"Leaders championing innovation embrace uncertainty and foster creativity by modeling behaviors that encourage risk-taking and big-picture thinking."
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”
As Albert Einstein once quipped, the spark for groundbreaking innovations often arises from moments of playfulness, imagination, and pure wonder. However, fostering those vital “Aha!” moments within an organization requires leaders to take the road less travelled — one filled with embracing uncertainty, reimagining systems from scratch, and deliberately sparking some (well-managed) chaos along the way.
This path of most resistance can seem intimidating, yet taking those first vulnerable steps is crucial. Executives play an indispensable role in establishing the conditions for creative breakthroughs to emerge at all levels.
This requires modelling behaviours critical to an innovation mindset—insatiable curiosity even in the face of obstacles, graceful response when setbacks occur, and the raw conviction to confront the looming ruts of conventional groupthink.
By embracing this path, leaders not only foster innovation within their organizations but also embark on a journey of personal growth and professional development.
Of course, leaders cannot just decree innovation by fiat and expect it to bloom naturally. Genuine change takes root when employees’ intrinsic motivation and purpose become activated when granted autonomy over how work gets done and when they observe signals of psychological safety—that some failure and messiness must be tolerated and viewed as necessary for collective growth.
Even slightly loosening procedural structures sends a powerful message—creative expression will not be harshly penalized. This fosters a sense of empowerment and trust, allowing people to feel valued and trusted. Thus, they will feel empowered to think big, experiment, make mistakes, and try again.
So, what tangible steps can executives take to spark this transformation? Here are five research-backed strategies for leaders seeking to play the long game:
Rather than mandating change through heavy-handed directives and extrinsic incentives alone, tap directly into people’s natural creativity and purpose. This is what we refer to as 'Intrinsic Motivation.’
Provide agency in identifying areas for impactful innovation tailored to individuals' unique skills and passions. Spotlight the promising “invisible heroes” often overlooked – those unheralded contributors quietly generating ideas and uplifting others’ voices. When teams feel truly seen, valued and vitally connected to the shared mission, they will drive innovation further and faster than any carrot or stick ever could.
While resisting instincts for control and efficiency may feel counterintuitive, establishing a resilient innovation culture requires exactly that. Accept temporary chaos and uncertainty accompanying any ambitious inventor in uncharted waters.
However, guardrails regarding safety, regulations, and objectives still matter when venturing into messy terrain. Transparency is vital—be explicit about your willingness to take intelligent risks and tolerate failures, provided that learnings are extracted.
Loosening structures slightly sends a powerful signal: creative expressions are not harshly penalized but seen as organizing grist. Harness temporary mess as a pivotal means to breakthroughs.
With urgent day-to-day issues dominating bandwidth, it’s easy for big-picture thinking to slip down the priority ladder. That’s why leaders must dedicate mind share and resources towards what renowned innovation scholar Henry Chesbrough dubbed “open innovation”—exploration entirely uncoupled from immediate profit or existing real-world constraints.
Many iconic breakthroughs, such as GPS, lifesaving pacemakers, and even Post-it notes, originated from scientists simply wondering about questions without known answers or practical applications. When provided protected space for undirected tinkering and “blue sky” imagination, teams often surface incredibly unfamiliar terrain.
Assumptions and confirmation bias naturally hamper innovation. Top-down mandates for solutions paradoxically engender group speak and status quo devotion. Instead of barrelling ahead based on whims or echo chamber signals, executives can harness the power of inquiry and dissent to complicate thinking.
Ask thoughtful, open-ended questions continuously—of customers, frontline workers who intimately understand operational pains, outliers with radically different worldviews, and even among the leadership team.
Closely observe where difficulties organically arise both externally and internally, but also where moments of delight occur. Identify root causes rather than just reacting to surface symptoms. Before mindlessly executing solutions, proactively invite constructive criticism through imagined “premortem” exercises: envision everything that could go wrong and work backwards towards risk mitigation plans.
Leave ample time for reflection and dissenting perspectives rather than forcing speedy convergence. The goal is to unearth penetrating insights that challenge lazy groupthink.
While functional expertise is needed for incremental innovation, seismic shifts often arise from multidisciplinary teams working at the fertile intersection of worldviews. Convene groups with wildly divergent contexts and talents for an informal gathering—designers, data scientists, writers, engineers, product managers, and artistic creators—and see what emerges!
Hackers and hippies. Cross-pollination between technical and creative domains or across age cohorts with institutional memory and fresh millennial eyes—these bridge connections spark originality. The more eclectic the collaborators, the more interesting the ideas result when egos are checked at the door. Training facilitators in creative confidence protocols help ensure psychological safety even amidst heated debates.
Catalyzing ongoing innovation demands humility, tenacity and a commitment to daily intentional practices from executives focused on playing the infinite game. While the terrain will remain messy, those courageous leaders willing to walk this path of most initial resistance — psychologically empowering others through their vulnerability and conviction that status quo stability is often the riskiest position— will surely reap exponential rewards for their organizations.
A thriving culture of creativity and resilience ultimately reaches incredible new heights by championing innovation from the top down and leading by example. This journey is not just about individual success but about collective growth and shared purpose, fostering a sense of camaraderie and unity within the organization.
