Innovator’s Camouflage: 3 Ways To Make Change In Big Organizations!

Being an innovator in a big organization can mean you are hunted.

Most hierarchical organizations like order. Not disruption. They operate like a "pack." Often, their pace of change is determined by what has worked in the past. In other words, new ideas can make an innovator who is seeking change quite vulnerable as they disrupt the pack order. 

You must be part of the tribe, but you must also be faithful to calling. You are both an outsider but working from within. So the question becomes, how do you survive being a change agent in a large organization that resists change?

Having interviewed and watched innovators wrestle this problem, each developed their survival strategy. What is common among many innovators is their use of "corporate camouflage." They are adept at disguising themselves, their ideas and the disruption their innovations will bring. The ultimate goal is to survive the disruptive change process and to see their creation come to life.

As an innovator, you are working to push an idea in a big organization. You understand the need for "corporate camouflage" to thrive in bureaucratic jungles. Luckily, nature gives us three types of camouflage and survival strategies to use until the time is right for your idea. 

1. Hard to Spot - Be Invisible, Until the Time Is Right

The first type of camouflage is called crypsis, being hard to see. From chameleons to octopuses, the aim is simple, blend in and hope no one notices. Stay still and stay out of sight. 

For innovators, we do this by "Flying under the radar," talking the corporate dialect, dressings to be unnoticed and fading into the boardroom. The plan is only to come out of hiding when the coast is clear, and the opportunity strikes.

But it is a waiting game. Your ideas will have their day but probably not today. So until then, hold on and be invisible. Not a bold strategy for change, but it does enable you to survive until a more receptive time.

So when is the right time? The reasons can be many: new, bolder leadership, a pandemic that forces organizations online or technological leaps that spells doom the current business model. 

For the "hidden innovator," new leadership or crisis are opportunities. They are openings, cracks in the status quo, that allow you to propose fresh solutions beyond business as usual. The key is spotting these changes in the habitat, emerging from cover and seizing them.

2. Mimic Others - Shape Shifting

The second form of camouflage innovators use is mimesis, meaning to appear to be very different from who you are. Nature gives us the snake that mimics the markings of its venomous brethren, or the insect has evolved to look like a stick. 

Corporate innovators who thrive like this have developed a range of personas for different situations. They do not change the colour like a chameleon to blend in but shift their leadership style, energy and personality.

The aim is not to be deceptive. Being authentic is a given. But to be flexible and responsive to the needs of your audience. We built connections when we feel in sync with another's energy, language and perspectives. Knowing your audience is the key to this camouflage, shifting to where they are and then nudging them in a new direction. 

After all, innovation is tough. It requires change. Change disrupts what people produce and sell and how they create value. It can also alter the value and meaning they attach to behaviours, attitudes and a group's identity. 

As a "shaping shifting" innovator, you must understand and empathize with all of the actors in the equation. Not as an echo chamber of your surroundings, but deliberately tuning to the channel that works best for you are trying influence. To tip resistors into supporters, you must have many chance narratives that are compelling to different groups. Your goal must be to recruit allies, build coalitions and networks. As a successful, "shape-shifting" innovator, you must be flexible be always have a common mindset of "We" over an ego of "I" to spark change. 

3. Dazzle, Confuse and Dare

The final species of innovator in the corporate enclosure is dazzle. Like the zebra, they do not attempt to blend or hide. Their camouflage is blazon designed to stand out, confuse and if even confound listeners with their brilliance. 

Like zebra, the aim is simple: knock the pursuing lion off their prey with the chaos of black and white stripes. After all, on the savanna, near-miss is still a lost lunch for the predator. That's all that counts.

Brazen and unabashed, these types of innovators seek to dazzle at every turn to stand out with words, wardrobe and energy. Fun, entertaining and provocative "dazzle" innovators exude the energy of momentum and change. And there is no doubt that charisma and energy are vital to any change. Often this type of innovator is brought in by senior leadership to ruffle the feathers of the company. Make a splash.

Bolstered by supportive leadership, this type of innovator can ignite a stale business. After all, the energy causes friction and can result in change. However, sapped of senior support, this type of innovator can be a flash in the pan. Dazzle can turn dull. 

The challenge for any "dazzle" innovator is to know when the lion has learned to read the stripes, and the camouflage has worn thin. To survive longer might require you to adopt a more collaborative approach and focus on building a tribe - like a herd of zebra called a dazzle. Being isolated, regardless of how talented you are, is a sure recipe for being eaten.

As an innovator navigating a big, slow organization and trying to drive change, you need a mixture of corporate camouflage. Your survival depends on it visionary ideas that can disrupt and threaten the status quo. 

To save yourself from being hunted and becoming corporate prey, you must find the proper camouflage that works in your habitat. The key is knowing when to shift between different camouflage types. Ultimately, that depends on knowing yourself and your company and where you are in your innovation journey.

About the Author

Simon Trevarthen is the Founder and Transformation Adviser of Elevate Your Greatness (EYG). EYG is a strategic planning, facilitation, and innovation management consulting firm that supports strategy execution, service transformation and innovation.