Innovation leads to high growth in terms of both employment and sales and it's exactly what our economy needs right now1. It's easy to say, however, but harder to do. Fortunately, research can give us quite a few clues as to how to create the right climate for innovation in a business2.
Innovation has three phases: generating ideas, developing them into viable solutions and building support for them, and then implementing them. Recent studies show that managers can stimulate innovative behaviour by the way they manage on a day to day basis3. Setting stretching goals, giving autonomy and creating a space for dialogue within teams all go some way to developing the conditions in which innovation flourishes4.
Our half day workshop introduces managers to the different phases of innovation and discusses how this impacts on their daily lives. We discuss the behaviours that support innovation and how they can change team processes and behaviours to promote innovative working. We help them to understand how they can go about changing behaviours in their teams and encourage them to commit to taking practical steps to do so. Our approach is interactive and hands on, but based on the evidence of what works. Contact Claire or Helen if you'd like to find out any more.
References
1 The vital 6 per cent: How high-profile growth businesses generate prosperity and jobs. NESTA, October, 2009.
2 West, M.A., Hirst, G., Richter A., & Shipton,, H. (2004). Twelve Steps to Heaven: Successfully Managing Change Through Developing Innovative Teams. European Journal of Work & Organisational Psychology, 13 (2), 269-299.
3 Nederveen Pieterse, A., Van Knippenberg, D., Schippers, M. & Stam, D. (2010). Transformational and transactional leadership and innovative behaviour: The moderating role of psychological empowerment. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31, 609-623.
4 Aryee, S., Walumbwa, F., & Hartnell, C. (2012). Transformation Leadership, Innovative Behavior & Task Performance: Test of Mediation & Moderation Processes. Human Performance, 25 (1), 1-25.
