Skills Needed For Successful Innovators
“We need to innovate!” management says. “So we need people who are innovators!”
This need is frequently voiced in all sectors of the business world and has been for some time. Innovation is an evergreen topic for conferences, journals, and business consultants. Why evergreen? Because though the need is recognized and the business value of innovation is unquestioned, enterprises have yet to sustainably incorporate innovation into their operations.
Why does sustained innovation remain beyond the grasp of the C-suite? One reason is that many of the traits that make an effective innovator are different from those that make a successful line manager. To find and retain an innovator, let alone a team of innovators, management must clearly understand what characteristics they need in the people tasked to sustainably embed innovation into the enterprise.
Here are some characteristics of proven innovators.
They ask questions all the time. A questioning mind is a prerequisite for an innovative mind. An innovator makes few if any assumptions and asks lots of questions.
They think disruptively. Following on from all that question-asking, an innovator will look from new angles and vantage points. Nothing is “sacred,” nothing is off limits simply because “that’s how it’s always been done/made/said.”
They are thick-skinned. Between the questioning and the disruptive thinking, an innovator can get a lot of pushback. With others showing skepticism and discomfort around challenging the status quo, their ideas and concepts can meet with a lot of negativity. And given that a good number of those ideas and concepts will turn out unworkable (that’s the nature of the innovation process), the innovator will also fail. Frequently. Where another person may crumple, an innovator is not unduly affected by nonagreement and failure.
They are bulldog tenacious. An innovator stays on track when an idea or concept shows promise of proving out — no matter what.
They are very patient. The innovation process takes place in an enterprise with processes, technologies, stakeholders, and, often, investors. Red tape, siloes, and other obstructions can slow development of an innovation to snail’s pace, and the innovator knows this.
They have excellent follow-through. An effective innovator knows that brainstorming is the beginning, not the ending, of the innovation process. They understand that the outcomes of brainstorming require follow through to prove or disprove their value. And once an idea is proven, they know that they must be disciplined and focused on its development.
Consider these characteristics. Do you have effective innovators in your midst? If not, this can serve as a start for finding those people. If yes, here’s the next thing to ponder: Where in your organization do they live? Are they placed to make the most of their innovation talents? If not, what needs to change in order to leverage their contribution?
