Connecting
Disciplines in Social Entrepreneurship
From the
paradigm of social entrepreneurship as “positive social change +
entrepreneurship”, one way to begin to begin to infuse social entrepreneurship
across disciplines is to utilize the social styles as diversity training
(positive social change) and communication/sales training (entrepreneurship). An example of how to use this in any class
would be to introduce it prior to a team project so that while students are
completing their project together, they can reflect upon the social styles and develop
their social skills. This model is sophisticated so facilitators/faculty
who utilize this would want to spend time understanding it – an exercise that
leads students to just “knowing” their social style preference would have
little value).
Ideally, this is part of an overall learning strategy for a semester (or duration of
class term) as opposed to treating it as an individual lesson disconnected from
other curriculum. Within an integrated
approach to infusion, one thing should
lead to another – building on what came before, not leaving it behind to
move to new “content.”
Connecting
Everyone (and facilitating Results) Within An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
The social
styles can also be used to build an ecosystem touching all within an organization. IF the social style model is understood AND
applied by leadership, staff, faculty and key community stakeholders as an
organizing/connecting framework, it can help lead to:
1) better rapport among a
diverse population (including a population that is experiencing cultural resistance to
change)
2) more productive relationships
3) the ability to create purposeful
conflict
4) the ability to prevent nonproductive conflict
5) a framework for
overcoming the social norms of nonproductive meetings
This model has specific functional applications
as well – for example, it can be used to help fundraisers become more effective
relationship builders, deal designers, and deal closers.
There are
Plenty of Tools, Concepts and Currciulum Choices …
The social
style model is JUST one tool, but the key to success is to find the customizable
tool(s) that will be used for action
and change (leading to meaningful results).
One common obstacle to progress in building the entrepreneurial ecosystem of your dreams is spending too much time finding
the “right” tool/approach instead of assessing resources, making decisions and
taking action ~
Social Style models include JUST one
opportunity for entrepreneurship/social entrepreneurship infusion across
curriculum … and, think big … this approach can also be used as a basis for building
an organizational ecosystem for All. Here are links to information on social styles:
Tracom
Tracom – Youtube Video (approx. 5
min)
University of Washington
Smallworld – free assessment
University of Colorado – free assessment
