Talking about innovation means talking about people. No matter how many resources are invested in technology, processes, or creative spaces, innovation doesn’t happen without committed, motivated, and change-oriented people. And at the heart of this dynamic is leadership.
Leadership for innovation isn’t based on controlling or directing with a firm hand. It’s based on inspiring, on creating a space of trust where ideas flow, where mistakes are accepted as part of learning, and where everyone feels they can contribute from their uniqueness, from their proposals.
A leader who promotes innovation serves her colleagues and understands that her role isn’t to have all the answers, but to ask the right questions. She fosters curiosity, challenges the status quo, and becomes a facilitator of new connections and perspectives. She practices active listening and values diversity of thought as a driver of creativity.
Furthermore, leadership in innovation involves courageous (and persevering) management of uncertainty. To innovate is to venture into the unknown, and the fear of failure can paralyze. A good leader helps their team navigate this uncertainty with a clear vision, a sense of purpose, and constant and transparent communication. In my experience, the leader listens to hear a shared vision of what they want to implement, communicates this shared vision, and lets the people involved build what they are meant to be. The leader doesn’t push: he pulls.
Finally, leading to innovate requires consistency. It’s not enough to promote ideation workshops or hackathons if daily decisions penalize experimentation or reinforce traditional hierarchical structures. The innovative leader embodies in their daily actions the values they want to see flourish in their organization.
Ultimately, leadership in innovation is a humanistic leadership that puts people at the center, inspires courage and creativity, and understands that innovation is, at its core, a collective act.
This is the first step in organizing people toward innovation. In the next post I will talk about organizational structure for innovation.