Once upon a time, I worked for an organization that wanted
to provide a creative environment where employees were encouraged to work
together to design innovative ways to improve what they provided to the
constituency. Some would call this a
learning organization. Perhaps I should
say, I worked for an organization whose leader wanted to provide that type of
culture. When he left, everything
changed.
What does it take to be the leader of an organization that
empowers everyone to be innovative while pursuing the mission of the organization? Let me suggest several things.
First, the leader must understand the mission of the organization
and clearly articulate it. When the
leader is uncertain about the reason the organization exists, she or he can
only send an uncertain message about what is important and why. The leader embraces the mission of the organization
or finds a way to keep it before employees.
Second, the leader must care about and respect the people in
the organization. Not everyone in an
organization is going to be a thought-leader, constantly coming up with innovative
approaches and “out of the box” solutions.
Some are people who contribute by refining, resourcing, and implementing
ideas. The leader realizes, however,
that everyone has something to offer and encourages their involvement in the design
and execution of projects that further the mission.
Third, the leader of this type of organization models self-development
and lifelong learning. Most people rise
to places of leadership because they have mastered a body of knowledge and are
skilled in implementing it in an organizational setting. Once they have reached a place of leadership,
some “rest on their laurels” or the accumulated experience they have
developed. This way leads to stagnation
and disappointment. Leaders of
innovative organizations continue to learn about themselves, their field, their
organization and their people.
Fourth, the leader of an innovative organization is always
looking for someone who will replace her or him. This means identifying effective leaders and then
investing in them through mentoring and coaching. This pays off for the leader not only in
encouraging the next generation of leadership for the organization but in
learning from those she or he mentors and coaches.
Is your workplace a creative environment? What are you doing to make it one?
Comments