Learn how to find and nurture the people who can drive innovation in your organization based on their skills, attitudes, behaviors, performance, and impact.

Being innovative is a mindset. 💡 It's a belief that there's always room for continuous improvement, thinking of ways to make things better, and connecting the dots that aren't obvious to others. How a person thinks affects how they behave. 🧠 To identify innovative leaders, look out for the ones that are suggesting novel ideas and taking the initiative to implement them. 🔎 Innovative thinking and ideation without action is merely dreaming.

How do you identify innovative leaders?

Innovation is the key to staying ahead of the competition and adapting to changing markets and customer needs. But how do you find and nurture the people who can drive innovation in your organization? What are the traits and behaviors of innovative leaders, and how can you recognize and develop them? In this article, we will explore some of the ways you can identify innovative leaders and foster a culture of innovation in your organization.

1 Define innovation

Before you can identify innovative leaders, you need to have a clear definition of what innovation means for your organization. Innovation is not just about creating new products or services, but also about improving processes, solving problems, and generating value. Innovation can be incremental or radical, depending on the scope and impact of the change. Innovation can also be driven by different sources, such as customer feedback, market trends, internal challenges, or external opportunities. Therefore, you need to define what kind of innovation you are looking for, and what are the goals and criteria for measuring it.

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Tuan Truong

Director, Business Strategy at CIMA+ | Co-Chair, CIM Vancouver | Leadership Coach & Facilitator | Volleyball and Hiking Enthusiast
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Being innovative is a mindset. 💡 It's a belief that there's always room for continuous improvement, thinking of ways to make things better, and connecting the dots that aren't obvious to others. How a person thinks affects how they behave. 🧠 To identify innovative leaders, look out for the ones that are suggesting novel ideas and taking the initiative to implement them. 🔎 Innovative thinking and ideation without action is merely dreaming.

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2 Assess potential

One way to identify innovative leaders is to assess their potential based on their skills, attitudes, and behaviors. Some of the skills that innovative leaders need are creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and learning agility. These skills enable them to generate, evaluate, and implement new ideas, as well as to communicate and cooperate with others. Some of the attitudes that innovative leaders need are curiosity, openness, risk-taking, and resilience. These attitudes enable them to explore new possibilities, embrace diverse perspectives, experiment with new approaches, and overcome failures. Some of the behaviors that innovative leaders need are initiative, proactivity, feedback-seeking, and adaptation. These behaviors enable them to take action, anticipate and respond to changes, seek and use feedback, and adjust their strategies.

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3 Observe performance

Another way to identify innovative leaders is to observe their performance based on their results, impact, and influence. Some of the results that innovative leaders need to show are quality, efficiency, and effectiveness. These results indicate that they can deliver high-value outcomes that meet or exceed the expectations of their stakeholders. Some of the impact that innovative leaders need to show are growth, differentiation, and sustainability. These impact indicate that they can create positive and lasting changes that enhance the competitive advantage and long-term viability of their organization. Some of the influence that innovative leaders need to show are inspiration, engagement, and empowerment. These influence indicate that they can motivate, involve, and enable others to contribute to innovation.

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Matt Parkin, CAPM®

Leading partnerships @ Fulfil (eCommerce ERP) 🤝 | Coaching and speaking about all things personal branding and entrepreneurship 🗣️ | 4x Founder 🧩 | FoundersBeta 30 Under 30 🚀
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Through observation, organizations can identify innovative leaders who demonstrate a proactive approach, creative problem-solving skills, and a track record of driving positive change, paving the way for future success and innovation. Take initiative and calculated risks to stand out!

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4 Provide support

Once you have identified innovative leaders, you need to provide them with the support they need to thrive and grow. Some of the support that innovative leaders need are resources, recognition, and development. Resources include the time, budget, tools, and information that they need to pursue their ideas and projects. Recognition includes the appreciation, feedback, and rewards that they need to feel valued and motivated. Development includes the opportunities, challenges, and coaching that they need to learn and improve their skills and capabilities.

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5 Create culture

Finally, you need to create a culture that fosters innovation throughout your organization. Some of the elements of a culture of innovation are vision, values, and norms. Vision is the shared purpose and direction that guides your innovation efforts. Values are the principles and beliefs that shape your innovation mindset and behavior. Norms are the rules and expectations that regulate your innovation practices and processes. By creating a culture of innovation, you can encourage and enable everyone in your organization to be innovative leaders in their own ways.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How do you identify innovative leaders?

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1 Define innovation

2 Assess potential

3 Observe performance

4 Provide support

5 Create culture

6 Here’s what else to consider

Organizational Leadership

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