Frustrated With Your Non-profit Job? You Might Just Be a Mission-Driven Intraprenuer

The year was 2014 and I had just turned twenty eight. Having already been in the workforce for seven years I had a good sense of what I enjoyed and what I was good at. And my job wasn't offering me the space I desired to learn more. I didn't know what to do. At the time many of my friends were launching their own consulting firms and I was tempted. After several informational interviews with them, I found myself wide eyed and hungry for the freedom that they seemed to be enjoying, that was until I did the math.

Working for a company has gotten a bad rap, and trust me I understand why. Sitting in a cubicle eight hours a day, working for micro-managing bosses, dealing with over-sharing co-workers, for benefits that don't include retirement, and minimal chances for a raise - aren't exactly the career hallmarks that we dream of. But for me, working in an organization offers a stability that isn't available when working freelance. And not just financial stability but a community and a routine that allow for the development of habits and skills that I find incredibly valuable.

So, without the appetite for the risk associated with traditional entrepreneurship, but the desire to strike out own my own - what was I do to? What was I? For a few months I wondered if I was a social intraprenuer, that was until I realized that I was a actually a mission driven intraprenuer.

Heralded as the most valuable employee by the corporate sector in 2014, the concept of social intraprenuership found traction with many organizations and thought leaders, including The Aspen Institute and even Richard Branson himself. Characterized by employment in a multi-national corporation with thousands of employees, the social intraprenuer is oriented towards social good and having a positive impact on the world but exists inside profit motivated organizations.

But for the 10% of the American workforce already employed by mission driven organizations,where the innovation isn't about the insertion of social good priorities but rather management and administration, intraprenuership looks different.

Consider the case of Housing Works Thrifts Shops. Originally a service organization providing housing, job training and medical services for those with HIV/AIDs Housing Work was home to a small team of intraprenuers, who brilliantly structured their budget to include seed funding for what would become the House Work Thrift Stores. A chain of profitable thrift shops which have gone on to help ensure the long term sustainability of the Housing Works program.

Or the story of a nearly thirty year old environmental organization, with 250 employees, whose CEO hires an ambitious entrepreneur to join the team and build out a new program, that ends up becoming a hallmark of the institution's brand, and a real catalyst not only for fundraising but for scalable solutions with a global impact.

It's clear that mission driven intraprenuers are critical for social sector transformation. But how do you know if you're a mission-driven intraprenuer or just in need of new job? Here are five signs to look for.

1. You already work for a mission-driven organization. Do you work for a non-profit? Or a benefit corporation? Or another type of social good company? This is the first step in self-identification.

If these all sound like you - then I'm honored to tell you - you might just be a mission driven intraprenuer.

Let the adventure begin.