Part 1: A forum about leading innovation.
Leaders know that new opportunities need to be exploited through effective innovation to ensure their organisations' survival and growth. The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that innovation is not only desirable but essential for organisations to adapt constantly to the ever-changing environment and customer needs. What many don’t know is how they can embrace innovation and foster the right culture within their organisations.
We have teamed up with Design Thinkers Group Spain to explore the leadership challenges of different industries and sectors that hinder innovation, aiming to uncover the implications for practice and offer practical advice on developing the capability required to become an Innovative Leader.
To kick off our collaboration, Design Thinkers Group Spain and The Institute of Leadership & Management hosted the Lead to Innovate Forum where participants, from a wide range of industries and sectors operating internationally, had in-depth discussions based on their own experiences and practices. There were immediate takeaways for all participants and the discussions helped us identify the needs specific to leading innovation.
Our initial focus was on the practice of innovation and leadership, and how each may complement or hinder the other. As a result, we have gained considerable insight into which topics inspire great debate within the theme of leading innovation.
- No matter the industry, leading innovation means dealing with common factors such as power, hierarchy, mindset, vision and fear.
- Uncertainty and change are elements that detonate reactions and emotions in all humans, and leaders are inevitably confronted with them when innovation comes into the conversation or the plans at their organisations.
5 ways to accelerate innovation as a leader:
- Embrace change as an opportunity
- Adopt ‘double loop learning’ that will enable complex ecosystems to form
- Enable everyone in the team to connect with the purpose through conversation
- Invite everyone in the team to visualise what success might look like
- Create a culture that fosters and develops curiosity within the organisation
What next?
Based on participants' feedback, we are developing a program of follow-up activities to allow everyone to collaborate and focus on solutions to these business challenges. We’d love to hear the real-life experiences of those who have overcome the challenges to deliver real impact. Do you have a story to share? Simply let us know by filling in this expression of interest form here for a chance to be featured in our future blogs, podcasts, and webinars.
Follow Design Thinkers Group Spain and The Institute of Leadership & Management on LinkedIn to stay tuned for future activity, and don’t forget to join the conversation on social media using #LeadToInnovate.
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