Navigating the leadership landscape of innovation

In the latest edition of Business Brief, I talk about how I love the thought of throwing caution to the wind and romancing the notion of wild abandonment. But my very steady self is jolted back into reality when the thought of what is involved in such adventure, overtakes. Risk, change, curiosity, creativity, experimentation and courage are all things I associate with innovation and leadership.

So what does the word innovation provoke in your thoughts as leaders? The excitement of the wondrous kind or the somewhat more nervous excitability?

Whatever we feel towards an innovative mindset we’d probably be pretty hard pushed these days to dismiss its importance. There is a general consensus that generating new ideas, methods and products, creating new opportunities and initiating change is something to be embraced and not shied away from.

Time and time again we hear that a barrier to innovation can often be tradition, which will tend to cause friction along the way. Tradition can get in the way of rethinking and reimagining, both vital ingredients for innovation.

As leaders, we can’t demand that our people be innovative, but rather it’s our responsibility to ensure that we foster innovation and set the right conditions for it to develop - but how do we do this? It begins with culture.

Is the culture of our organisation learning-focused or performance-focused? When learning becomes the emphasis, curiosity is rewarded. Proper investment is made in change and people are willing to try new things. If it is all performance-based, we become set on established practices and more immediate measurable outcomes. When something is working well, performance culture won’t question if it could be better. It won’t try to make improvements and look at the imperfections.

Innovation demands constant evaluation. There is no end destination. It is forever moving forward, an ongoing process of discovery. Constantly we need to ask questions about our practices, routines and products - how are they serving us today and how are they pushing us toward a better tomorrow?

As well as creating a learning culture, it also has to be a psychologically safe and accountable one. This will cultivate an intellectual humility where people can be confident in admitting what they don’t know. They can take risks without fear of punishment. There is more respect, trust and honesty, so people can share their struggles and not just shout about their strengths. People will have the confidence to speak up where ambiguity, uncertainty and adaptability are embraced. It’s an environment that will see feedback as a gift because it gives the opportunity for improvement. This involves us as leaders asking for feedback as well.

And of course, culture is so dependent on us as the leader. There is no way to separate leadership from the leader. The leadership process and the person as a leader go hand in hand. We need to look at ourselves; self-awareness is everything.

• What are we doing to ensure we see ourselves properly?

• What and who are we surrounding ourselves with?

• Who is speaking into our lives and coaching us?

• Are we reading and listening to material outside of our field of expertise, advocating different views and opinions to our own?

• How much time do we give to being reflective of ourselves and our practices?

When we adopt an innovative mindset we are more concerned with improvement of self than proving self and taking work seriously rather than taking ourselves too seriously.

What is the attitude and approach that we have in the workplace? Is it one of innovation, where we see problems as potentials and have the vision to see what could be, not just what is? And enjoy the process and journey rather than just the end result.

Are we encouragers of innovation? When we spot it in our people do we celebrate and give them praise so they will be inspired? There is so much we can personally be doing to contribute to an innovative culture. Innovation is crucial to the health of a business or organisation. And we as leaders have the privilege to set the tone, culture and conditions to allow for this.

No one has put it more clearly, or frankly, as Robert Iger, CEO of Walt Disney has when he writes -

“If you don’t innovate, you die.” I’ll say no more.