How To Lead Innovation
                     How To Lead Innovation
Source: https://www.digitizedlogos.com/blog/how-to-lead-innovation

How To Lead Innovation
There may be a time when you need to take the lead on innovation in 
your organization. The distinguishing aspect of leading a special-purpose 
team is that you’re not in control; you can only influence behavior. 
You’re tasked with figuring out how to do something new, so what you 
do in the formative stages will greatly impact the team’s chances of 
success. Promotional Consultant Today shares these steps to guide your 
success How To Lead Innovation.
Keep Team Size Small
In Silicon Valley, the “pizza rule” has taken 
hold. If you can’t feed a team with two 
pizzas, your team is too big. Once a group 
gets beyond five to seven people, productivity 
and effectiveness begin to decline. 
Communication becomes cumbersome. 
Managing becomes a pain. Players begin to 
disengage, and introverts withdraw. When it 
comes to team size, less is more.
Pay Attention to Group Chemistry and 
Emotions 
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon point to three factors that make a team 
highly functioning. 
1. Members contributed equally to the team’s discussions, rather than 
letting one or two people dominate.
2. Members were better at reading complex emotional states; and
3. Teams with more women outperform teams with more men.
Don’t Go Overboard with Diversity
Can too much diversity be a detriment to team chemistry? 
Researchers at Wharton think so. Too much diversity of “mental 
models” can be a drag on forward progress, say professors Klein and 
Lim. If members of a team have a shared, organized understanding 
and mental representation of knowledge about the nature of the 
challenge, it can enhance coordination and effectiveness when the 
task at hand is complex, unpredictable, urgent and novel.
Establish a Group Process
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 each other, how 
you’ll respect each other and articulate how much of time each member is committing to 
the team. Effective teams establish clear goals and rules at the outset, and hold each other 
accountable.
Pay Attention to the 3R’s of Innovation:
Result, Reputation and Residuals. What motivates people over the long haul is not 
money, but intrinsic rewards. As the team leader, keep the three R’s in mind: 
1.  Result: If you hit your target, you’ll have another accomplishment on your track 
record
2. Reputation: Your status in the organization rises. Senior management will be 
delighted. Colleagues will talk you up, praise your contribution, and invite you to 
join future projects. 
3) Residuals: the lasting payout of participating in a successful collaborative team 
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.
Thanks for reading How To Lead Innovation, 
Jean Pierre Francois – Business Development 
Manager – Digitized Logos Inc. – 
[email protected]