Being innovative

Laying the foundations for innovation

5 minutes

As a leader, how you guide and support your team directly influences their ability to innovate. Encouraging new ideas takes more than setting goals; it means creating an environment where people feel safe to take risks, learn from mistakes and think creatively.

Innovation isn’t something you can simply instruct — it needs to be built into the culture of the organisation. This requires thoughtful planning, clear intent and consistent action. When done well, innovation becomes a natural part of how your team operates and grows.

This article will help you begin that process. Innovation planning involves two key phases: Phase One focuses on laying the groundwork for innovation to thrive, while Phase Two ensures ongoing momentum and impact.

Phase 1: Planning for innovation

Innovation is all about adapting to the environment with new and optimised ways to do things. Meaning, it would require a lot of planning and foresight to even say you’re innovating the right way.

Here are four steps and some guide questions to help you prepare your teams and set the stage for innovation.

Aspire

This stage is the foundation of innovation. Think of it as the vision: with an overall goal that is clearly communicated, it establishes the kind of innovation your team should drive towards, allowing them to unite through a common aspiration.

Guide questions
• What is the end goal in having your team innovate?
• Do you see innovation-led growth as critical? Why or why not?
• How do you plan to delegate or cascade these goals?

Choose

Great ideas can spark from the most unexpected places. But, deciding which one to actualise is a challenge of its own.

Innovation is a powerful asset that brings creativity and passion to life. At the same time, it requires bold and timely decisions, risk-taking and resources. Choosing the right initiative then becomes crucial — a choice that unites teams, determines organisational support and aligns everyone towards the same goals.

Guide questions
• With the goal in mind, what will be your criteria in choosing between these initiatives?
• Does your team or organisation have the sufficient resources (time, skill, funding and support) to deliver these initiatives and succeed?

Discover and evolve

As the landscape of the makert continues to shitft with globalisation trends and changing client needs, becoming familiar with future opportunities can help reorganise your plans and create an effective plan of action. By collecting information, synthesising the data with your team and responding appropriately, you ensure your team has the advantage in innovation.

Guide questions
• In lieu of your team's functions, what are the current trends?
• Based on your research and these current trends, what are potential opportunities your team can consider innovating for in preparation of the future?

Phase 2: Maintaining momentum

How can you ensure your teams continue to innovate? What can be done to stay ahead?

This phase looks into making innovation sustainable and effective. By refining processes with consistency, clarity and team wellbeing in mind, you maintain your team’s momentum and empower them to continuously innovate with impact.

Accelerate and scale

Many organisations and teams have the right innovative ideas hiding in plain sight. Yet, organisations themselves can get in the way of these innovations actually taking flight. These can look like low trust, long approval processes and extreme hesitance.

Innovation is time sensitive. Thus, the balance between decision makers and cross-functional cooperation is key to innovation's effectiveness — and this starts with a clear decision process.

Guide questions
• At present, how quickly and effectively does your team launch innovation initiatives?
• Who are the critical decision makers and approvers for these planned innovation initiatives?
• What can be done to ensure your team's innovations are rolled out in a timely and relevant manner?

Extend and mobilise

As innovation is largely a creative and collaborative process, keeping your team energised and empowered is key in delivering innovation consistently.

Guide questions
• What can you change or do to help empower your teams to innovate? This can include arrangements or work accommodations.
• What rewards or incentive systems would be most effective to stimulate your teams to consistently innovate?

Sources

de Jong, M., Marston, N. & Roth, E. (2015). The eight essentials of innovation. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/the-eight-essentials-of-innovation

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