by Lester Coupland

How Do We Make Innovation Happen?

This seems to be the perennial challenge and top priority of senior leadership teams irrespective of country or sector.

But, is it the right question?

In her advocation of ‘Collective Genius’ (1) Professor Linda Hill persuades us that in-fact the question is not 'How do I make innovation happen?' but, rather, 'How do I set the stage for it to happen?' In other words, how do leaders create the culture and environment where innovation is embedded in the way we work? Professor Linda Hill also explains how this requires a mindset shift in how leaders see their role. ‘Directing-setting leadership can work well when the solution to a problem is known and straightforward. But if the problem calls for a truly original response, no one can decide in advance what the response should be. By definition, then, leading innovation cannot be about creating and selling a vision to people and then somehow inspiring them to execute it.’’ This resonates deeply in our own work with global clients here at LSC where we encourage our client organisations to embrace diversity and collaboration. But, yes…..we really do mean this and we challenge our clients to embrace these modes and not see them as the latest fads. But we do need to dig a bit deeper. Linda Hill remarks that, ''rules of engagement can help control the tensions inherent in collaboration, which sometimes threaten to tear a creative community apart.''

Our own experience at LSC absolutely concurs with this observation. We have found that when facilitating groups commissioned to discover new solutions to complex problems, it is essential to get them to focus on 2 core elements; firstly, total clarity and alignment on the task and outcome; and, secondly, a shared understanding of and commitment to an effective group process. In short, what we need to do and how we need to do it. Our work in this field has shown us that such groups are often overly task-focused; and, that insufficient attention to process can easily disable the group. Developing high levels of process skills and the emotional maturity to enjoy what Linda Hill refers to as 'creative abrasion' takes time and practice. Great teams in any domain of life can just happen if we're lucky; but, most of the time, we need to acknowledge that time has to be invested on the training ground. So, what is group-process? These are the ground-rules of how we commit to working together; the mix of behaviors and practices which we believe will create the right kind of environment in which everyone can freely contribute their thinking and be heard. We create them together as a kind of psychological contract, commit to them and review them at intervals to check how well we're actually doing.

In summary:

• Treat collaborative ways of working as a value-add process
• Consider if an adjustment to your leadership style is required
• Balance the effort between the task and the process
• Agree a set of specific ground rules which pinpoint behaviours and practices
• Review group performance against the ground rules at intervals
• Create a positive climate where feedback relating to the ground rules can be comfortably exchanged
• Name your learning points about process and describe what you will do differently next time as a result

(1) ‘Collective Genius,’ by Linda A. Hill, Greg Brandeau, Emily Truelove, and Kent Lineback
JUNE 2014
REPRINT R1406G