Self-leadership: The essential drive for entrepreneurs

To successfully start and build a business, entrepreneurs need both self-leadership and leadership skills. Self-leadership, a self-influencing process, enables entrepreneurs to set goals, create visions, organize, motivate, and inspire themselves. It forms a critical foundation for effective leadership, including transformational leadership, which is vital for convincing stakeholders, such as investors and employees, to support and execute a business idea. This study highlights the mediating role of self-leadership between key entrepreneurial personality traits (for example, extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, self-efficacy) and outcomes like innovation and work performance. By enhancing self-leadership, entrepreneurs can boost resilience, reduce stress, and improve performance, ultimately fostering innovation and success. For policy makers and practitioners, focusing on developing self-leadership skills could enhance entrepreneurial outcomes, reduce business failure rates, and drive sustainable growth.