Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Innovation Leadership
a monograph
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Leadership, I propose, envisions the future and illuminates its path. What
role does leadership play in our ability to become, each of us, more innovative? Does the traditional model of command and control accommodate the flexibility that innovation especially in turbulent times requires? Or, does a more dynamic model of pervasive leadership (Weisbord, 2004; Wheatley, 1999) lend itself more readily to success in these transitional times?
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Appreciative Approach
There is a familiar English nursery rhyme:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the king's men Couldn't put Humpty together again. (Anonymous, 1810)
Throughout my consulting career, Ive often been involved in Humpty Dumpty projects; viz., the customer has hired our team to act as all the kings men to fix some problem or issue. Often, these problems have been as irascible as the shattered Mr. Dumpty, and all of the resources that were potentially available could never set things right. This Humpty Dumpty approach might be said to be using a deficit model;
i.e., one looks for the deficient or problematic elements of the current
operation, discovers what is broken, and proceeds to fix it. Why does this occur? Might it have something to do with an industrialized world wherein many machines exist to help us manage our daily tasks machines that are perfectly functional when they are first manufactured, but then break down? And the way to return to a state of functionality is to diagnose the malfunction and repair or replace the broken part?
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Turbulence
As the discussion of change and especially the variable rates of change has become popular in business circles for the past few decades, the pundits have latched onto an analogy from the realm of physical science to help in the definition and description of change: turbulence. In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is a flow regime characterized by chaotic property changes. This includes rapid variation of pressure and velocity in space and time. (Collaborative, 2007b) As early as 1967, it was observed and reported in the literature that different systems within an organization function at different rates. Paul Lawrence and Jay Lorsch studied six industrial companies and delineated some of these structural anomalies (Lawrence & Lorsch, 1967). They noted that departments within organizations were relatively adept at matching the rate of transactions with their respective constituents, but were not integrated with each other within the company. For instance, the marketing department is likely attuned to the needs of the target audience for the companys products including the rate of change of the customers needs but
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Variations for Postmodern Leaders and Their Coaches (Bergquist & Mura,
2005). They define four components (or types of subsystems) that comprise turbulence:
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This mlange of concepts, drawn from the work of a set of distinguished anthropologists and others, suggest both the strengths and weaknesses of the culture concept: It is very broad and complex and by its very comprehensiveness includes a vast agglomeration of detail." (Massarik & Pei-Carpenter, 2002) In its vastness, it is clear that any effort to change the culture of an organization would imply an enormous undertaking. The analysis phase, alone, might consume an entire consulting firm even if it were technically feasible to capture, in any significant way, the depth of understanding that would be necessary to design an effective intervention across all the dimensions of an organizations culture.
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Chapter 3: Innovation
What is innovation?
Innovation has a variety of definitions, depending on the perspective of the one doing the defining. For instance, someone in the Research and Development (R&D) department of an electronics manufacturer might view innovation as the creative process required to respond to customer needs with new product ideas. To someone in the banking industry, innovation may mean a new process for customers to transact business using the banks accounts, saving operational costs or generating additional revenue. In the glossary of his definitive work on innovation, Diffusion of Innovations (Rogers, 2003), Everett Rogers defines innovation as, An idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption (p. 475). Now, this of course frames the innovation from the perspective of its adoption it is whatever is perceived as new by the adopter; but this definition contributes the universal innovation concepts of idea, practice, or object, novelty, and someone to adopt it. We commonly acknowledge the terms, practice and object with the services and products generated by innovative companies; the idea that an idea may be an innovation is somewhat alien to our current use of the term. However, Rogers began his investigations into innovation adoption in the 1960s as a sociological study; that is, he wanted to ascertain how new ideas transmitted themselves across novice populations. The pervasive concept that an innovation is actually a technological breakthrough is a more recent development. Robert Burgelman and Leonard Sayles (Burgelman & Sayles, 1986) define innovation as, a companys efforts in instituting new methods of production
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As the various stages of this continuum are engaged, the notion of innovation applies. During Ideation, the aspects of novelty and uniqueness are evident. When actual Invention occurs, the creative ideas are realized in their earliest prototypical forms. As Instantiation transpires, the innovation moves along towards its commercial realization, and is modified by the prevailing needs of the target market. The final stage in the Continuum of Innovation is
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Ideation
Often, these stages are perceived as isolated and complete definitions for the whole continuum of innovation. As mentioned earlier, the Research and Development department may view the Ideation stage as exclusively definitive of innovation, with little regard to actualization or potential commercialization of the product or service. However, ideation is often brought about by the realization of customer wants and needs. As Hagen Wenzek noted in an IBM Institute for Business Value report (Wenzek, 2006) on the emergence of the consumer influence on innovation, Since the advent of information technology, the typical flow of innovation has been from the enterprise to the consumer technology inspired innovation has now started flowing in the opposite direction, proving its worth with consumers first. (p. 1)
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Invention
While Rogers (2003) defines invention as, the process by which a new idea is discovered or created, the contemporary notion of invention emphasizes discovery less and creation more. That is, the approach to innovation seems to rely on an active response to the market, as opposed to the discovery of a valuable product or service that is simply waiting to be discovered. There is a popular (but unreferenced) story that Thomas Edisons successful invention was not so much the light bulb itself but the establishment of an infrastructure to deliver electricity to a wide area, which promoted the adoption of the electric lamp to replace the fire-prone gas lights. Here, we have creativity responding to a need in the marketplace. All of which began with the vision of electric-powered lamps, followed by years
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Instantiation
James Brian Quinn states, "Innovation is the first reduction to practice of an idea in a culture (James Bryan Quinn, 1988; James Brian Quinn, 1992). While a good idea may occur to anyone thoughtful enough to be paying attention, and while an engineering individual may eventually prototype the idea into an invention, it is only when that invention be it a product or service is crafted into a solution that is deliverable to the customer that it is ready for adoption. In their work in 2001 on examining practices in the healthcare industry for the Institute of Medicine, Donaldson and Mohr leverage Quinns work (albeit from the manufacturing industry) to define the micro systems of effort that are required to deliver patient care. "Quinn approached a study of business performance by identifying breakthrough levels of successful performance in industries worldwide and asking how they accomplished it. Quinn found that many of the worlds best run organizations recognized the advantage of focusing on small functioning units to improve timeliness and cycle time, product quality, service, customer and worker satisfaction, as well as to reduce production costs. He described these small units as microunits of production, meaning that they were the smallest or minimum replicable unit, which for this study means a unit whose
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Adoption
The diffusion of innovation has been realized as a sociological phenomenon for some time. Rogers opens his own classic volume on the subject (Rogers, 2003) with a quote from Machiavellis, The Prince (1513): There is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new order of things Whenever his enemies have the ability to attack the innovator, they do so with the passion of partisans, while the others defend him sluggishly, so that the innovator and his party alike are vulnerable. (p. 1) According to Rogers, diffusion is, the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system (p. 11). Further, he defines adoption as, a decision to make full use of an innovation as the best course of action available. Rogers may have instituted the use of the adoption curve, which has subsequently been used, modified, and referenced by dozens of researchers and pundits who describe and expound on the adoption of innovation (Burgelman & Sayles, 1986; Christensen, 2003; Christensen & Raynor, 2003; Davila, Epstein, & Shelton, 2006; DeMarco, Lesser, & Smith, 2006; Denning & Dunham, 2006; Donaldson & Mohr, 2001; Douthwaite, 2006; Drucker, 1985; Gaynor, 2002; Gladwell, 2002; , Harvard Business Review on Innovation, 2001; McGregor, 2007; Moore, 2002, 2005; , People and innovation: Getting
ideas on the table, 2006; James Bryan Quinn, 1988; Sharma, 2006; von
Hippel, 2006; Wenzek, 2006). Essentially, the adoption curve indicates that the rate of diffusion of an innovation across a population will happen over time, and that it will begin slowly, accelerate more or less rapidly, and then taper off slowly again. If you assume a normal distribution (bell curve) phenomenon of the adoption of a new technology, it would look like this:
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14
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Rate of Adoption
The normal curve indicates that the adoption begins slowly, accelerates to a periodic adoption rate that peaks and then declines until all potential adopters have been reached. At that point, there are no further adopters in that identified market to purchase the product or service. Rogers introduced a cumulative (or S-shaped) curve, so that the acceleration of the rate of adoption became more graphically evident:
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Rates of Adoption
100%
90%
80%
70%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0% 1 2 3 4 5 6 Time 7 8 9 10 11
Note that I have included three separate curves, to demonstrate the visual effect of fast, medium, and slow rates of adoption. The middle (red) curve is one that is typically depicted as an adoption curve, starting very slowly (with early adopters), then accelerating fairly quickly through the mainstream adopters, and tapering off to something approaching but never quite reaching 100% adoption. A faster rate of adoption is depicted by the first (yellow) curve, which starts at the same point but accelerates much more quickly to reach 95% adoption in about two-thirds the time of the medium rate adoption. Finally, there is a slow rate of adoption, shown in the curve to the right (in blue), that eventually reaches the same 95% adoption, but does so in nearly twice the time as the medium rate. Given that there are expenses associated with sales, marketing, production, support, etc., you can see why companies are anxious to accelerate the rate of adoption to be as fast as possible.
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Innovation Management
IBM periodically takes on the task of surveying hundreds of CEOs (and, separately, CIOs) to help determine and report on the trends across industries, across the globe. The most recent CEO study concentrated almost exclusively on innovation as a major emerging theme among the leaders of some of the most influential and successful companies in the world. Among the primary findings was the migration of considering innovation as purely an exercise in invention to the infusion of an innovative approach across the organization. In this regard, a synopsis of the CEOs suggestions yielded the following recommendations (IBM, 2006): Think broadly act personally and manage the innovation mix - Create and manage a broad mix of innovation that emphasizes business model change. Make your business model deeply different - Find ways to substantially change how you add value in your current industry or in another. Ignite innovation through business and technology integration - Use technology as an innovation catalyst by combining it with business and market insights. Defy collaboration limits - Collaborate on a massive, geography-defying scale to open a world of possibilities. Force an outside look every time - Push the organization to work with outsiders more, making it first systematic and, then, part of your culture. (p. 3)
This is obviously not an agenda for simply generating ideation, improving invention, increasing instantiation, or accelerating adoption it is a mandate for integrating innovation into every aspect of the business. As Thomas
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mission and climate that fosters the fulfillment of the business future vision?
Bettina von Stamm and her colleagues at the London Business School have spent the last several years attempting to answer just that question. In The
Innovation Wave (von Stamm, 2003a), she states, There is no one right way
of infusing innovation into an organisation, it will depend on the companys specific context, including company size, what kind of innovation is sought, and which stage in the innovation journey the organisation is at (p. 123). However, there are guidelines with specific objectives that can be followed, based on the experiences of successfully innovative companies: Addressing the challenges associated with innovation necessitates a holistic approach that realises the importance of considering context and the need for aligning all aspects of an organisation to the innovation goal. The five key areas where innovative organisations do something differently from their less innovative counterparts are: strategy and vision leadership culture [viz., climate] processes (physical) work environment (p. 3)
As with most approaches that are declared to be holistic, it is an intentional blending of all of the elements that produce the desired result in this case, innovation. Without aligning strategy and vision with ideation and
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Work (Davila, Epstein, & Shelton, 2006), Manage the natural tension
between creativity and value capture Creativity without the ability to translate it into profits can be fun but it is unsustainable; profits without creativity is rewarding but only works in the short term (p. 11). Continuing with von Stamms recommendations, leadership as it relates to innovation is the one of the key concepts of this monograph. Leadership can be framed in terms of the named management of the company, from the C-level to the line management. In this light, Davila et al recommend the following responsibilities for a Chief Innovation Officer, who is sometimes also the CEO: Provide a long-term view for innovation via the innovation strategy and portfolio. Sensitize key leaders and managers to the dynamics of innovation. Nurture key creation projects. Manage relationships with external partners. Assess innovation implications of corporate, strategic initiatives.
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When Thomas J. Watson joins the Computer-Tabulating Recording Company - the forerunner of today's IBM - in 1914, he brings with him the "Think" motto he coined when he managed the sales and advertising departments at the National Cash Register Company. "Thought," he says, "has been the father of every advance since time began. 'I didn't think' has cost the world millions of dollars." Soon, the one-word slogan "THINK" appears in large block-letter signs in offices and plants throughout the company. In 1915, Watson was quoted in an audio broadcast to IBM employees as saying, And we must study through reading, listening, discussing, observing and thinking. We must not neglect any one of those ways of study. The trouble with most of us is that we fall down on the latter - thinking because it's hard work for people to think, And, as Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler said recently, 'all of the problems of the world could be settled easily if men were only willing to think.' Hence, the IBM laptop was called the ThinkPad in reference to its manual predecessor an ubiquitous 3x5 paper notepad with the word THINK inscribed into its leather cover.
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However, within a few months of its launch and subsequent internal marketing, ThinkPlace was challenged with the sheer volume of employeegenerated ideas. There was no issue with the technology the system worked flawlessly to record each idea. The process of reviewing and evaluating the ideas, however, was strained beyond capacity. Volunteer peer reviewers, called Catalysts (I was one) were to monitor and evaluate ideas, with the objective of selecting one or more to assist in taking the idea to invention and instantiation. The deluge of ideas, which ranged in scope from incrementally simple to disruptively complex, was more than the dozens of volunteer Catalysts (who also had their regular full-time duties to perform) could reasonably handle. Of the tens of thousands of ideas that had been posted in ThinkPlace, only a small percentage were able to be evaluated or taken towards invention, instantiation, or adoption. Unintentionally, then, most contributors received little or no peer or executive feedback on their ideas during the initial rollout of ThinkPlace. Over the past two years, additional processes have been established to give contributors more focus in the intent of the ideas, aligning them with corporate strategy via Executive Challenges. Also, procedural and technological linkages to related ideation, invention, and instantiation efforts throughout the company have enabled the ThinkPlace program to more successfully accommodate the contributions of talented and generous IBM employees, demonstrating the significance of process to the management of innovation.
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Innovative climate
As previously discussed in this document, it is the climate of innovation that will be explored here, as opposed to the culture within which innovation may occur. In this context Im positioning climate as a tangible that can be
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The actual IBM presentation uses culture, climate, and culture/climate interchangeably. For consistency, and in keeping with the discussion elsewhere this document regarding climate vs. culture, I will only use the term, climate.
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In an effort to define an approach to modifying the innovation climate, the IBM team synthesized the list of characteristics to define six areas of focus for designing an intervention: IBM has identified the organisational4 levers that are most likely to provide the greatest opportunities for successfully driving change towards a more innovative and collaborative culture. Vision, Strategy & Alignment - defining a clear ambition and organisational agenda for innovation. Ensuring that the innovation strategy aligns individual team - organisational and market across a set of innovation values with clear ownership for innovation Leadership (for innovation) - establishing the right blend of leadership styles and mindset that ensures the
The work effort for this concept was performed in the UK; the native spelling of organisation is preserved in the quoted reference.
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action:
Stage one: Setting the stage for innovation
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These recommendations are in keeping with those that have been presented elsewhere in this monograph. Painting a picture denotes sharing the vision with potential innovators throughout the organization. Stamp out fear helps to eliminate the risk of failure during ideation and invention. Encourage diversity uses the energy from the edge of turbulence. Connect the dots leverages the processes and networks inherent in the organization to create opportunities for ideation and complete the invention and
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Operational Definition
For the purpose of discussion in relation to Innovation Leadership, innovation is defined as the appreciative adaptation to turbulence. What does that mean?
Appreciative
As previously mentioned, the notion of Appreciative Inquiry comes from the work of Cooperrider and others (Cooperrider, 1986; Hammond, 1998). While this is yet another important aspect in the development towards a climate of innovation in that individuals need to define and focus on positive, goaloriented objectives it is somewhat limited as a universal component of pervasive innovation. That is, the inherent supposition in Appreciative Inquiry (identifying and replicating successful prior behaviors) does not
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Adaptation
In practice, it means that the adaptation is not a knee-jerk reaction of retreating to old habits in the face of change, but that change and its variations known as turbulence (Bergquist & Mura, 2005) is embraced as a factor and motivator in the innovative process, leading to pro-active plans for its repercussions. As Peter Drucker has iterated over the last few decades (and others have echoed and elaborated), post-modern businesses are based on an information economy, especially in the United States and the Western world (Drucker, 1985, 1994, 2003; Leadbeater, 2000). Where once the produce of the land - and then the products of invention - governed the revenue generation of the economy, new product concepts (manufactured elsewhere) and new services ideas are now at the forefront of economic growth. Even computer software one of the hallmark products of the information economy is often conceived and designed for specific customer requirements in the U.S. and then coded to completion by programmers in China, India, Eastern Europe, and states of the former Soviet Union (Friedman, 2005). In an information economy, ideas rule. As Charles Leadbeater observes, Knowledge capitalism is the drive to generate new ideas and commercialize them. This process of creating, disseminating and exploiting new knowledge is the dynamo behind rising living standards and economic growth. Collaboration is the driving force behind the creativity reflected in knowledge capitalism. (Leadbeater, 2000) Being able to generate these ideas is a defining aspect of innovation. In my operating definition of innovation, the ability to adapt to turbulence in the market is significant.
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is a state of change; so, inviting change to impel change is really selfdefining. Gryskiewicz goes on to clarify the relationship between turbulence and innovation by stating, When different ideas are brought into an organization or new information is presented, there could be as many different ways of viewing it as there are individuals looking at it. Then again, there could be just one way - the company way, the way such ideas and information have always been viewed, a way not likely to uncover new directions or new processes needed for renewal. The many ways of viewing the ideas may well lead to renewal because the more possible viewpoints there are, the greater the likelihood is that one will lead to the appropriate interpretation on which people can act in positive new ways. The reason that multiple perspectives are so critical is that Positive Turbulence depends on making sense of new and different information that by its nature is not fully clear. It is by taking the low-frequency, low-amplitude, static-filled signals from the periphery, examining them from different angles, and interpreting them in fresh ways that we are able to amplify them into something useful. It enables us to see solutions in a different light, act in unanticipated ways, and uncover new possibilities. (p. 24) In this way, turbulence spawns innovation by offering new perspectives. Turbulence gathers viewpoints and ideas from the periphery and deep beneath the surface places where the central stream may not travel and introduces them to the main organization. In this way, new answers to business needs can be explored and developed. For instance, the turbulence caused by the fragmentation of identifiably large market segments into micro
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In this physical whirlpool of water and rocks, the outer edge (where there is renewed energy) moves faster than the center (the location of the most significant resistance). In a typical mountain river, there are numerous obstacles, creating large and small whirlpools. This is true in organizations. Whirlpools are the places in the stream where innovations are likely needed. Assume, for the sake of this analogy, that the flow is the pace of some segment of the market. A relatively small obstacle to one organizations ability to keep pace with the market may be a particular feature that makes one of their products less desirable to the adopters. An incremental improvement in the product may likely remove that obstacle, reducing the drag, and enabling the organization at that particular point in the stream to maintain pace with the market. However, a larger obstacle downstream may be a manufacturing process that is inhibiting responsive adaptations to changes in the market; this will likely require a more significant, disruptive form of innovation to rework the companys approach to manufacturing, or
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Even though this almost sounds like the river has intent, I do not mean to imply that there is an active intelligence inherent in the process. The discussion of that possibility and divine design is subject matter for a different venue.
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Chapter 4: Leadership
What is leadership?
Perhaps, as Robert Greenleaf espouses (Greenleaf, 1998), Part of my excitement in living comes from the belief that leadership is so dependent on spirit that the essence of it will never be capsulated or codified (p. 112). That has not kept a legion of pundits from trying. Prefacing the work of the MIT Developmental Leadership Model (http://sloanleadership.mit.edu/r-dlm.php), Deborah Ancona captures an essence of the contemporary attitude towards defining leadership (Ancona, 2005): The Romans wondered whether force or inspiration was more effective as a motivator. Our own culture glorifies the charismatic while preaching participation. Interest in this question has only intensified as we watch a new world order unfold in the aftermath of September 11th, and as we are bombarded with images of corporate corruption and attempts at reform. We all hunger to know what leadership is, yet the concept remains amorphous. The history of leadership theory started with an emphasis on traits the notion that it is the make-up of the leader that makes all the difference. This approach dominated research up to the late 1940s. Current research suggests that our admired leaders today are honest, inspiring, self-confident, and adaptive. But traits do not always predict leadership effectiveness, and so researchers have shifted to look at the behavior or style of the leader. (p. 1) There is an ongoing tension between the erudite camps of those who believe that leadership can be defined by delineating the personality characteristics of leaders, and those who think that leadership is more a matter of dynamic roles, behaviors, and attitudes. In my analysis, one differentiator of these schools of thought has emerged: the character contingent describes (and
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et al submit their addition in Head, Heart and Guts: How the world's best companies develop complete leaders (Dotlich, Cairo, & Rhinesmith, 2006).
Gary Hoover (founder of Hoovers Inc.) analyzes the characteristics from several key leaders and adds his own observations: Great businesses succeed because of their leaders ability to see things that others do not see. These leaders ask questions that others do not ask, then chart their own course, combining insights and strategies into the blueprint for a uniquely focused enterprise. Weve seen this leadership in entrepreneurs like Sam Walton, Michael Dell and others who do not follow a formula, yet find a way to succeed. They listen to their customers and, most importantly, they follow their own visions of success. (Hoover, 2001) Jack Welch, former GE CEO, adds his contribution in Jack: Straight from the
gut (Welch & Byrne, 2002). It is not a coincidence that internal organs are
mentioned so frequently in this body of literature a pervasive opinion is that leadership originates within an individual, and that it requires singular strength and courage to execute on ones vision despite the many obstacles to its fulfillment (including ones employees). Remember that we are still operating, in the modern frame, under McGregors Theory X, which states that employees need coercion to comply with corporate objectives.
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for Victory: Lessons in strategy and leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, leadership is often very public, and involves unerring commitment
to stated goals (Kinni & Kinni, 2005). Warren Bennis goes to great lengths to document what he has observed as primary characteristics of modern leadership from his hundreds of interviews with named corporate and government leaders (Bennis, 1999). Similarly, Peter Krass has set out to offer the wisdom of key leaders in his work (Krass, 1998). Common to these authors are the concepts of integrity, courage, honesty, morality, intelligence, and other characteristics that are seen as positive and upright throughout modern Western culture; these are exemplified and magnified in the leaders very public role. Despite the corporate shenanigans at Enron and other similar occurrences (or perhaps
Wizard or Warrior (Bolman & Deal, 2006). Lou Gerstner, former IBM CEO,
focuses on passion and visibility as key characteristics of the successful leader (Gerstner, 2002). Warren Buffets approach logically follows models for financial growth (O'Loughlin, 2003).
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much of themselves to give to their work, depending on how theyre treated. Their choices may range from rebelling or
quitting (if theyre treated as things), to creative excitement (if theyre treated as whole people). [On the other hand] Greatness involves transcending the negative cultural software of ego, scarcity, comparison and competitiveness, and choosing to become the creative force in your life. Recent theory regarding the nature of leadership has progressively bridged toward postmodernism. Frances Hesselbein et al, in their 1996 The Leader of
the Future, intone the thoughts of Peter Drucker when they suggest that
there is no particular leadership personality, no set of characteristics innate or learned that define superior leadership. They report that it is the behavior, attitudes, and roles of the leaders wherein exemplary leadership emerges. In support of this premise, they cite Coveys Three Leader Roles: pathfinding, aligning, and empowering (Hesselbein, Goldsmith, & Beckhard, 1996). In the 10-year update on The Leader of the Future, (Hesselbein & Goldsmith, 2006), one of the co-authors, Marshall Goldsmith offers that: It is important to reverse the pyramid and look at leadership from the perspective of the wants and needs of the professional, as opposed to the perspective of the skills of the leader. Encourage their passion. Enhance their ability. Value their time. Build their network. Support their dreams.
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Leaders will need to go beyond looking at the work to be done and consider the human doing the work. This thinking represents a significant shift away from the modern concept of nominal leader as all mighty (or the premodern notion that the leader represents the Almighty) and acknowledges the worker as the source of productivity and, by inference, innovation. Leadership becomes a role that is assumed by any one at any time, depending on the needs of the moment. Hesslebein again quotes Covey: Leadership in the Knowledge Worker Age will be characterized by those who find their own voice and who, regardless of formal positions, inspire others to find their voice (Hesselbein & Goldsmith, 2006). Throughout the literature over the past decade regarding leadership, key trends have emerged in this shift towards postmodernism: An appreciation of employees as colleagues and collaborators. Empowerment through processes and rewards for successful management of the innovation process. Flattening of the organizational hierarchy, especially with respect to accountability and responsibility for activities within the employees defined role. Servant leadership. Postmodern decision making; that is, the rapid response to changes in the market driven by enabling leadership throughout the organization. Appreciation of all members of the organization Laurence Ackerman describes the benefit of valuing individuals in the organization (Ackerman, 2000). In his model the Laws of Identity actually
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From a systems perspective, Patrick Lencioni criticizes the fallacy that simply matricizing an organization will necessarily contribute to a positive climate of innovation: Matrix organizations are forums for confusion and conflict. They have certainly not contributed to the breakdown of silos; theyve merely added an element of schizophrenia and cognitive dissonance for employees who are unlucky enough to report into two different silos... The real problem with matrices is that
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Reality Strategic decision making involves simultaneous activity at multiple levels of the organization. Much real work occurs offline, in one-on-one conversations or small subgroups. Strategic decisions are complex social, emotional and political processes. Strategic decisions unfold in a nonlinear fashion; solutions often arise before managers define problems or analyze alternatives. Strategic decisions often evolve over time through iterative choices and actions.
Decisions are largely intellectual exercises. Managers analyze systematically and then decide.
Table 1: Myths and realities of strategic decision making, from Roberto (2005)
Pervasive leadership
Perhaps one of the most direct and progressive authors on this topic of postmodern leadership is Joseph Raelin. While he acknowledges that he did not invent the term, leaderful, he has taken the concept of being leaderful to reflect a pervasive paradigm; people can be leaderful throughout the entire organization, at every level. Opening his book on the subject (Raelin, 2003), he educates us on the basic tenets of the Leaderful Practice: I would like to introduce you to an alternative paradigm of leadership: leaderful practice. It directly challenges the conventional view of leadership as being out in front. In the twenty-first-century organization, we need to establish communities where everyone shares the experience of serving as a leader, not serially, but concurrently and collectively. (p. 5)
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Serial Concurrent: In the serial environment, the role of leader passes from one named individual to another, and there is only one identified leader in the group at any time. In a concurrent leadership setting, there may be several individuals who are capable of leading the groups efforts at any given time, and the role is shared among all of them, depending on the needs of the group at the moment. Individual Collective: Further, rather than having only one individual serve as leader at a time, the leaderful organization will have two or more leaders serving simultaneously, usually reaching decisions by consensus. Controlling Collaborative: In a conventional setting, one of the functions of the leader is to control the work effort (in anticipation of dictating the outcome); in a leaderful group, the members contribute their best efforts in alignment with group goals to achieve a successful, collaborative outcome.
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innovation and leadership to modify one with the other; viz., Innovation
Leadership equals either a new (innovative) approach to leadership via the authors particular methodology (Pomerantz, 2006), or an approach to lead innovation efforts in your organization (New & Improved, 2006). These are, of course, legitimate uses of the combination of the two terms. However, I propose a more synergistic integration of the concepts; that is, Innovation Leadership is a pervasive style of working to enhance the organizations
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working to enhance the organizations climate of appreciative adaptation to turbulence, above), everyone in the organization has the opportunity and the
responsibility (leadership) to appreciatively adapt to turbulence (innovation). Postmodernism recognizes that line workers are constantly making decisions that impact the functioning of the organization. In that innovation requires decisions at the transition points from ideation to invention, invention to instantiation, and instantiation to adoption, this recognition is crucial to empowering innovation at the point of its generation. As Ronald Heifitz and
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Engagement Model
At IBM, consultation offerings are defined in an Engagement Model. This model covers every aspect of the relationship with the client around the defined concept of the consultation, from needs assessment through work breakdown structures of consultation activities, through evaluation of delivery excellence. The effort that has led to this monograph focused on the needs assessment component of the engagement, and the initial instrument for this assessment will be detailed in the following sections. The additional processes that I have conjectured to support the subsequent phase of the consultation would include one or more consulting activities: specific training and education workshops; executive coaching; information technology to
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Survey
The proposed Innovation Leadership survey is a device to begin the iterative assessment of innovation climate, to identify growth areas that would be addressed in the consultation. It has also served as the constructed repository for the collection of concepts from my research, forming a foundation of research-based statements that would eventually contribute to the concept of Innovation Leadership. The survey was designed to be administered by the Capabilities Assessment Tool (CAT), which is currently under development by Matt Callery at the IBM Thomas Watson Research Center in Hawthorne, New York. The CAT has been used internally for IBM projects, and experimentally with customers, to help assess a variety of issues. It has to-date been deployed primarily as a readiness assessment tool, to determine how prepared an organization is for the implementation of a particular technology. A CAT survey is administered via web interface; that is, a respondent is presented with a questionnaire through a typical web browser (like Microsofts Internet Explorer) and submits answers to individual questions by clicking on multiple choice responses, or typing in responses to open-ended questions. The responses are stored and then analyzed and reported to the survey author through a separate, web-based interface. A pictorial representation of the CAT workflow follows:
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To prepare the Innovation Leadership CAT survey, I developed a list of survey items (profiled in a following section) that were organized by category. As defined later, the survey items were segregated into characteristics within two overall categories: Individual and Organizational. The screen to input the question and define the response type is illustrated here6:
Note that the original term used to describe one category was Culture; this has been changed to Climate in this monograph in keeping with the discussion on Climate vs. Culture, above.
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Each of the survey items was entered, named, and assigned a response type. In the illustrated example, the statement This organization helps me meet my personal goals was entered, named Personal Goals (to help track responses reported later), and assigned a Multiple Choice Single Select type of response. In keeping with the acknowledged value of an appreciative approach, each of the statements is framed in a manner that leads the respondent to contemplate the desired objective, according to the theorist being represented7. The respondent is then asked to rank each statement on a
The survey is meant to be a dynamic tool; it was designed to be delivered via web browser so that items can be added, deleted, or modified as new information is considered. The
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This survey approach (viz., using all appreciative statements) obviates the use of this particular instrument to validly compare the innovative climate of
original survey its current iteration is based on works from 17 authors, which is only a subset of those referenced in this monograph. However, these items are entirely representative of the intent and direction of this tool.
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Categories
All of the statements fall into one of two major categories: they represent either Individual or Organizational characteristics. The following paragraphs explain the distinction between these overarching categories.
Individual
Individual characteristics are those that are recognized most readily in individuals (as opposed to the organization as a whole). Individual characteristics are: Integrity, Dedication, Respect, Virtue, and Support.
Organizational
Organizational characteristics are those that are most readily recognized in the organization as a whole, rather than individuals. While some characteristics may be evident in individuals, this group of survey items should be evaluated across the entire organization and not simply in one
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Individual
Integrity
Management's actions match their statements. (Bennis, 1999) In this organization, there is no 'blame' for failed attempts to improve. (Senge, 1990) Leaders in this organization base their decisions on moral and intellectual honesty. (Bennis, 1999) Leaders in this organization are consistent in their foundational words and actions across time. (Bennis, 1999) Leaders are self-referential. (Wheatley, 1999)
Dedication
Leaders in this organization are dedicated to the success of the organization. (Bennis, 1999) Leaders in this organization step up to take responsibility for the direction of the organization. (Heifetz & Laurie, 1998)
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Respect
In this organization, leaders respect the work of all individuals. (Bennis, 1999) In this organization, workers respect the leaders. (Bennis, 1999) Leaders in this organization inspire trust. (Bennis, 1999) Leaders in this organization are like orchestra conductors8. (Bergquist, 2003)
Virtue
Leaders are viewed as heroes. (Bennis, 1999) Leaders are noble of mind and heart. (Bennis, 1999) Leaders are open to trying new ideas. (Bennis, 1999) Leaders are creative. (Bennis, 1999) Leaders in this organization inspire loyalty. (Bennis, 1999) Leaders are the ultimate servants. (Bergquist, 2003) Leadership is a sacred trust. (Bergquist, 2003)
Support
Leaders promote self-supporting teams within the organization. (Wheatley, 1999) Leaders in this organization regulate the balance between stasis and chaos. (Heifetz & Laurie, 1998) Leaders protect the voices of leadership from below. (Heifetz & Laurie, 1998)
Orchestra conductors rely heavily on the individual talents and performances of the members of the team. The conductor is the acknowledged group leader, responsible for providing the vision for the music, communicating via physical expressions of timing and mood.
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Organizational
Climate
This organization helps me meet my personal goals. (Knowles, 1980) This organization helps me meet my professional goals. (Knowles, 1980) This organization considers everyone's opinions and needs when making decisions. (Cloke & Goldsmith, 2003) Development activities are closely linked to identified business needs. (Sharma, 2006) This organization sets the environment for open collaboration. (Sharma, 2006) This organization recognizes when "slow" is appropriate. (Senge, 1990) This organization invests in initiatives that may take months or years to realize their full benefit. (Senge, 1990) Boundaries among various departments in this organization are flexible and dynamic. (Senge, 1990) Amid turbulence, this organization seeks to find balance between resistance and chaos. (Senge, 1990) This organization tolerates and positively uses dissent. (Bennis, 1999) Change in this organization is promoted across all 3 levels of structure, process, and attitude. (Bergquist, 2003) This organization leans into the future. (Bergquist, 2003) This organization leverages the best skills employees have to offer. (Bergquist, 2003) This organization differentiates between "culture" and "climate" when referring to the organization9. (Bergquist, 2003) This organization makes changes that are meaningful and not superficial for the sake of change. (Weisbord, 2004)
The distinction between culture and climate was discussed earlier in this monograph (Chapter 2). If an organization persists in attempting to implement changes at the culture level, it will be frustrated and will not be effective in its transformation efforts, losing the alignment that would contribute to effective innovation.
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Learning
There are opportunities to critically review the results from prior innovative efforts. (Mavrinac, 2005) This organization promotes perpetual learning for individuals. (Schein, 1992) This organization promotes perpetual learning for teams. (Schein, 1992) This organization actively seeks out and leverages industry trends when defining new products and services. (Senge, 1990) This organization is willing to move out of its comfort zone. (Senge, 1990) This organization views business processes from a 'global' perspective but enables 'local' action. (Senge, 1990) This organization leverages existing processes that work well to develop new processes. (Senge, 1990) This organization provides time and resources to develop new employee skills. (Bergquist, 2003) This organization tends to learn valuable lessons from its mistakes. (Senge, 1990) This organization routinely engages in double-loop learning. (Argyris & Schn, 1996) This organization works to overcome the learning paradox. (Argyris & Schn, 1996) This organization identifies and polls its lead users to help discern future trends. (von Hippel, 2006)
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Empowerment
I have the opportunity to tell my story to the organization. (CrawfordCook, 2006) This organization provides me with appreciative feedback on my performance. (Bergquist, 2003) This organization appreciates the human spirit in employees. (Bergquist, 2003) Employees develop the plans they implement. (Wheatley, 1999) This organization supports open, collegial, fluid networks for the free flow of information. (Wheatley, 1999) This organization assumes Theory Y as opposed to Theory X. (Weisbord, 2004) This organization promotes holding responsibility for the work by the people working the task. (Heifetz & Laurie, 1998)
10
Taking a systems approach includes a perspective that includes customer as well as internal viewpoints, and the capability to establish and measure appropriate performance indicators across the organization.
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Democratizing innovation
Von Hippel (2006) chap. 9 o How can or should manufacturers adapt to users encroachment on element of their traditional activities [i.e., designing and manufacturing consumer products]? There are three general possibilities: (1) Produce user-developed innovations for general commercial sale and/or offer custom manufacturing to specific users. (2) Sell kits of product-design tools and/or product platforms to ease users innovationrelated tasks. (3) Sell products or services that are complementary to user-developed innovations. Firms in fields where users are already very active in product design are experimenting with all these possibilities. (p. 15)
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Information Communities
Von Hippel (2006) p. 165 o I define information communities as communities or networks of individuals and/or organizations that rendezvous around an information commons, a collection of information that is open to all on equal terms. o Many of the considerations I have discussed with respect to user innovation communities apply to information communities as well a much more general category of which user innovation communities are a subset.
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Innovation Communities
Von Hippel (2006) chap. 7 o Innovation by users tends to be widely distributed rather than concentrated among just a very few very innovative users. As a result, it is important for user-innovators to find ways to combine and leverage their efforts. Users achieve this by engaging in many forms of cooperation. Direct, informal userto-user cooperation (assisting others to innovate, answering questions, and so on) is common. Organized cooperation is also common, with users joining together in networks and communities that provide useful structures and tools for their interactions and for the distribution of innovations. Innovation communities [italics added] can increase the speed and effectiveness with which users and also manufacturers can develop and test and diffuse their innovations. They also can greatly increase the ease with which innovators can build larger systems from interlinkable modules created by community participants. (p. 11)
Lead Users
Von Hippel (2006), chap. 3 o Lead users are potential consumers who are expert in their domains, to the point that they often customize commercial products or construct their own. Von Hippel often refers to the
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Leadership
Taffinder (2006) o The easy answer: leadership is getting people to do things they have never thought of doing, do not believe are possible or that they do not want to do. o The leadership in organizations answer: leadership is the action of committing employees to contribute their best to the purpose of the organization. o The complex (and more accurate) answer: you only know leadership by its consequences from the fact that individuals or a group of people start to behave in a particular way as a result of the actions of someone else.
Learning Paradox
Argyris & Schn (1996) pp. 281-282 o The essence of the learning paradox is that the actions we take to promote productive organizational learning may actually inhibit deeper learning. The steps that lead to this learning paradox can be summarized as follows: 1. Problems are identified in discussable domains, for example, organizational structures or information systems. The domains that are not discussable are bypassed, and the bypass is covered up. Variables in the undiscussable domain (associated with generic defensive patterns) may be
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Theory-in-use
Argyris & Schn (1996) p. 13 o Theory of action, whether it applies to organizations or individuals, may take two different forms. By espoused theory we mean the theory of action which is advanced to explain or justify a given pattern of activity. By theory-in-use, we meant the theory of action which is implicit in the performance of that pattern of activity. A theory-in-use is not a given. It must be constructed form observation of the pattern of action in
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