help them brainstorm,” she said. “They spent a lot of money, put us in a room, and said ‘think
hard.’ But we didn’t know each other. We didn’t have a group process. And we just couldn’t do it.”
A group without a process is like a ship without a rudder—it will have a harder time innovating.
Establish team rules at the outset. Address how you’ll treat and respect each other, and articulate
how much time each member is committing to the team. Effective teams establish clear goals
and rules at the outset, and then hold each other accountable.
7. Pay attention to what is going on outside the team.
My experience is that the tenure of an innovation team leader is very short. Day-to-day managers
often see innovation teams as a threat or a special case that should be ignored. Teams appointed
by the CEO can be seen as the “CEO’s pet project,” leaving them vulnerable to being condemned
or purposefully disregarded. Innovation team leaders and members must spend as much time
working in the external environment as working within their team environment. They have to
build trust and closeness with the rest of the organization.
8. Pay attention to the 3Rs: Results, Reputation, and Residuals.
Research finds that what motivates people over the long haul is not money, but intrinsic rewards.
Pride in their achievements is a reward in and of itself.
After studying extensive electronic diary entries from 238 professionals from seven different
companies, researchers Teresa Amabile (Harvard Business School) and Steven Kramer found
that “inner work life has a profound impact on workers’ creativity, productivity, commitment
and collegiality.”5
5
eresa Amabile and Steven Kramer, “Do Happier People Work Harder?” New York Times
T
Sunday Review, September 3, 2011.
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As the team leader, keep the three Rs in mind
for the benefit of your own inner work life:
i. esults – If you hit your target, you’ll
R
have another accomplishment on your
track record;
ii. eputation – Your status in the
R
organization rises. Senior management
will be delighted. Colleagues will talk
you up, praise your contribution, and
invite you to join in future projects; and
iii. esiduals – The lasting payout of
R
participating in a successful
collaboration is that you get to see your
“product” being used by customers,
both internal and external. You know
you’ve made a difference, solved a
problem, or created an opportunity for
the organization, your team, and most
of all yourself.
Become a leader of innovation
Ultimately, it starts with you. Your behaviour
will be critical to your team’s success, so be
sure to lead by example and set the bar high,
remembering that a winning innovation team
requires both strategy and heart.
Robert B. Tucker is the
president and founder
of The Innovation
Resource, a global
consulting and
executive development
firm devoted
exclusively to strategic
innovation. Tucker
has been a consultant and keynote speaker
for 25 years, and is the author of several
books, including the international bestseller
Managing the Future: 10 Driving Forces of
Change for the New Century and his latest
work Innovation Is Everybody’s Business.
He also contributes regularly to publications
such as the Journal of Business Strategy and
The Futurist, and has appeared on PBS, CBS
News, and CNBC.
The original version of this article, “Eight
Essentials of a Winning Innovation Team,”
was published on Tucker’s blog at
innovationresource.com; it has been
updated and is published here with
permission. You’ll find more art X