When delivering a university leadership development program in recent days, we reflected a lot as a class about the use – or overuse – of the word innovation. Innovation is undoubtedly of value – at least appropriate innovation is. What matters is innovation for impact, innovation tailored to context, and not innovation as a sexy buzzword which we need to have to remain current, almost as if it were commodity like the latest model of iPhone. [Other brands are available, I am informed.]
And so we spent time exploring ways in which we can address and regulate due attention to context and impact in driving innovation.
We then addressed the reality that many leaders are themselves not instinctive innovators but that they nonetheless cannot escape the need to be leaders of innovation. And so, we explored the rich variety of innovation models, methods and tools available for the leader. We recognised, however, that while these can be immensely valuable, they are not necessarily the drivers nor enablers of innovation.
Understanding the nature of these fundamental drivers and developing the capacity to engender them in our organisations, is then a core task of the leader of innovation – i.e. all, or at least most of us. In our exploration of what they might be, there was a recurrent theme – mindset.
Elsewhere in these blogs, we have explored the concept of innovation mindset and examined some of its characteristics. Here, I’d like us to consider what might be thought of as the organisational analogue of the innovation mindset of the individual, i.e. the innovation culture.
Anyone who has reflected upon the nature of culture in an organisation will know just how multi-dimensional the notion is. Organisations often state in their foundational documents explicitly what their culture is – or at least what they’d like it to be. It is abundantly clear, borne out by numerous examples, that the culture felt in an organisation can be wildly at variance with the culture spoken. This has been well-captured by Johnson and Scholes in their cultural web which provides an insightful lens through which to analyse the organisational influences which contribute towards the perceived, lived culture.
Notwithstanding the six key elements of the cultural web, there is also a real sense in which an innovation culture will be strongly influenced by the superposition of the individual innovation mindsets, nascent or implanted or nurtured within the individual members of the organisation. The more prominent and aligned (which is not the same as saying identical) the individual mindsets, the more pronounced and impactful the culture. One could make the same argument for a mapping between individual growth mindsets and a corporate learning culture.
So, the imbuing of the innovation mindset at the level of the individual, automatically contributes to a corporate innovation culture, assuming it is not counteracted by other inhibitory control factors in the cultural web. But what else can we do as leaders to reinforce and sustain an innovation culture
Cultivating a culture of innovation is not just about encouraging new ideas; it’s about creating an environment where those ideas can be nurtured, tested, and implemented. Leaders set the tone for the innovating organisation by being open to new ideas and demonstrating a willingness to experiment and learn from failures.
Therefore, one of the key strategies for fostering innovation is creating an environment where employees feel safe to take risks and share their ideas. This involves promoting open communication and collaboration. Leaders should encourage team members to freely exchange thoughts and build on each other’s ideas. This collaborative approach can lead to the development of innovative solutions that might not have been possible through individual efforts.
But what does this mean in practice. Here are some leadership approaches worth adopting, or doing more of:
- Start Small: Begin with brainstorming sessions where employees can share their ideas without fear of judgment. Encourage cross-functional collaboration to bring diverse perspectives to the table.
- Invest in Learning: Provide employees with opportunities to learn new skills and stay updated on industry trends. This can include workshops, seminars, and online courses.
- Celebrate Successes and Failures: Recognise and reward innovative ideas, even if they don’t succeed. Celebrating failures as learning opportunities can encourage employees to take risks and experiment.
- Provide Resources and Support: Ensure that employees have the necessary resources, such as time, funding, and access to technology, to work on innovative projects.
- Lead by Example: Demonstrate a willingness to experiment and learn from failures. Show that you value innovation by being open to new ideas and encouraging others to do the same.
An innovation culture can be slow to build and quickly lost if managed clumsily. However, its impacts are boundless, and it could be argued to be a necessity in our contemporary environment governed by ambiguity, uncertainty and, indeed, paradigm shift. It is no longer an optional nicety for the leader, but an imperative.
