Leadership in Action: Back to the Future: Putting Innovation Efforts on Solid Ground

STYLE POINTS

So far we have focused primarily on the organizational issues surrounding innovation. But what about the people? What lessons can be drawn from the study that can be applied by individual managers striving to be successful champions of innovation?

The study results indicate that individuals who are drawn to the role of innovation champion tend to have personality preferences and approaches to creativity and problem solving that set them apart from other managers, particularly senior managers. For example, innovation champions tend to embrace change through reengineering and have a relatively high tolerance for risk, whereas corporate managers tend to prefer stability and have a lower tolerance for risk. Innovation champions tend ...