Innomantra's Viewpoint - Casting Innovation Leadership in Future Organisation
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The document discusses the importance of innovation leadership in organizations, emphasizing the need for leaders to establish a vision and manage collaborative environments that foster creativity. It highlights the alignment with ISO 56000 standards for innovation management and the necessity of balancing the exploitation of existing resources with the exploration of new ideas. Additionally, it stresses the role of leaders in motivating teams and creating a culture that embraces risk-taking and learning from failure.
Innomantra's Viewpoint - Casting Innovation Leadership in Future Organisation
- 1. Volume 22 | Issue 4 Aug - Sept 2021 Viewpoint Casting Innovation Leadership in Future Organisation Innovation Management System brings a greater alignment to Redefine Innovation Leadership. By Neelima Joseph & Lokesh Venkataswamy Innovation has been referred to as a ‘Short Skirt’ that’s been in and out of fashion: popular in good times and tossed back into the closet in downturns as quoted by a leading consulting firm, today; it's different as it combines art, science, system, and people however with increased uncertainty the need for Innovation and managing Innovation is best achieved with leadership and planning. By aligning to ISO 56000 Series-Innovation Management Standard framework, 'LEADERSHIP' establishes an innovation vision, strategy, and policy, including the necessary roles and responsibilities based on the organization's context. Leadership is one of the factors that affect Innovation in organizations. The sub-clause in leadership comprises the following: • Leadership and commitment • Innovation policy • Organizational roles, responsibilities, and authorities To highlight on 'PLANNING,' which is our second knowledge area in this article, innovation objectives, organizational structures, and innovation portfolios should be established based on the direction set leadership team and the identified opportunities and risks. The sub-clauses of clause Planning are: • Actions to address opportunities and risks • Innovation objectives and planning to achieve them • Organizational structures • Innovation portfolios What does leadership mean for Innovation, and why is it important? The role of leadership is vital and is one of the factors that affect Innovation in organizations. The reason is that leaders set the stage for Innovation, and they inspire others to act. An HBR article on creativity and leadership mentions that One doesn’t manage creativity but manages for creativity. For achieving which a few practices are mentioned. Innovation Leadership -1-
- 2. "They are motivated not by the desire to get rich but by the technical challenges and romance of the quest for human flight" - Meyers (Referring to Wright Brothers) They lead the team with the right people at the right time to the right degree in creative work. And few of the ways to achieve this is by tapping ideas from all ranks and not just the top-down strategy because managers must contribute to the imagination and create an environment of autonomy for employees where there is a higher bubble of new ideas among the workforces. Another example is the hazard of not distributing creative responsibilities throughout the organization because it relies on a single source for ideas. Furthermore, it is also essential to encourage and enable collaboration and look beyond the "lone inventor myth" because people don't do what they do since they have been asked to do so, but people do best when a leader can convey why an idea should be considered and focus later how to do it and what are the benefits out of the idea. If the leader can explain the "why," the vision is shared, and the collaboration is smooth. Another way is by defining the "superstar" as someone who helps others succeed. Innovation is more likely to happen when people from cross-functional disciplines, age groups, backgrounds, and areas of know-how share their thoughts. Managers should identify integration and enhance diversity by also looking for sources of creativity outside the organizations. One example is that of the Wright brothers - quoted by Meyer, "They are motivated not by the desire to get rich but by the technical challenges and romance of the quest for human flight," referring to the Wright brothers who shared their discoveries and ideas freely even before the potential for aviation was fully understood. Scaling Innovation, it is crucial to understand that more layers of management often lead to bureaucracy, meaning lesser room for experimenting, risk-taking, and learning from mistakes. An example quoted by Frederic Laloux is about running soulful organizations by adapting breakthroughs like self-management, with no pyramids, getting rid of hierarchies, and upgrading to distributed authority, referring to teal organizations. The idea behind this organizational structure is based on the profound practice of sensing and responding combined with self-management that leads to a high level of Innovation. Because Innovation does not happen according to plan but happens when a change is sensed and ready to experiment to find solutions. Moreover, leaders can manage Innovation by mapping the different phases of creative work with the different processes, skill sets, and technical steps needed. And managing the commercialization handoff is crucial since the idea originator has the highest passion for an idea, and it's the leader's responsibility to see that the idea does not lose steam at the handoff and transition. Adding on to this, the idea of Charles A. O'Reilly and Michael Tushman in "The Ambidextrous organization" present why big successful companies fail and are failing at an ever-increasing rate despite having all the resources. Their research found that successful organizations are trapped by the set of processes, metrics, rewards, and cultures and fail to shift to change from these previously successful processes with the changing markets and technologies and are still in the past. A solution for this is the Create the Future Viewpoint -2-
- 3. Create the Future Explore-Exploit Continuum which is about juggling between the future and the present. That is exploiting the existing business by staying close to the customer, getting better in incremental innovation, and running the cash flow. At the same time, it is also essential to understand that just because you win today does not guarantee a win tomorrow. So, to win tomorrow, it is vital to explore the future by collecting ideas within the organization or searching for a breakthrough. After due diligence, the idea is funded and are run as venture capitalists to test the market suitability and proceed or scrap based on the market response. So, it is about experimentation, embracing speed failure, and rapid adaptation as a culture & process. One way is by providing intellectual challenge or independence (intrinsic motivation), salary, benefits, and job security (extrinsic motivation), allowing people to chase their passion, which involves awareness of individuals' interests and skills. Another best practice is that motivating people to perform at their peak is exceptionally vital in creative work. A leader should practice the art of being an appreciative audience who is a vital and intrinsic motivation to its people because good leaders challenge and inspire creative work by participating and asking questions. Embracing the certainty of failure is about experimenting, failing as early as possible, and learning from the mistakes. Also, creating an environment of psychological safety is needed to convince employees that it is acceptable to fail and learn. ****** To solve the ‘innovation Puzzle’ of future leaders, we will bring you a series of articles on innovation management systems in our Viewpoint and the on clause of context, stay ahead for more readings further. Authors Neelima Joseph Professional Innovation Management Specialist, Sweden Lokesh Venkataswamy Design Thinker, CEO & Managing Director, India About Innomantra Innomantra is a leading Digital, Innovation, and Intellectual property management consulting and services firm. It helps organizations to design and achieve their digital strategy from idea to implementation, Innovation Management Systems, and Intellectual property goals by enhancing culture for amplified efficiency and exponential growth.Innovation3x and Discover Design Thinking describe the philosophy which it believes in, that innovative organizations must identify innovation goals that seek to achieve a 3x and beyond to boost their performance. Innomantra's signature three-fold approach to innovation that looks at overall business strategy, people, and functional systems in a digital ecosystem is globally recognized. Innomantra has a wide range of 50+ clients range from small and medium businesses to Fortune Global 500 organizations. It has a strategic alliance with global leaders in Digital and Innovation. Innomantra is headquartered in Bengaluru, India, and has a global presence. Innomantra Consulting Private Limited Level 9, Raheja Towers Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bengaluru - 560 001, India m: +91 98452 72555 d : +91 080 41253444 e: [email protected] / www.innomantra.com Bangalore / Mysore / Colombo / Chicago / Hong Kong / Troy / Zurich 2021© Innomantra Consulting Private Limited Viewpoint Innovation Leadership -3-