Many organizations would like their leaders to create more innovative teams. But how exactly should they do this?
Collaborating with a telecommunications company, we identified 33 individuals who scored at or above the 99th percentile on innovation, as measured by their peers, subordinates and bosses.
Then we interviewed each leader by phone, together with the leader’s boss and a number of direct reports and peers, to ask for concrete examples of what caused that leader to be perceived as highly innovative.
Ten distinctive behaviors emerged that set this group apart, listed here in descending order of importance.
These leaders: Display excellent strategic vision. The most effective innovation leaders could vividly describe their vision of the future, and, as someone noted about his boss: “She excelled at painting a clear picture of the destination, while we worked to figure out how to get there.” Have a strong customer focus. What was merely interesting to the customer became fascinating to these individuals. They networked with clients and asked incessant questions about their needs and wants.
Create a climate of reciprocal trust. Innovation often requires risk. Not all innovative ideas are successful. These highly innovative leaders initiated warm, collaborative relationships with the innovators who worked for them. They made themselves highly accessible. Colleagues knew that their leader would not throw them under the bus if something went wrong.
Display fearless loyalty to doing what’s right for the organization and customer. Pleasing the boss or some other higher level executive always took a back seat to doing the right thing for the project or the company. Put their faith in a culture that encourages upward communication. These leaders believed that the best and most innovative ideas bubbled up from below.
They strived to create a culture that uncorked good ideas from every level of the organization. Are persuasive. These individuals were highly effective in getting others to accept good ideas. They presented ideas with enthusiasm and conviction, and the team willingly followed. Excel at setting stretch goals. These goals required that people go far beyond just working harder—and find new ways to achieve at a higher level.
Emphasize speed. Experiments and rapid prototypes were preferred to lengthy studies by large committees. Are candid in their communication.
These leaders were described as providing honest, and, at times, even sometimes blunt, feedback. Subordinates felt they could always count on straight answers. Inspire and motivate through action. One respondent said, “For innovation to exist, you have to feel inspired.”
This comes from a clear sense of purpose and meaning in the work. This group’s 360-degree feedback data are consistent with our analysis of highly innovative leaders in hundreds of other organizations in industries around the globe. This suggests to us that these conclusions describe highly innovative individuals in all industries, as well as from different cultures.
Jack Zenger & Joseph Folkman
Jack Zenger is the CEO of Zenger/Folkman, a leadership-development consultancy. Joseph Folkman is the president of Zenger/Folkman.