Leadership and Innovation

• As a leader, do you want to innovate or champion innovation?
• Why is it important for you to develop in this area?
• Is there a pressing need for innovation in your organization?
• Is there a connection between leadership and innovation for you?
• What strengths do you currently possess in this area?
• What weaknesses do you have that block your innovativeness?
• Are you personally creative or better at building on the ideas of others?
• Which of these skills would make you a better leader?

Why is innovation central to leadership?

• Leaders champion change, promote new directions.
• Managers execute existing directions.
• As a promotor of new directions, you can develop your own new ideas or champion the new ideas of your team.
• The greatest leaders are those who inspire the most beneficial changes.
• You can generate more change by stimulating the creativity of others than by relying on your own ideas.
• Encouraging others to innovate = fostering leadership in them.

How can you stimulate innovation in your team?

• How can you create a culture of innovation within your team?
• Could you ask your team what they see as the barriers to being more innovative?
• How can you provide support for your team if the broader organization is not particularly innovative?
• How can you develop the innovative skills of individual team members?
• Are you doing anything now that stifles innovation? Can you get feedback from your team to be sure? How can you change your style?
• How can you reward innovation and celebrate success?
• How can you ensure that risk taking and failure are not punished?