Leadership and Innovation
There is an interesting report on leadership and innovation on the McKinsey site.
Based on a recent survey they say that most senior executives are dissatisfied with their ability to stimulate innovation. They recommend a that a disciplined focus on three people-management fundamentals may produce the building blocks of an innovative organization. A first step is to formally integrate innovation into the strategic-management agenda of senior leaders to an extent that few companies have done so far. In this way, innovation can be not only encouraged but also managed, tracked, and measured as a core element in a company’s growth aspirations.  Second, executives can make better use of existing (and often untapped) talent for innovation, without implementing disruptive change programs, by creating the conditions that allow dynamic innovation networks to emerge and flourish. Finally, they can take explicit steps to foster an innovation culture based on trust among employees. In such a culture, people understand that their ideas are valued, trust that it is safe to express those ideas, and oversee risk collectively, together with their managers. Such an environment can be more effective than monetary incentives in sustaining innovation.Â
The sample of 600 managers and professionals indicated that the top two motivators of behavior to promote innovation are strong leaders who encourage and protect it and top executives who spend their time actively managing and driving it. Indeed, senior executives believe that paying lip service to innovation but doing nothing about it is the most common way they inhibit it. The report says leaders should:
1. Define the kind of innovation that drives growth and helps meet strategic objectives.
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2. Add innovation to the formal agenda at regular leadership meetings.
3. Set performance metrics and targets for innovation.
4. Build innovation netwworks
5. Develop a culture of trust
Paul Sloane