Shades of Leadership

Leadership and Innovation

 

At a recent innovation conference in Chicago, Shane Lopez of the Gallup organization commented that there is one place you can go and find 100% of all individuals in the place fully engaged:  Kindergarten.  Interesting thought, isn’t it?  In fact he went on to state that on average in corporations, about 30% of the workforce is fully engaged.  So somewhere between Kindergarten and adulthood, we manage to turn the vast majority of corporate workers into people who are just taking up space and managing to make it through a routine.  It keeps the motors running and the lights on, but it doesn’t necessarily create environments for innovation and creativity. 

Let’s think about what happens in that Kindergarten class.  Kids show up, are given some general rules to follow, and then allowed to play within rather wide boundaries.  There are no tests, and there are very few people getting reprimanded.  There is, however, a great deal of encouragement, quite of bit of celebrating (cupcakes for birthdays), and music and laughter. 

As a child graduates to higher levels, more boundaries emerge.  There are more lines to walk within, and the education system is more about correcting what a child can’t do well, rather than encouraging what he excels in. Classes are soon defined as “core” or “elective”.  Core classes are math, English and social studies.  Electives are foreign language, sports and the arts.  Tests measure a child’s ability to memorize, retain, and solve problems according to a prescribed format (show your work for math problems, please).  There are few, if any, tests that measure the ability to create or build.  The older the child gets, the truer this becomes. Timed testing becomes the activity that measures progress – of the child, of the teacher, and of an institution. After all, test results are most prevalently used in comparing excellence in students, educators, and schools.

So why are we surprised that an education system like this cranks out adults who have trouble working in and creating innovative environments?  The workplace is a place that encourages production.  In many ways, the environment is a continuation of what we’re accustomed to in school.  Deadlines loom, policies abound.  You are measured by results:  Widgets made, widgets sold, and dollars saved.  You have more conversations with people when things go wrong than when things go right. There is little time for celebration and recognition – in fact managers often have to create policies to make sure bonus budgets are even spent.

I’m not suggesting that we should have workplaces without boundaries or rules.  But we should recognize that most of the environments in which we work are created to produce, and not to innovate.  So if innovation is what we hope to inspire, there are things that deserve a closer look -- in both physical design and cultural aspects of our environments -- to increase the likelihood of initiating a creative spark.  Here are some to consider: 

• Do you have “natural departments” (like accounting and finance) sitting in close proximity?  Try and move your marketers next to your research scientists and see what happens!
• What are the consequences of failure in your organization?  People who are afraid of failure will never do anything in a new way.
• Do you have the same committees always making the decisions?   Try and add some new faces into the conversation. The results might surprise you.
• Do you identify and celebrate the small steps (successes or hiccups) that lead to the big breakthroughs?  If you only celebrate the big wins, you won’t have much to celebrate.
• Do you have a “predictable” career path in your organization?  If it’s too predictable, you won’t inspire unusual behavior!
• How necessary are all the constraints that you put on all decisions?  Time, money, resources? For all decisions, have a good understanding of how the constraints affect the outcomes.  You might find some of those constraints are worth relaxing!

We’ve all been trained to produce; yet the greatest opportunity we have to solve the world’s problems is to innovate.  As leaders who want to inspire innovation, we need to take a good look at what we can do to engage 100% of our workforce.  I think it’s time to return to Kindergarten!

 

A Leadership Lesson From My Father

One of my earliest leadership lessons came from my father.

When I was about 9 years old, I went to work with my dad on a Saturday morning. He was a research chemist, and spent much of his “off time” in the lab.  I enjoyed going to work with him on the weekends because it was fun to write on the blackboard he had in his office, and get treats in the vending room.

On this particular Saturday we went into his building from the back door – near the loading dock – because it was a close walk to the wing where he worked.  As we entered, the janitor, who wanted to say “hello”, stopped him.  Dad introduced me to him, told me his name, and had me shake his hand.  They had a great conversation about the weekend, what their plans were, and wished each other a good day.  A nice man, I thought – very friendly and seemed genuinely happy to see my dad.  We walked down the hallway, rounded the corner, and headed to his side of the building when another man greeted us.  My dad introduced me to him as well.  This man was President of the company.  He also said “hello”, had a brief conversation with my dad about the weekend, and wished us well.  He was a man who seemed equally as nice.  I had watched my dad speak to them both, and realized that the manner in which he greeted them was the same, the tone of his voice during the conversation was the same, and the way he bid them farewell was also the same. 

As we got to his office, my dad told me that the two men we had just met were probably the highest and lowest paid people in the building, but that they were equally important.  He said that the thing that made them different were the opportunities that each of them had had in their lives for education and advancement.  He told me they were both good people, and that it was important to treat them with an equal amount of courtesy and respect.

I’ve reflected on that experience over the years, and realize what a great leadership lesson it was.  As I’ve had the opportunity to interact with different people in my life, I’ve always tried to remember that at the very basic level, we’re not that different.  We are who we have become as a result of opportunities that have availed themselves, choices we have made, and how hard we have worked.  But the level of stature we achieve in our jobs and in our communities doesn’t define any person as “better” than any other.  In that one “teaching moment”, I learned that the level of personal respect we show to another human being is in fact the thing that matters most. 

This is the kind of lesson that isn’t taught in books or business schools.  Everyone wants to talk to the President.  Not everyone stops to talk with the janitor.  But as leaders, it’s important to remember that all human beings have something to offer that can make us better.  If our role is to in fact to inspire and impact, making it a point to connect with all individuals is the most effective way to know how we can make a difference.  Can we truly be effective leaders if the President is impressed but the janitor doesn’t care?  Have we made an impact if the A student excels but the C student couldn’t be motivated? 

At the time I first wrote this post, it was 2011, and my father was living in my home. Updating this in December of 2016, sad to inform that my amazing father recently passed away, but I carry this, and so many other stories, with me always. The importance of treating people right cannot be overestimated in the quest to develop great leaders.