Questioning practices and strategic leadership for fostering innovation

A major hallmark of an atmosphere that fosters innovation is leadership (Adair, 2009). In other words, leadership practices must be innovation-oriented. The top management must create a vision that embodies innovation. A vision defines the direction an organisation desires to pursue. It sets the organisation's strategic policy. In this regard, the leadership must orientate the organisation towards innovation. This involves challenging followers to be creative, pushing them to stretch, as well as developing their passion and excitement towards creativity and innovation. Achieving this requires effective and constant communication of the innovation strategy, mobilising and providing resources for innovation, and putting in place systems to accelerate the innovation process (Baldwin, n.d.). These systems may include processes that recognise and reward innovative employees. Indeed, employee reward and recognition in driving innovation is crucial towards sustainability of a culture of innovation for an organization. Rewarding and acknowledging innovative employees not only incentivises employees to think continually outside the box, but also reinforces the organisation's commitment to innovation.

Promoting innovation also requires supporting creative ideas. This role pertains to not only the top management, but also middle level managers (Adair, 2009). In non-innovative workplaces, supervisors tend to resist new ideas. They usually perceive creative ideas from their subordinates as a disruption of their authority and security. As mentioned previously, innovation cannot thrive in an atmosphere of standardised routines. Supervisors must genuinely embrace new perspectives and approaches provided by employees. They should view employees not as threats to their job security, but as collaborators.

Google and other innovative companies have succeeded in large part because their leaders have initiated and maintained practices that facilitate innovation. In addition to the 20% rule, Google has put it place personnel management practices centred on innovation. From employee recruitment and selection to performance management, compensation, as well as training and development, innovation is emphasised as a core value of the organisation. Other processes that promote innovation in the organisation include collaborative decision making, employee surveys, discussion forums, as well as fun activities. All these processes exist because the leadership of the organisation values innovation. It sees innovation as a key driver of competitive advantage in today's world.

Overall, commitment to innovation is crucial in today's highly dynamic world. With technology, regulations, markets, and consumer behaviour changing constantly, organisations must remain innovative, both product- and process-wise. Instances of firms collapsing due to poor innovation strategies are not rare. Succeeding in innovation requires businesses to continuously challenge the prevailing industry conditions, anticipate the tastes and preferences of their customers in the foreseeable future, and embrace values and beliefs that prioritise the customer. In other words, businesses must ask the right questions -- they must think beyond the usual. More fundamentally, the leadership must cultivate an environment that encourages innovation. Indeed, leadership and innovation-centeredness are two inseparable aspects. For innovation to thrive, the leadership must put in place structures and processes that challenge and encourage followers to be creative. Leaders must also be enthusiastic about innovation and take the. In every organisation, followers are likely to emulate the behaviour of their leaders. They see leaders as their role models, and would thereby emulate their thinking, styles, and approaches. Therefore, if the leadership is committed to innovation, employees are likely to exhibit similar behaviour. They will constantly think and talk about innovation, and see themselves as crucial players in the innovation process.

References

Adair, J. (2009). Leadership for innovation: how to organise team creativity and harvest ideas. London: Kogan Page.

Baldwin, D. (n.d.). Creating an environment for innovation. Retrieved from: http://www.cssp.com/CD0902/CreatingInnovativeEnvironment/

Berger, W. (2014). A more beautiful question: the power of inquiry to spark breakthrough ideas. New York: Bloomsbury.

Dandrow, C., Kasen, E., & Callaghan, O. (2016). Want innovation? Ask the right questions. Retrieved from: http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines-national- section/2016/11/07/431110.htm

McKinney, P. (2012). Beyond the obvious: killer questions that spark game-changing innovation. New York: Hachette Books.

Satell, G. (2013, February 11). Before you innovate ask the right questions. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2013/02/before-you-innovate-ask-the-ri