Innovative leadership is essential in every organization to enable employees to become more creative and productive. In the current global market, the growth and development of an organization depend on how innovative the individuals are, and it reflects on its leadership. The nature of a business and the ever changing consumer needs have prompted organizations to focus on innovations to stay afloat. Traditional practices that do not encourage innovation among employees can no longer work in the current business environment. Firms are changing tactics and are embracing innovation with the guidance of organizational leaders. Due to technological developments and evolving processes innovative leadership is the alternate route towards success and competitiveness for these organizations.
Leaders play a critical role in determining the extent of innovation in organizations. The degree of innovation in organizations depends on how well a leader is placed in terms of their, qualities, skills and mindset (Kumar 126). Innovative leadership covers some variables that enable a leader to turn an organization into a success story. Innovative leaders communicate openly and provide inspiration through action. They employ a customer centric approach towards improving products and services or creation of new ones. They look at situations from different angles to assess the necessary change requirements from a client’s perspective. Getting to know how an organization’s products or services are affecting customers gives one a deeper understanding of the qualitative and quantitative changes that need to be made. Through customer, centrist leaders make a positive impact towards innovation as they seek new opportunities to satisfy client needs. Leaders spur innovation by tolerating ambiguity that is fundamental to creativity. Creative thinking enhances innovation that opens doors to multiple possibilities from which best options can be picked and experimented. Innovative leadership allows room for curiosity. It creates the urge to acquire new information and shift focus to new ways of handling or doing things. Individuals can make connections and come up with extraordinary ideas that can be linked with the current data.
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On the other hand, leaders make huge differences in terms of how innovative an organization becomes. Besides, leaders drive transformational change within organizations. They make differences by encouraging a dynamic and innovative culture in an organization that encompasses some customs which when adhered to enhance innovation (Crutchfield and Roughton 24). Innovative organizational culture promotes a shared vision for developing a constructive flow of ideas and also has mechanisms for recognizing and rewarding innovators. Within this culture, leaders remove any barriers to innovation. Impediments to innovation such as, destructive competition, harsh disapproval of ideas, internal political wrangles, and fear of failure are eliminated. Innovation flourishes in an environment where individuals are allowed to try and learn from their mistakes. Leaders encourage individuals by showing support and confidence in employee contributions. Leadership participation in the innovation process makes individuals feel valued and protected. A leader who adopts an innovative culture provides sufficient resources to individuals for innovation. Prioritizing innovation becomes easy when given access to resources, ranging from, materials, facilities, funds and information. Organizations become innovative when individuals handle realistic workloads and certain freedoms to experiment on their ideas. Leaders make a difference towards innovation when they set reasonable targets and giving individuals some freedom to decide what to work on. Good and open communication creates space for exchange of ideas and brainstorming sessions and hence encourages innovation. When leaders embrace an innovative culture, they create an environment for collaboration and teamwork.
Indeed, leaders in organizations also create strategies that embrace innovation. Focus on innovation helps drive the qualitative and quantitative values that are vital for organizational growth. Such strategies mandate for change both in the mindset of individuals and in an organization’s operations. Strategically focused leaders deploy a set of practices and harness processes that provide support for innovation. For instance, such leaders can align innovative initiatives with the organizational goals and its strategic direction. Leaders also make differences by carrying out reviews on performance management, and this helps the leader to understand and get more insight on individual talent of employees. Performance reviews create room for talent development and enable leaders to come up with competency models. These models take into consideration individuality and the collectiveness of the organization as a whole. In the long run, the firm has overcome any differences that minimize creativity and diversity are promoted as a healthy tool.
Furthermore, leaders play an important role in providing guidance through idea generation, design, evaluation and finally implementation. It is the leaders responsibility to ensure that strategic decisions are implemented effectively within organizations. They have significant roles across the different levels of an organization. Leaders are the link between the creative mind, the technical skills and the business part of an innovation. They provide a bridge and take ownership by ensuring that innovation is successful. Leaders review the ideas presented to them alongside the idea generators and the appointed individuals to get a sense of the idea and come up with ways to ensure it is a success. They then generate a detailed framework on how to implement the ideas and determine the resources needed. Leaders also ensure the developed plans align with an organization’s goals and conform to its objectives in general. Finally, they make certain that periodic evaluations are performed to determine gains achieved from innovation. Leaders develop a scorecard on innovation to keep track of performance in the operational processes. The dedication and passion through which leaders drive an organization’s product with a consumer-focused approach help enhance innovation amongst employees. A leader analyzes the risk factor, and the financial returns that accompany the implementation of specific ideas. They also take into account the operational implications of the whole process.
- Crutchfield, Nathan, and James Roughton. Safety Culture: An Innovative Leadership Approach. 2014. Print.
- Hunter, G. Shawn. Out Think: How Innovative Leaders Drive Exceptional Outcomes. 2013. Print
- Kumar, Vijay. 101 Design Methods: A Structured Approach for Driving Innovation in Your Organization. John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Print.
