"Rags to Riches" - that's not just the name of a book, that's what this country was all about. We invented the "free enterprise" system, where anybody, no matter who he was, where he came from, what class he belonged to - if he came up with a better idea about anything, there's no limit to how far he could go.
I grew up a generation too late, I guess, because now the way the system works the loner, the dreamer, the crackpot who comes up with some crazy idea that everybody laughs at, that later turns out to revolutionize the world - he's squashed from above before he even gets his head out of the water because the bureaucrats, they'd rather kill a new idea than let it rock the boat!! If Benjamin Franklin were alive today, he'd be thrown in jail for sailing a kite without a license!...if big business closes the door on the little guy with a new idea, we're not only closing the door on progress, but we're sabotaging everything that we fought for! Everything that the country stands for!!
And one day we're going to find ourselves at the bottom of the heap instead of king of the hill, having no idea of how we got there, buying our radios and our cars from our former enemies.
Preston Tucker - Closing Argument
Showing posts with label Innovation. Show all posts
Inspiration to innovation
Initiative : The first step.
Knowledge. Probably the most common barrier preventing initiative, is knowledge. This requires the confidence and humility to ask questions. When you feel like you lack knowledge, think...learn and leverage. This is a great opportunity to look at your team to use their strengths in areas where you may have a weakness. Can you learn the necessary task quickly? Can you leverage other individuals to use their skills for you? For example: You're leadership team has tasked you with creating a Keynote presentation, but you don't know how to use Keynote software. Good news! Someone on your team is familiar with the software. You can take advantage of this opportunity by asking for a quick training from them, or leverage their ability to help you complete the task. (Don't forget to provide them with due credit for helping.)
Fear. If you are consistently experiencing lackluster, it may attribute to fear. A very common emotion associated with initiative. Fear of failure, embarrassment, and/or rejection. By embracing your emotion of fear, asking for help, and opening up to utilize the gifts of others within the team, you're able to turn this weakness into a valuable strength. To overcome fear, you must become vulnerable. Brené Brown explains the power of vulnerability in her TED Talks video and book titled, Daring Greatly.
Stress. When affecting initiative, we associate stress with overwork, overwhelm, pressure, and too much responsibility. If you're feeling overwhelmed, it's time for some reevaluation of current projects and delegation on new initiatives. Take a step back and review what energize and which exhaust you. Then pass along the tasks which exhaust you onto team members who's strength will be best utilized. A great example of this team work is the ant. When they come across food that is to large for them to carry, they recruit other foragers from their colony to assist them. They proceed to dismantle and carry the food together, in manageable sizes.
but teamwork and intelligence wins championships."
Change Leadership
In my experience, many organizations work under the mantra; Change is constant, yet purposeful. Although, the purpose can be something as simple as experimenting with a new idea, or extravagant as an implementation based on statistical strategic forecasting and planning. An innovative team must be
adaptable to the change to sows.
When discussing change and leadership, we need to look at change as an opportunity to show how strong and adaptable the team is. It is up to you, as the leader, to be the motivation and encouragement to your team. John C. Maxwell said, "Change is inevitable. Growth is optional." How you react to change is what will inspire others to either be an advocate of change, or an adversary. Good leaders grow, but great leaders grow with everyone together.
John Kotter writes several book on leading change. He breaks down change leadership into 8 steps: Create a sense of urgency, Create a powerful coalition, Create a vision for change, Communicate the vision, Topic Remove obstacles, Create short-term wins, Build on the change, and Create a change culture.
Creating urgency requires the team to have "buy-in" and own the vision of change. The entire team should be supporting one another in accountability toward the change. To build a sense of urgency, have genuine and convincing conversations about the topic with the influencers within the workgroup. This will also help build a needed coalition.
These advocates for change must work together. Constantly increasing momentum surrounding the topic of change. A great way to build momentum is to have your team gain ownership in the vision. Creating a clear vision for change is absolutely critical. Share the vision through core values, credible support (by your coalition), and providing an execution strategy.
How you share your vision is up to you. It can be in a morning meeting, a formal presentation, or in one-on-one conversation, but be sure to let you passion for the change shine through. This is how you will drive the change. Connect everything back to you're vision, and talk about it frequently.
As you've gained the necessary momentum, you'll be able to identify change barriers more easily. Quick and swift action will be needed to remove threats and obstacles preventing change. Lift up those who are the advocates for your change vision. Remove, and redirect, those who are not supporting your goals and vision. Reward those short-term targets that have been met.
Share the "wins" with the entire team, and organization (if needed), to motivate and maintain change momentum. By acknowledging the short-term goals, you will be ensuring the team's focus on the vision. Continue to instill the drive for change by building on the change.
In my experience, change comes to an abrupt stop when the team celebrates the achieved vision, but doesn't know where to go next. So, identify the strengths and weaknesses during the change process, and address them with the team. Allow them to grow. Have the team provide criticism for future change, and a new vision for the future. This will give them ownership in the change culture.
Don't forget to recognize and inspire key change leaders, and share their success stories to inspire others to partner in the change culture. Leaders within teams should be advocates of an adaptable workgroup.
The Importance of Innovation
Staying ahead of the pack requires a willingness to entertain ideas, take calculated risks, and allow the freedom to fail. Constant SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Threats) helps to provide a deep understanding of why something failed, what was good/bad, and what could be better. These types of analysis allows the ability to answer the necessary, "What if?", questions that inspire strategic thinking.
Performing on a worldwide stage at the 1968 Olympic games in Mexico City Dick Fosbury revolutionized the sport of high jump when he performed an incredible risk, jumping head first. His technique became known as "The Fosbury Flop". This level of innovation took his jump to 2.24 meters, higher than any other attempt.
Streamlining communication helps harbor innovation in workgroups. Teams and departments need to have the opportunity to communicate frequently for innovation to thrive. The days of tall organizational structures are gone. In my personal opinion, it's because we live in a fast world where our attention span averages less than 10 second. Because of our demand for frequent change and the new, we've had to flatten structures, streamline processes, and increase the importance of time and efficiency. Flatter structures allow for teams, partners, and departments to collaborate seamlessly.
This video of the Gwinnett Gladiators Head Coach, Jeff Pyle, explaining a line-change is a great example. Note how he puts and emphasis on streamlining communication. He also recognizes the scope of his players' abilities, and then places a time boundary to ensure the tempo of the game is not delayed. At 01:22 Coach Pyle emphasizes, again, on the importance of communication, and how the lack of effective communication could result in a penalty.
Leaders of workgroups should strive to create a strong collaborative momentum. Taking a lesson from something like a line-change in hockey, or a high jump technique, proves that innovation is everywhere. It is up to us as leaders within our workgroups to take advantage of the benefits offered through innovating.
Being innovative is not just about bringing new ideas to processes, procedures and/or products. Being innovative is also about utilizing the people within your team the their full potential. By putting certain people in the right place, you're taking advantage of a potential opportunity to develop team members. Great leaders stand out when they are leading other leaders.
“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” -- Ronald Reagan
“Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.” -- John C. Maxwell