Action 4: Innovation

The fourth action that challenges Business Leaders is Innovation.

Profound Leaders foster an environment where innovation is not only encouraged but is a core part of the organization's DNA, driving continuous improvement and adaptation.

But let's face it, considering the large quantity of items a leader has to juggle, innovation is often a ball that gets dropped. And the reason it gets dropped has something to do with courage.

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Courage takes risks.

(Like thinking outside the box.)

Risks lead to experiments.

(Trying something new to see if it works.)

Experiments will fail 9/10 times.

But that one success is your innovation...

...an innovation you won't achieve unless your team takes risks...

..risks that demand courage.

Want courageous innovation? Create a workplace that neutralizes the sting of failure.

I know...that's a tall order. Anytime I talk about "allowing for failure", my key executives furrow their brows, and and compliance people shutter at the thought. 

But you can't have your cake and eat it too. You can't ask for innovation from your workforce when you refuse to allow for failure. You can't ask them to be courageous, but warn them with consequences.

Innovation only happens when your team feels comfortable making mistakes. Period.

Why?

Because innovation comes from experimentation; trying new ways of doing old things. That's literally what innovation means. (And I mean literally, literally.)

So if you want innovation, but don't want failure...you don't really want innovation.

And your team knows it.

As a leader, you have a lot to juggle. The balls you keep in the air are the ones that are important to you. The balls you drop are the ones that are either less important...or frightening.

So, are you dropping the ball on innovation?

If you haven't done so yet, follow along in the conversation on LinkedIn this week where we continue to address emotional intelligence as one of the top 8 challenges business leaders are facing today.

Go. Be. Profound.

G