Good Leadership = Great Innovation...

Good Leadership = Great Innovation...

Hey...want to know one of the best kept secrets of effective leadership?

Have the courage to allow your employees to figure out how to do their jobs on their own. Period.

No really...that's it.

Sadly, there is no shortage of leaders in the corporate world who do not agree with this principle. These are the infamous micro-managers and process zealots. You know them, and have probably worked for (and left) a few during your professional career. They are the "my way or the highway" folks. They are the management-types who measure every single aspect of your job and notify you when you have "exceeded the process variance." Every single step on how to accomplish the task at hand, from start to finish, has been defined by these people. Deviations are not to be tolerated or "risked." New ideas are sanitized.

Conversely, leaders who have mastered the difficult skill communicating WHAT needs to be done without defining the HOW, maintain highly successful and innovative work teams. This is because self-directed employees are willing to expend any amount of time necessary to find the best possible outcome. They are willing to try many different ideas to find the one that works the best, turns out to be the most efficient, or has the highest benefit to the customer.

This method of self-discovery, fortunately, also means discarding a number of "failures" along the way. I say "fortunately" because the methods they discard are not actually considered "failures." Instead, they are learning opportunities, or nothing more than validations of things that do not work. Things you didn't know unless you were willing to give them a try. Having the courage to try new ways of doing something leads to fast failure. It also leads to breakthrough gains in performance and new innovation.

Leadership in this manner is not for the faint of heart. You will be taking some risks. You will experience a high degree of failure. But you will also have a highly motivated group of independent problem solvers. You will also have a team that consistently outperforms the "robots" working for the micro-managers.

What traits of this successful leadership style can you emulate?:

• Trust your team to develop the right solution
• Maintain a coaching relationship rather than an instructional one
• Set a clear vision of the desired outcome
• Establish "failure" as a learning opportunity
• Give your team the freedom to experiment and break new ground
• Listen to ideas...all ideas

Having the ability to communicate a vision of the end result without providing the roadmap is a clear strength in managing a highly motivated work group. If you are lucky enough to lead a team of people focused on innovation and creativity, this leadership skill is even more important. It should be no surprise that your most creative people, the thought leaders, the high performers and the key employees all share many common traits...self-direction, high risk tolerance, the pursuit of "fast failure," and a passion to raise the bar. Establish some boundaries, yes, and maintain some oversight, of course, but otherwise, stand back and watch the magic happen.

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