Leader of Innovation - Really...

I guess as in everything, there's pretend Innovative Leadership ("I need to tick off boxes, look good, sound good, feel good") and then there's real Innovative Leadership. And guess what? There's probably not much here that hasn't been written about before. Here are the bits that make the most sense to me.

If the leader isn't a visionary there's not much chance for Innovation. The leader also needs to be a good communicator, in order to communicate the vision. That's not to say the leader is the one who has to be the innovator. Think about that one for a minute.

A leader who encourages innovation, encourages collaboration and commitment. At Create and Innovate, we are BIG on collaboration - ask my mate Kevin Coffey! Innovation does start with I but I like to think of it as a baton that is passed along, "I have an idea", "I can help", "I can design it", "I can build it", "I can promote it" and collaboratively, "We can complete it"!

An organisation that is serious about Innovation, needs to commit to it in a real sense, not just with rhetoric.  Before going and workshopping Innovation with a small to medium business, C&I try and get the management, who are after all paying for the workshop, to make some commitments! Examples are simple things like an Ideas Board, an hour a week to work on projects, a chance once a month to pitch an idea etc. Small commitments tend to help things pass from the Rhetoric into The Real.

At C&I we like the three Es of Innovation - Empowering, Encouraging, Enabling.

Empowering saids "I trust you", "I enable you to have a go", "I permit you to take a risk"...Ahhh...Risk - now there's an interesting concept! In today's economic, environmental and social climate of fear, risk is very risky. That is a whole other topic, so for this moment we'll define the risk as being calculated and educated.

A great leader of Innovation, gives you permission to try and fail. There it is - the "F" word! Ideally, there is no such thing as failure (see earlier blog re learning to walk). One of my favourite quotes is from Eddison:

I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work. 

There is so much to learn from failure.  Amazon.com actually rewards employees who implement ideas. The idea "maybe didn't work",  but it had to be "well thought out" and executed, and they didn't have to ask permission at any time - now that's Empowerment.

Empowering means providing opportunities too, such as making time,  idea boards,  encouraging sections or departments to work together (that would collaboration) and not in their traditional silos. And it might sound like a "no brainer", but it really is worthwhile having different sections understand the roles of their colleagues. Leaders of Innovation, expect Innovation, then they back it...and make it real.

Steve Jobs was a visionary who led from his gut instincts. Julian Campbell (Catalyst For Growth) recommends Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs where Jobs writes about asking the questions "Why?" and "What if?".  These types of questions lead to explosive answers! Children ask why all the time - they challenge constantly (my teenagers especially), and that's what a good leader of Innovation does - they challenge!

Situational Leader is another great term. Leadership is itself a challenge and management is complex. If a leader sticks to one methodology, one strategy for each situation, there is a narrowing down of potential and possibility. A situational leader analyses each particular situation, sees it in its real terms and responds to it individually.

For an entertaining look at Leadership, watch First Follower: Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ.

So another great quote, before I sign off, from Goethe...

Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward; they may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.


Have an Innovative week.