The Importance of Innovative Leadership In Today's World
What is innovation? Innovation is much more than just a buzz word we use in our papers or catch phrase in today's society. Innovation is real and is all around us but it is something difficult to obtain and requires multidimensional leadership. Organizations are constantly being challenged in new environments where they can either choose to adapt and innovate, or cease to exist and be left behind in today's technological, changing world.
So what exactly is innovation and what does it have to do with leaders in today's workforce?
Most of the time, people think of the concept of innovation being "the big idea" but it is actually something that stems from a very small idea on the nature of something bigger. For example, Facebook stems off the small idea of communication and Instagram off of communication through pictures. Business innovation is a collective affair that runs from a simple idea, through development, and then to the implementation process.
Richard Daft, an American organizational theorist and Professor of Management states that "change has become the norm today" and in order for organizations to survive, "they must keep themselves open to continuous innovation." For businesses, this means providing an ambidextrous organization and looking at things from a leadership perspective- how ideas travel up the hierarchy and leaders' ability to foster them. By incorporating structures and management processes that are appropriate for innovation, leaders create an organic structure in their organization to help employees expand their capabilities, as well as explore and develop new ideas while simultaneously creating a mechanistic structure for employees to exploit and implement new applications.
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a tenured business professor at Harvard Business School has studied business management techniques, innovation, and corporate culture for over 25 years. She states that "innovation springs from a culture that encourages everyone to come forth with new ideas, however small, and then provides the time and seed money to develop it." Leaders must be able to provide the necessary tools to allow their employees to be successful.
She states that "innovation springs from a culture that encourages everyone to come forth with new ideas, however small, and then provides the time and seed money to develop it."
You can not plan when and where innovation will occur, however, as a leader, you can help foster an environment where ideas can flourish. Unpredictable innovation can then become part of the norm in the office.
Who are innovative leaders and what qualities must they have?
80% of successful innovative companies have top leaders who reinforce the value and importance of innovation.
Some classic examples would be Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and even Thomas Edison. Innovative leaders are not always powerful CEOs, however. They are creative visionaries that have both big and small ideas and can most importantly, motivate people around them to turn their innovative ideas into a reality. Often, they are not the ones behind the innovation, rather, they are the ones who recognize something great and envisions the pathway to reality.
They are creative visionaries that have both big and small ideas and can most importantly, motivate people around them to turn their innovative ideas into a reality.
Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, who are both leadership development consultants, describe 10 traits of innovative leadership. Through a study that they conducted, they were able to find 10 distinctive behaviors that came from individuals they depicted as the innovation leaders. Of the ten, here are the ones that I think are the most important:
1. Communication
Innovative leaders must be able to focus on the big picture and worry less on the details that tend to stifle creativity. Micromanagers are less successful in becoming innovative leaders because they struggle too much with the smaller things. Innovative leaders most importantly must be able to communicate their team's vision, as well as, be able to generate enthusiasm for it. Team members must be on the same page and be willing to invest their time and resources in making it happen. Leadership through motivation and inspiration is far more effective than leadership by demand.
2. Display Excellent Strategic Vision
A successful leader should be able to help their team create a vision, while being able to envision the future of the business, as well as the benefits of such innovation. Being able to think on their feet and ahead of the curve also puts the team in front of the competition and one step closer to success.
While being a visionary leader is important, leaders should also be conceptual. A benefit of being a conceptual leader is the ability to have a vision and be imaginative. Insightfulness will also encourage members of the team to be visionary and imaginative with you. They should also be able to encourage new techniques for innovation while no one idea is settled upon. Employees should be able to learn through experimentation without consequences of failure. Creating this environment will organically lead to innovation and creative freedom.
So Why is it Important?
It is very apparent that the world we work and live in is constantly changing and the only solution to keep up with the changing demands is to innovate. Innovation is much more than just inventing new creations, rather, it is about figuring out how to add value to an organization. As a leader, it is important to figure out how to foster the unique skill sets a team has in order to create an environment for creative freedom and innovation.
The idea of how to engage with employees on a deeper level to promote innovative thinking is really what innovative leadership is all about. Thinking innovatively as an individual isn't enough, rather, the leadership component is how the innovative thinking scales up from the corporate ladder to become a reality and an actual idea. A successful leader will help focus the team's efforts on their objectives, rather than defining it for them. It is important to realize the importance of the leader in a team and the role it plays in guiding employees to think innovatively, collectively. Innovation is a core driver of growth, performance, and valuation in today's day and age and accepting this realization is the first step in the direction of success.