Innovative LeadershipAnthony B. Gatto

Introduction• Growth is the lifeblood of any organization; innovation is both a vaccine

against market slowdowns and an elixir that rejuvenates growth (Rigby, Gruver, and Allen, 2009).

• Innovation is a necessary ingredient for sustained success-it protects your tangible and intangible assets against the erosion of the market. Innovation is an integral part of business, and as such is has to be managed (Davila, Epstein, & Shelton, 2006).

• An innovative leader is part entrepreneur and transformational, they have the vision and know for the vision to become reality it takes a village.

• Innovation wins; combing servant leadership with a diversity and inclusion (D&I) strategy creates a collaborative working environment, a team that together creates paradigm shifts.

Innovation Model• Innovation starts with

an idea, the more ideas the greater chance of success.

• Innovation is a process and as such must be measured and monitored.

• The innovative leader makes innovation part of the culture.

Traits of Innovative Leader

• Communicator • Ethics• Politician• Adaptability• Initiative• Problem Solving• Calculated Risk-Taker• Organized

Communication• Charles (1999) • Grossman (2011)

– Companies with 100,000+ employees in U.S. and U.K.

• Estimated total cost of employee misunderstanding $37 billion ($62.4 million on average)

• $26,041 cost per worker due to communication barriers

• Companies with highly effective communicators had 47% higher total returns over least effective communicators

Ethics• Goals for Ethical Business Communication (Guffey, 2008)

– Abiding by the law

– Telling the truth

– Labeling opinions

– Being objective

– Communicating clearly

– Using inclusive language

– Giving credit

• Seven steps to integrate ethics in the workplace (Mack, 2013)

– Publish general behavioral guidelines

– Train staff

– Listen to other viewpoints

– Defend the weak

– Confront questionable behavior

– Report unethical behavior

– Treat all with respect and honesty

Creating an Ethical Culture

Politician

• Tact/Bearing/Unselfishness• Outside

– Manage by working the room• Inside

– Manage by walking around• The world and every organization is political,

learn to navigate through it.

Political Navigator Roles (Gilley, 2006)Back WheelProfessional Expertise

Front WheelPolitical Skills

Assertive Communicator

Relationship Builder

Negotiator Partnership Builder

Organizational Expert

Political Engagement Process• Gilley (2006)

– Surveying the landscape– Communicating a sense of urgency– Creating political partnerships– Developing political solutions– Selecting and implementing political solutions– Monitoring political solutions– Anticipating counterattacks and maneuvers– Evaluating political solutions and engagements

Political Influencing Tactics• Falbe and Yukl (1990)

– Inspirational appeals– Consultation– Personal appeals– Exchange– Integration– Rational persuasion– Collation– Pressure– Legitimizing

Adaptability

• Maturity/Awareness/Endurance– Self awareness strengthens the leader– Awareness aids one in understanding issues that

involve ethics and values– Awareness is not a giver of solace - it is just the

opposite (Greenleaf, 1977)– Adaptability is a disturber and an awakener

Initiative

• Dependability• The innovative leader is

a self-motivator, challenges oneself to be better

Problem Solver• Knowledge/Intelligence• Situational leadership

(Blanchard, 1985)

Calculate Risk Taker

• Decisiveness• An entrepreneur is a

calculated risk taker, anyone that just blindly takes risk is a gambler.

• Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.

– George S. Patton

Organized

• Judgment• Senge (1990)

– Becoming organized starts with oneself then moves onto teaching others until it becomes part of the culture

Servant Leadership• Robert Greenleaf

– Determined that servant leadership substantially contributed to the development of trust among followers (1977).

– First theorized about servant leadership by suggesting that the leader should place the needs of the follower before their own needs by helping the follower to mature and develop as human beings (1977).

– One of the principal objectives of servant leadership is to advance and subsequently achieve organizational goals and objectives, according to Greenleaf (1977).

Build the Foundation• According to Blanchard & Hodges

(2003), one of the quickest ways you can tell the difference between a servant leader and a self serving leader is how they handle feedback, because of the biggest fears that a self serving leader have is to lose their position.

• Bass (2000) asserted that servant leadership would become quite significant in organizations due to its focus on follower and the efforts of the leader to promote the independence, knowledge, and development of the individual.

Good to Great Leadership• Collins (2001) in his book Good to Great described the pinnacle of leadership as

being a Level 5 leader; these individuals can come from all backgrounds however they are experts in navigating their political environment and creating value for all stakeholders.

• Level 5 Leader is an extension of the Servant Leader.– Have the companies’ interests above their own– Humble– Leadership cannot have its own agenda, get the right people on the bus and

go– Stockdale Paradox – leaders confront brutal truth

and doesn’t keep up in face of them

• Organizations that take leadership development seriously outperform the competition (Kets de Vries and Korotov, p. 9, 2010).

Diversity & Inclusion• Canas and Sondak (2014) cite many benefits of a diverse organization, they are

only realized if CEO and executive team believe in its benefits and what a diverse organization is capable of.

• The company needs to create what Canas and Sondak (2014) call an environment for success. What senior management needs to do is believe in the benefits of diversity and implement a plan to achieve it.

• Canas and Sondak (2014) Integrated approach to diversity management:1. Authentic leadership.2. Clear communication3. Inclusive recruitment4. Long-term retention strategies5. Incorporation of diversity6. Diversity management metrics7. Expansive external relationships

More Diverse, More Innovation• Rowe and Gardenswartz

(1994) adapted from Loden and Rosener (1991)– Ideas can come from

anywhere, more diverse an organization the more ideas are generated

– We are much more diverse than what we see

– A leader will use D&I strategy as a foundation for creating an innovative culture

Growing the Business Through Innovation

• “Diversity fosters creativity. We need to generate the best ideas from our people in all levels of the company and incorporate them into our business practices.”

– Frédéric Rozé, chief executive officer, L’Oréal USA

• “We are in 75 countries and we want to hire the best talent in each locale. Diverse teams and companies make better decisions.”

– Eileen Taylor , global head of diversity, Deutsche Bank

Diversity Scorecard• Edward Hubbard (2004) developed a diversity model to capture what he calls

“Diversity Return on Investment” (DROI).

• Seven steps that an organization can use to evaluate DROI:1. Develop initial analysis and planning 2. Collect and analyze data 3. Isolate diversity’s contribution4. Convert the contribution to money 5. Calculate the costs and benefits 6. Report data 7. Track and access progress

• “If we couldn’t measure the impact of our diversity and inclusion efforts and programs, it would be a hard sell among company executives.”

– Huey Wilson , vice president of human resources, worldwide operations, and diversity board member at Mattel

Creating a Culture of Innovation

Using a Culture of Innovation to Transform the Organization

• Burns (1980) Leadership– Transform the

organization, change the culture

• Servant Leadership (Greenleaf) develops the organization

• A innovative company is a collaborative company… it is a winning company.

Winning Formula

Conclusion• Organic growth comes from innovation.• People (followers) will only change is you (leader) by example change.• Anything you track gets better, plan and implement key performance

indicators (KPIs) which show how the new organization is trending towards becoming an innovative company and creating a new paradigm.

• Servant leadership is a philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations and ultimately creates a more just and caring world.

• Diversity increases the opportunity for new ideas.• Senior management must believe in Servant Leadership and a D&I

strategy and put into practice both and create a culture of innovation.• In business innovation wins the day, by having the right leader along with

creation of a culture of innovation will provide a path of sustained success for all stakeholders, now and in the future.

References• Bass, B. M. (2000). The future of leadership in learning organizations. Journal of Leadership Studies, 7, 18-40.

• Blanchard, K. (1985). One minute manager: Increasing effectiveness through situational leadership. New York, NY: William

Morrow and Company, Inc.

• Blanchard, K., & Hodges, P. (2003). The servant leader. Transforming your heart, head, hands and habits. Nashville, TN:

Thomas Nelson Inc.

• Canas, K.A., & Sondak, H. (2011). Opportunities and challenges of workplace diversity (3rd ed.).

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

• Charles, C. M. (1999). Synergetic classroom: Joyful teaching and gentle discipline. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education

Inc.

• Collins, J. (2001). Good to great. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

• Davila, T., Epstein, M.J., & Shelton, R.D. (2006). Making innovation work: How to manage it, measure it and profit from it.

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Publisher.

• Fable, C. M. & Yukl, G. M. (1990). Influence tactics and objectives in upward, downward, and lateral influence attempts.

Journal of applied Psychology, 75 (3): 133-148.

References• Forbes. (2011). Fostering innovation through a diverse workforce. Forbes Insights, July: 1-19.

• Gilley, J. W. (2006). The manager as politician. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.

• Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.

• Grossman, D. (2011). The cost of poor communications. Retrieved from http://www.holmesreport.com/opinion-

info/10645/The-Cost-Of-Poor-Communications.aspx

• Guffey, M. E. (2008). Business communication. Process & product (6th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

• Hubbard, E.E. (2004). The Diversity scorecard: Evaluating them impact of diversity on organizational performance. Burlington,

MA: Elsevier Butterworth.

• Kets de Vries, M. F. R., and Korotov, K. (2010). Developing leaders and leadership development. INSEAD Working Papers

Collection. 2010, Issue 77, p1-23.

• Loden, M., & Rosener, J. (1991). Workforce America: Managing employee diversity as a vital resource. New York, NY: Business

One Irwin.

References

• Mack, S. (2013). How to incorporate ethics at work. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/incorporate-ethics-

work-26131.html

• Rigby, D., Gruver, K., and Allen, J. (2009). Innovation in turbulent times. Harvard Business Review, June.

• Rowe, A., & Gardenswartz, L. (1994). Diverse teams at work. Alexandria, VA: Society for Human Resource Management.

• Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline. New York, NY: Doubleday.