Innovation & Culture

I have been reading and discussing innovation a lot lately. Most writers seem to feel that innovation is a skill, like typing or swimming, that can be taught to anyone. I find parallels in this discussion and ones on leadership. There are those that think leadership can be taught too. I don't.

I draw a distinction between innovators and people with innovation skills. Same with leaders. I know lots of people that have been trained in leadership, but I know very few leaders. For me the distinction lies in predisposition. It's the why, not the how.

The innovative people I know have been innovative their entire lives. They seek to innovate because of some internal itch that is never content with status quo. Their motor seems to be fueled by the never ending search for better or different. They just look at the world from a different filter. Some do this in flashy, outlier modes while others just quietly go about making their piece of the world better. Innovative people and businesses mentally live out of a suitcase...because they know that they won't be staying at status quo for very long.

Think about your team. Hopefully you have some folks that are wired this way. Always chasing better, never quite satisfied. And they aren't driven by an innovation program or workshop or by you, they are driven this way because that's who they are.

Same is true for leaders. They start leading when they are young and never stop. They are most comfortable leading. Is it power or control? Who knows, but it is a given that when leaders face leadership voids....they step forward and lead. No hesitation, no fear, no indecision. You know why leaders have great leadership skills? Because they have been leading and learning since childhood.

I'd like to propose that business culture works this way too. Innovative businesses exist because it is part of the DNA of the organization. Innovation happens naturally in these organizations. Continuous improvement, higher risk profiles, trying and failing frequently, a healthy contempt for status quo are assumed. And guess what, these organizations attract and hold innovative people that feel right at home in the culture.

Unfortunately the opposite is true too. If your business lacks innovation, chances are your culture lacks innovation, even penalizes it. And guess what, it tends to thwart and frustrate innovative people.

This post isn't meant to attack innovation skills training, but to raise the issue of culture. As you chase innovation have you taken a hard look at your culture? Have you talked to your innovators? Perhaps the best thing you can do as a leader is not train, but get out of their way. Changing culture is hard. Have you identified the formal and informal cultural norms that are holding innovation back in your business?

PS: Going to innovation training doesn't make someone innovative, anymore than going to McDonald's makes them a hamburger (credit Keith Green).