The intrapreneur is a word that has been utilized often but this school of thought has been around since before someone coined the term “go-getter”. In 2015, intrapreneurs are a somewhat different breed than their go-getter predecessors. For one, they are not just young, ambitious employees; intrapreneurs are often mature executives challenging the status quo within a large company.

Self-propelled intrapreneurship has been encouraged by large financial conglomerates and tech companies including Google, Facebook and Barclays through mentorships, conferences and formal programs. Intrapreneurs push the limits and insert creative ideas into competitive organizations.

Many corporations from finance to law to advertising have become static and need new talent — which does not necessarily equate to young talent. Generation Xers and older corporate employees are challenging their millennial counterparts’ productive energy and contemporary resourcefulness.

At heart, the intrapreneur must an inventor. They see problems as ways to improve  infrastructure. They seek more efficient ways to enhance complicated systems. They put themselves in positions within their organizations to fix complex or disregarded structures.

Check out my Entrepreneur.com article about identifying successful intrapreneurs in your company.

Photo sources: Intrapreneur Building

Research contribution: A. Anderson