Successful innovation unfolds in two stages. First, someone plants the seed of an idea. Then others carry the idea forward and make it come to life.
The originators of an idea often see themselves as visionaries. Those involved in implementation tend to see themselves as dynamic problem-solvers who turn the idea into reality.
The challenge for leaders is getting the idea people and the execution team to work as one. It's not easy.
"There's a natural opposition between the two," said Bob Moesta, chief executive of the Re-Wired Group, an innovation consulting firm in Grosse Pointe, Mich. "The idea people focus on coming up with what will be most accepted in the market and the implementation people focus on what's easiest to make."
Those who birth an idea may figure their job is done. They might treat the logistical and practical issues that come next as someone else's concern.
But if the two camps refuse to collaborate, internal rifts can deepen. Innovation stalls when people protect their turf rather than join hands to produce results.
How can you blaze a path from the kernel of an idea to the final, market-ready product?
Dangle Shared Incentives In Successful Innovation
Create systems that spur everyone to work together to see the idea through to its conclusion. Reward information-sharing and joint problem-solving.
"Build shared incentives that get to the outcome," said Moesta, author of "Learning to Build." And that's better than incentivizing someone for reeling off new product ideas — and someone else for producing a prototype that requires minimal rework.
Shine A Light On All Contributors
As the leader, your communication style influences how everyone perceives innovation. And if you praise the idea people and overlook the execution team (or vice versa), you risk pitting employees against each other.
"It's important to signal that you value the end-to-end process," said Shelley Winter, chief content officer at YSC Consulting, a global leadership strategy firm. "Recognize different contributions that people make."
In team meetings, devote equal time to idea generation as well as execution, she adds. Ensure everyone chimes in and feels heard.
Expand Comfort Zones In Successful Innovation
Keep pushing staffers to venture outside their comfort zone. But prod idea people to spend more time with project teams as they assess which ideas to pursue. And challenge the implementation folks to propose original ideas on their own.
"You need to create a culture of curiosity," said Winter, who's based in New Zealand. "Tone is important: curiosity, not cynicism. It's questioning to evolve thought, not questions that are overly critical or knock down" other proposals.
Hold More — And Better — Performance Reviews
In the rush to innovate, it's tempting to skip performance appraisals. But they're actually more important if you want all members of your team to collaborate.
"Set shared goals and shared objective standards," said Sanjay Puligadda, an associate professor of marketing at Miami University's Farmer School of Business in Oxford, Ohio. "People want to know, 'What am I being evaluated on?' That's what matters."
Successful Innovation: Fight Off Biases
As you get to know your employees, you may label them: Chris is the idea machine; Jan is a master at designing zero-defect manufacturing processes. But your perceptions can prove limiting.
"Don't always cast people in the same roles," Winter said. "They can contribute in different ways."
Shape The Narrative
After the innovation succeeds, describe it as a shared triumph. And reflect on everyone's effort and show how every link in the chain played a key role.
"If the narrative you tell is, 'It's about one heroic individual's great idea' and you overlook what the team did next, it sends the wrong message," Winter said. "The narratives live on."
