The Innovative Leader: How to Inspire Your Team and Drive Creativity

Citation

Austin, A. (2009), "The Innovative Leader: How to Inspire Your Team and Drive Creativity", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 30 No. 6, pp. 591-592. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730910981953

What organizational leader doesn't want increased creativity and innovation – properly and carefully applied? And that, of course, brings up one of the uncomfortable aspects for some leaders: how does one properly insert creativity into an organization without losing control, momentum or direction? The short answer is that one doesn't. The culture will need to shift to become innovative. This book helps to explain how to foster a culture of innovation. Author Paul Sloane is the founder of the Destination Innovation consultancy and has either worked for or consulted with a large number of highly recognizable clients including IBM, American Express, Microsoft, Lloyds of London, Shell and 3M.

The book is divided into six sections:

1. 1.

   Leading innovation;

2. 2.

   Problem analysis;

3. 3.

   Generating ideas;

4. 4.

   Implementing innovation processes;

5. 5.

   Building a creative culture; and

6. 6.

   Personal creativity.

The shortest section is Problem analysis. This is also the lightest in innovative content. Although Sloane speaks of the importance of refraining from jumping into solving a problem before it is analyzed and defined, he doesn't give much instruction or describe any new processes in this step, or at least none new to me. Plus he mentions techniques like constructing a fishbone diagram, but, unlike techniques mentioned in other sections, he does not give any detail on how to go about it. Perhaps this is because the book is not about problem solving. Still I would have liked to see a better treatment of this step.

The other sections more than compensate for the deficits in the problem analysis chapter. They are, in fact, quite comprehensive. For example, the Generating ideas section has 26 subsections, all concerning methods of stimulating and nourishing ideas. Examples are “Allow line‐manager bypass”, “Ask ‘Who killed our business?’”, and “Look for a distant relation”.

Similarly, the section on Implementing innovation processes lists 24 subsections covering details all the way from “Allocate time and resources for innovation” to “Overcome customer resistance”. Many of these are not new, and are in fact mentioned in most books on creativity and innovation in organizations. It is, however, quite handy to have this resource of several suggestions and processes all in one slim volume. And there were some techniques new to me in these pages that make it a valuable addition to my library.

Sloane uses stories and illustrations taken from a range of companies and in a few instances gives references to sources for more information. “Fast Company” is an often used source for many of the company examples. Otherwise, there are few specific citations to help with further information or explanations. The “Further Reading” chapter in the back of the book probably contains a wealth of more detailed instructions, but there are no clear pointers from the techniques in the chapters to any of the references listed.

My recommendation for getting the most effective use and benefit from this book is to first scan the chapters, noting the categories covered. Second, read any areas relevant to your current interests, curiosities, development needs (for you or your team) or organizational goals. Third, find a technique to try out in an upcoming meeting or on an ongoing or new project. Doing so will help you to take the “innovation pulse” and creativity appetite of your organization. Take the time to repeat these steps as needed until innovation emerges as a habitual part of the culture.

This is a good book, useful for any leader who wants to drive innovation in his or her organization, and for those interested in a more modest goal – that of helping an organization become more effective through creativity and innovation. This includes leaders who set strategic direction, change agents, technology gurus, front‐line employees and anyone in an organization who can influence others. Persistence in using the techniques will bring rewards.