Many individuals in the present are striving to be entrepreneurs. They wish to create a company of their own and do their bit in serving the company with their unique ideologies. As such, most of them give more importance to being unique and standing out amongst competitors. While doing so is vital as far as marketing is concerned, many enterprises forget what matters the most in the long haul, say in 10-20 years after the establishment of the business. Over a long time, innovation, and culture and leadership promoting it, is what matters for a company, for it makes them an Agile enterprise.
Importance of an Agile enterprise, we are sure, is not lost on anyone with a mind for business. There are numerous cases where the inability to adapt to situations and time has led to the downfall of companies. For instance, Kodak, the famous technology company that produces photography paraphernalia, filed for bankruptcy in 2012 because it took too much time to change its business model to suit the digital camera and technology. Another great example would be former movie rental giant, Blockbuster. The Texas-based company refused to acknowledge the rise of demand for online streaming of movies and series, which ultimately led to the enterprise ceasing operations in 2013.
As observed from the examples above, whenever an enterprise refuses to go with the flow of time, it has signed the warranty of its downfall. As such, a company is likely to last longer when it is Agile, as innovation and strong leadership is its backbone and foundation stone. It should be a long-term goal for businesses to create an innovative culture that can lead it to be Agile. For all its positives, many companies do not know how to utilize leadership skills to be Agile and innovative. Let us, now, see how to achieve the same, effectively.
The way to innovative organizations
Innovation does not happen in a day, week, or even several months. Akin to a tree or a plant, it requires constant nurture; and above all, a seed. An effective way to ensure an organization’s survival, in the long run, is by inculcating an innovative culture from day one. As such, the process of bringing in innovation and creativity to be an Agile company includes two essential components. They are employees and their leaders. These elements need to work in harmony, and in such a way that they complement one another’s goals.
Let us, now see these two components in detail to understand how to bring about the culture of innovation in a company:
Giving and Sharing is the key
As a CEO or an executive or a leader, many expect effective and fast results from subordinates. However, the world runs on a barter system, and one cannot get anything without offering something in return. The same goes when it comes to creating a culture that promotes innovation. Enterprises, therefore, have to give the following to its employees to ensure creativity and productivity:
Trust
As a company with many employees, it is implausible to micro-manage everything. Which is why delegation and group leaders are essential. For a leader to do his job well, the management should have a level of trust in him or her. Similarly, a manager should entrust his or her subordinates to complete their respective tasks. Moreover, nitpicking on the work done by the staff can have negative impacts on their productivity. Additionally, setting restrictions can adversely affect their creativity.
As such, leaders should keep in mind to give subordinates their creative freedom while, also, educating them on the consequences of their actions.
Freedom
One of the best ways to ensure innovation and creativity is to give employees the liberty to break through the hierarchy and open up about their ideas. An established chain of command often intimidates the staff when they need to express their opinion. More often than not, the intermediaries discourage the employees from voicing out their ideas for fear of losing face. However, if as a leader, one establishes an open network and a conducive environment where staffs can share their thoughts with one another and with the management, the levels of creativity will go off charts.
Therefore, enterprises vying to be Agile should be ready to bend a few rules to let creativity and innovation flow through the cracks.
Encouragement
Many companies, in the past, failed to run longer because they refused to think out of the box. They limited themselves and discouraged their employees from breaking the limits they set; letting conventionality kill their organization. However, to be an Agile company, one needs to encourage not just the unconventional, but also the far-fetched ideas and proposals that may seem implausible. Such concepts may, virtually, be impossible; however, it makes one stretch their minds and think about things they might not have, otherwise.
Enterprises, therefore, let ideas run wild and encourage questioning their existing practices to ensure innovation and creativity.
Help
Many enterprises fail due to lack of innovation and agility. However, there are many whose downfall comes due to lack of support of staff. If one takes a careful look at the Research and Development (R&D) area of a company, one will see a scientist is either overworked or bored. Many a time, they do not get the support staff they desperately need. And other times, the researchers have too much time on their hands.
Therefore, leaders should delegate works in a manner that no one of their subordinates is overworked or idle. Assigning multiple tasks to each will ensure increased productivity and innovative culture.
Diversity
There is a reason behind clubbing of people from different backgrounds, and it is diversity. When minds that think differently meet, they can push each others’ boundaries, leading to innovative thinking. However, many companies fail to realize this and inhibit inter-departmental communications and discussions with other companies. They fear that their trade secrets will leak and cause them losses. Nonetheless, communication and sharing of ideas with staffs of other enterprises can lead to a collaboration of ideas. Which, can lead to the innovation of technologies that can change the world.
Therefore, companies that wish to be Agile need to encourage diversity within the organization, and encourage communications with third-parties that can lead to co-innovation.
Leadership that can inspire
Creating an innovative organization starts with a leader. It is his or her Agile mindset and leadership that inspire subordinates and staffs to follow the lead and be more creative and productive. From Agile Business Consortiums’ previous paper on Agile Leadership, one must glean how an able leader can change the face of a company. As such, there are some factors that good leadership can influence, leading to the formation of an innovative culture within the organization. Here are some ways leaders can achieve this:
Appreciate the efforts
One of the best ways to promote and encourage employees and subordinates to be creative and productive, thereby, innovative, is to appreciate their efforts in the past and present. This principle has been in use for decades, now. We see this in schools and colleges in the form of marks. Constantly rewarding staffs for their work and dedication will instil in them a positive image of the company. Which, will make them want to work hard to get praise in the future. Additionally, they will also think about the company’s growth and be inspired to be creative and innovative. Therefore, leaders should make it a point to acknowledge the efforts and ideas of the staffs.
Start at the bottom
Innovation may happen during a brainstorming session most times. However, it can happen elsewhere too; there are no limitations. Innovative ideas can stem out of the challenges and limitations of existing technologies. Moreover, the process of utilizing the new ideas need not be as complicated and time-consuming as one thinks. They can be tackled by dividing them into factors like profit models, processes, products, and policies. Therefore, it is essential for a leader and a company to focus on the basic, once in a while to become an agile organization. For, they will provide breathing space to handle things, while also giving a new perspective on everything.
Empower
Limitations and powerlessness can kill the creativity of an individual. It is the case in many organizations with strict hierarchy and chain of command. However, if a leader can empower his subordinates by giving them independence and a certain level of autonomy, creativity is bound to rise within the organization. It is so because the employees will feel a sense of responsibility for the freedom given to them. Moreover, leaders should also mentor them in making smart decisions in the future to maximize innovative thinking.
Accept failures
Many companies fail to innovate and survive in the cut-throat world of business because the leaders were afraid of failure and risks. However, risks are the cornerstone of business and failure an inevitable reality of innovation. Therefore, a leader must learn to accept that hurdles and crashes are part of the path leading to an Agile organization. As such, they shouldn’t crucify subordinates and staffs for failing. Instead, they should analyze the mistakes and encourage the employees to give it another shot.
Be decisive
There are instances where companies had to shut down because the executives and leaders were not Agile enough to come make pivotal business decision. Hence, decisiveness and an Agile mindset becomes essential characteristics of successful leadership and leader. When it comes to innovation, a head should make sure to take action instead of constant discussions on the same topics over and over again. Otherwise, it won’t take too long before a rival comes up with the same idea. However, this doesn’t mean that every proposal should be accepted. A leader should make an informed and Agile decision after considering the ideas without taking up too much time.
Learn from the past
Mistakes in the past can teach an organization a lot, that is, if they choose to learn from it. Many organizations look outside for innovative ideas without considering to improve the existing discrepancies within. A leader should, therefore, always choose to look at the mistakes that an organization made in the past to ensure innovation takes place. Moreover, they should fix the errors in the past before moving forward to anything new ideas or plans, for it will make an organization Agile.
Interact
It is often the case that leaders get swamped by their responsibilities and forget that sharing of ideas is the backbone of innovation. When that happens, an organization begins to shrivel and perish. However, when executives and staffs sit and discuss, the formation of new ideas takes place. That is why you will see many startups with fewer employees have a higher rate of creativity and innovation. However, a big company can achieve the same level. Leaders can make it happen by interacting more with the subordinates and employees, encouraging dialogue and sharing of ideas.
Be open
Similar to a lack of interaction, judgment and criticism can hinder the innovation within a company leading it to fail. Constant nitpicking can lead to decreased morale of the staff and discourage them from voicing their ideas. However, if leaders make a conscious effort to not shoot down an idea the instant it was proposed, and instead keep an open mind, and guide them, employees would be encouraged to be innovative.
Business is akin to a bicycle. Without constant peddling, it will cease to move after a point. Similarly, companies without steady growth and innovation leading to it, can stagnate in terms of profits and cease operations in no time. However, being Agile through strong leadership and work culture that promotes innovation can make the difference between loss and profit. Like a bicycle, one needs to constantly peddle in creativity and new ideas to ensure the continued survival of the enterprise amongst the competition.
Business Agility, however, helps achieve the same with an Agile mindset and approach to commerce and trading. Therefore, organizations should cultivate an Agile leadership and work culture with the help of institutions like Leadership-Tribe (LT), that provides training to organizations, so they can become Agile through their Business Agility Program. LT, moreover, offers ICP BAF courses that enable enterprises to be more innovative in its approach to business, increasing innovation within a company and leading to overall growth.
