels. Eventually, the team stopped acting with conviction and started playing it safe. Not because they lacked initiative, but because no one knew where accountability ended and personal risk began. Risk to one’s position, bonus, perhaps even career.

I saw a similar pattern in another international company that wanted to become more open and modern in its operations. The management board invited a group of younger employees to propose improvements. One of their key conclusions was the need to simplify decision-making processes. They cited a symbolic example: buying a desk required fifteen signatures across four management levels.

After the changes, decisions were made faster and people felt more empowered. There was a genuine sense of optimism. However, when a new board came in two years later and with it a new model of oversight, everything slowly returned to the old ways.Step by step, autonomy was withdrawn and the team’s energy faded. The system that was meant to bring order began to suffocate again.

It wasn’t ideas that were missing, it was permission. Everyone wanted initiative, as long as it didn’t push boundaries. The moment it did, the reflex of control returned:“Let’s wait. Let’s check. Let’s be careful. ”Entrepreneurship vanished faster than the enthusiasm that had once fueled it.

It doesn’t take a revolution to change this. Sometimes all it takes is one clear sentence from a leader: “Do it your way. And if something goes wrong, I’ve got your back.” Without that signal, even the most modern management system becomes an elegant, transparent cage.

Many managers genuinely want their people to think independently. The problem begins when independence means making decisions they themselves wouldn’t make. When entrepreneurship carries the risk of a mistake, the instinct to control takes over. Trust then becomes a declaration, not a practice.

If You Want Entrepreneurship — Take Your Foot Off the Brake

Entrepreneurship in organizations doesn’t grow out of declarations or training. It begins where a manager can clearly define boundaries and give real permission to act. People don’t need to hear “be brave” — they need to feel that someone will stand behind that bravery.

In many organizations, entrepreneurship stalls not because employees lack it, but because they don’t know if they’re allowed to use it. The system teaches them it’s better to be cautious than to be right too soon.

The role of a leader is to change that — to build an environment where initiative isn’t a risk but a currency. Where control defines responsibility rather than blocking decisions.

True entrepreneurship appears where a leader can combine trust with expectation, where mistakes are treated as part of the process, not as failure. A leader who acts this way doesn’t lose control, they give it meaning. They don’t supervise every step, they make sure the team knows where it’s heading. And when someone stumbles along the way, they don’t look for the guilty, they help them move forward.

True entrepreneurship appears where a leader can combine trust with expectation, where mistakes are treated as part of the process, not as failure.

Mature leadership means people take initiative not because they can but because they know it’s worth it. Because they have a leader who can take a risk and stand by them when they do the same.