Leadership Skills / Approaches for Successful Innovation




Disruptive Innovation
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Anneke Zwart
Student (University), Netherlands

Leadership Skills / Approaches for Successful Innovation

Innovation leadership requires other approaches than general leadership for the core business. Furr and Dyer (2014) outline some unique leadership skills/approaches required for successful innovation:

1. RATHER THAN DICTATING A VISION, SET A BIG CHALLENGE
In traditional approaches to leadership, creating a vision in the sense that the strategic priorities of the company are outlined implies that the leader is the decision maker and directs the company to comply with those priorities.
In order to be a successful leader in innovation processes, it is important to “carve out the metal space within which the innovation process can be carried out” (ibid.). This means that a leader first need to set the expectation that the particular innovation will push the limits, which means that you transform some of the most important assumptions about your company’s goods, clients and business models. This can be a difficult task that can be shocking for people as it brings uncertainty, therefore it is critical to communicate that some risk and uncertainty can be advantageous and to put some limits around the uncertainty.

2. RATHER THAN MAKING DECISIONS, DESIGN EXPERIMENTS
In innovation processes, it is important not to believe that all decisions about innovative models should ultimately be made by the project’s leader. The project leader knows just as little as all other people when a product has not been launched yet. Because of that, systematically testing critical assumptions with clients is a better way to make tough choices and to decrease the risks of launching innovations on the market. So, innovation leaders should ask questions rather than answering them.

3. RATHER THAN JUST SELLING THE IDEAS TO A FEW PEOPLE, FOCUS ON PREPARING THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION TO ACCEPT THOSE NEW IDEAS
Leaders often try to sell the idea only to the ‘sell side’ - the developing innovators. However, it is just as important to also focus on educating the idea to the rest of the organization.

4. INSTEAD OF GIVING PEOPLE THE TIME, IT IS BETTER TO PROVIDE THEM WITH THE REQUIRED RESOURCES SO THAT THEY CAN ACT IN A QUICK WAY
In the view of Furr and Dyer, it is a particular type of time that is needed in innovation processes: uninterrupted time. This means time in which the mind can be totally absorbed with one particular issue. Rather than spending about 20 or 30 minutes a day to certain problems, it is more effective to assign for example half day a week to the problem.
Other important tasks for the leader are to minimize organizational barriers, and to provide the innovation developers with the tools and resources they need.

Source: Furr and Dyer (2014) “Leading your Team into the Unknown” HBR December 2014
 

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3
John Geurts
Consultant, Netherlands
 

Approaches for Successful Innovation

First it's assumed that it's about innovation in an existing company and it's about disruptive innov... Sign up

 
1
Glover
Business Consultant, United Kingdom
 

Leadership Skills & Approaches for Innovation

Some nice points but I have to side more with John. I think you need a leader with strong vision to... Sign up

 
3
K.Narayana Moorthy
HR Consultant, India
 

Leadership Sklls & Approaches for Innovation

A. A good Leader has to be GREAT ACHIEVER: Innovation will be in the field of (a) 360 Personal Succe... Sign up

 
2
Zaddock Oguta
Consultant, Kenya
 

Innovation Management Skills

1. Leadership and people management skills: attract, retain, coach, motivate, develop team members. ... Sign up

 
4
John Geurts
Consultant, Netherlands
 

Focus Areas for Innovation Managers and Leaders

Leadership should do the following: 1. Think about arenas, not in industries 2. Set broad themes a... Sign up

 
2
Jos Kok, Netherlands
 

Disruptive Change Management

Why is the gap between theory and practice this big? The last 20 years I worked in companies and ins... Sign up

 
0
Ali J. Boru
Student (Other), Kenya
 

Innovative Leadership Should Motivate Organization

I agree with recommendation #3 that leadership should focus internally, build on existing resources ... Sign up

 
5
Kurt Ludikovsky
Consultant, Austria
 

It Depends on the Organization

I can agree to most what has been said here and disagree at the same time. - Let me ask a question:... Sign up

 
1
ramos
Manager, France
 

An Innovation Leader Should not Be Alone, from Experience

Practice and theory are still not compatible! From experience in companies from 100 employees to sev... Sign up

 
1
Davor Markota
Management Consultant, Croatia
 

The Context of the Innovation Leadership

I agree fully with Mr @Kurt Ludikovsky, what matters is the context of the situation. The art of man... Sign up

 
4
Paul D. Wilson
Manager, United States
 

Innovation Leadership Must Demonstrate Need to Change

While I believe that Furr and Dyer are "spot on" with their observations, I believe that it is also ... Sign up

 
1
Greenhow, Sweden
 

Innovative Leadership or Leadership for Innovation?

Like Ludikovsky and Markota, I feel that the discussion requires a more specific description of the ... Sign up

 
0
CALLIGARO
Management Consultant, France
 

Innovation Types

At first many thanks for your work, from my part I think that there are 2 main ways of Innovation: ... Sign up

 
1
m fransson
Manager, Sweden
 

Innovation Leadership Skills

In my opinion such leadership must set the vision and direction. Leader must also point out importan... Sign up

 
1
John Geurts
Consultant, Netherlands
 

Leadership and Followership in Innovation

Innovation is a growth strategy. Also a broad concept, there are many types of innovation. From low ... Sign up

 
1
CALLIGARO
Management Consultant, France
 

Innovation Leadership

At first, I may thank you for your explanation, and I may add the following ways to prevent a single... Sign up

 
1
John Geurts
Consultant, Netherlands
 

Leadership & Innovation

@Kurt Ludikovsky: Dear Kurt, I disagree with you. Being involved in day to day business is not leade... Sign up

 
1
janekariuki
HR Consultant, Kenya
 

Innovative Leadership and Vision

@m fransson: Coming up with a vision should be a corporate decision where all stakeholders are invol... Sign up

 
0
Pablo Illingworth
Business Consultant, Ecuador
 

Cultural Aspects in Leadership Skills in Innovation

The 4 Areas mentioned sound really interesting but it is important to consider the culture when appl... Sign up

 
0
CALLIGARO
Management Consultant, France
 

Leadership and Innovation,

Many thanks for your comments, the normal way in developed nations is to increase the budget to incr... Sign up

 
5
Gary Wong
Consultant, Canada
 

Into the Unknown is a Different Paradigm

When dealing with the unknown and I also include unknowables and unimaginables, deploying traditiona... Sign up

 
0
CALLIGARO
Management Consultant, France
 

Leadership and Innovation

At first many thanks to Gary Wong, for this point of view, positioned as a disruptive and original w... Sign up

 
0
jorge anibal hoyos hoyos
Manager, Colombia
 

Innovation as a Core Business Philosophy

I think the innovation could not be something to get around to when it's convenient nor should it de... Sign up

 
0
K.Narayana Moorthy
HR Consultant, India
 

Leadership and Innovation

Thanks Mr. Calligaro, good day. Since we we were discussing about Disruptive Innovation in the Trans... Sign up

 
0
m fransson
Manager, Sweden
 

Innovation Leadership Skills

@Janekariuki: I agree, the board have to sign off the vision. But to make it real is the company lea... Sign up

 
2
abedmadi
Coach, Palestine, State of
 

Effective Innovation Leadership

To be an effective innovation leader, you should make the others innovate themselves, by making the ... Sign up

 
0
K.Narayana Moorthy
HR Consultant, India
 

Leadership and Innovation

Agreed with @abedmadi. But then a discussion is needed between the organization's vision and goal an... Sign up

 
3
Anneke Zwart
Student (University), Netherlands
 

The Leadership-Innovation Relationship: Ambidexterity Theory (Rosing)

Although many studies have researched the factors that are needed in a leader to encourage innovatio... Sign up

 
1
K.Narayana Moorthy
HR Consultant, India
 

Leadership Innovation Relationship- Ambidexterity

@Anneke Zwart: Ambidexterity is the state of being equally adept in the use of both right & left app... Sign up

 
0
CALLIGARO
Management Consultant, France
 

Leadership Innovation...

@K.Narayana Moorthy: I have read your comments about leadership and ambidexterity. My first reaction... Sign up

 
0
K.Narayana Moorthy
HR Consultant, India
 

Leadership Innovation and Ambidexterity

@CALLIGARO: Earlier I said a good leader has to be an Achiever- with knowledge of personal & people ... Sign up

 
0
CALLIGARO
Management Consultant, France
 

Leadership Innovation...

@K.Narayana Moorthy: Many thanks for your reply and the details that you precise, I agree with your... Sign up

 
0
Gary Wong
Consultant, Canada
 

The Brain is More Interdependent Than Once Thought

For years I believed that a left-brained person is more of a problem-solver, more linear, logical wh... Sign up

 
1
Gary Wong
Consultant, Canada
 

Manage the Evolutionary Potential of the Present

@Anneke Zwart: I am intrigued by the concept of Ambidexterity. When working with complexity, the key... Sign up

   

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