SPARKING INNOVATION IN YOUR ORGANIZATION
Campbell Lumbila February 15th, 2010
One of the challenges that a leader has is to kick start the pursuit of new ideas and ways of doing things in an organization, especially if its one that has been in existence for a long time. The natural tendency in such organizations is to resist change and maintain the status quo. As a new leader, how do you spark innovation and breathe life back into a dying species?
Here are a few things you can do.
LEARN
People are appointed to leadership positions because their bosses see something in them. They see potential as well as knowledge but the quickest way to failure is to be a know-it-all. You have to humble yourself and learn from those you’ve been appointed to lead. Don’t change anything yet. Understand why the company does things the way it does before you change its way of doing things.
FACILITATE DIALOGUE
Ask a lot of questions. Why? What? Where? When? Encourage employees to be candid about their responsibilities. Allow them to freely express their opinions as it pertains to the organization’s processes and products. What do they see wrong? Where can you improve? What new products should we consider?
Doing this will help employees feel like they have a voice and that their opinions are valued.
SCRAP THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
Wait a minute. I am the boss here. How will people respect me if they don’t recognize hierarchy? Good question. Organizational charts are great on paper but unfortunately, they dictate how people lead and behave. Because someone is the first in the food chain, they expect everyone else to work FOR them. The ones that lose out are the ones at the bottom who feel they have nothing to offer and that they are just workhorses doing the master’s bidding. I can go into great detail as to why top-down leadership is counter productive but I’ll leave that for another discussion.
What you need is a horizontal approach that values communication and interdependency in your organization. Having a fluid structure that allows people from different departments to freely collaborate on projects will make your organization more effective.
In addition, have an open door policy. Let employees and other colleagues know that you’re approachable and that they can come to you anytime. Also make sure that they see you in their work area every now and then or even offer to work with them. This will solidify your bond and build trust. Be a servant leader and people will follow your leadership.
LISTEN TO OUTSIDERS
What are your customers saying about your organization and its products? Do they have better ideas? Very few companies never listen to their customers. They are either very successful or are dismal failures. As for you, you will do well to get some feed back. Also be on the lookout for great ideas from outsiders. Most innovations come from the most unlikely sources.
These are just a few of the many things you can do to spark innovation in your organization. Next we’ll look at facilitating change because innovation thrives on change. If you do not innovate your organization will die but you cannot innovate without changing some things.
Now go and change the world.