Follow the Leader

My previous blog brings me to my final blog post, the final component which I believe is the key to innovation and its success in the long term – The Leader.

“Leadership today is increasingly associated not with command and control but with the concept of teamwork, getting along with other people, inspiration and creating a vision which others can identify” (Mullins: 2010:373).

A leader represents the company, what they stand for and what they aim to achieve, they’re the face of the company and have a large responsibility.

A model leader I believe is an innovative leader is Sit Richard Branson, owner and founder of the Virgin brand.

‘Part of being a good leader, according to Branson, is also the ability to know when to back away from a task. “As much as you need a strong personality to build a business from scratch, you also must understand the art of delegation,” he says, “I have to be good at helping people run the individual business, and I have to be willing to step back. The company must be set up so it can continue without me.” (http://www.evancarmichael.com/famout-entrepreneurs/592/lesson-1-be-a-good-leader.html).

Branson expresses the importance of delegation, empowerment and trust in your organization, these three factors help drive the independence of your employees, helping them to understand that they need to work together to ensure the company’s success. But to be able to leave his employees to run his business efficiently, they need to be motivated, which is a passion to work for reasons beyond status and money; a propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence (Buchannan, Huczynski: 2007: 147).

The late Steve Jobs, who unfortunately died in 2011, was the founder, and the face of Apple, voted the most innovative company in the world. He understood that the success of a company starts with the employees, but not just a team of individuals who are there for the extrinsic rewards- they need to share the same passion as their leader.
You have to sell the Big Vision first to your employees. If they don’t get it then customer never will. This seems obvious but too many leaders today have the right financial chops or seniority or even board support but don’t embody this lesson. Steve invented it.’ (http://www.globalfuturist.com/blog/2011/08/25/steve-jobss-innovation-leadership-at-apple-my-lessons-learned/).

Steve Jobs believed that you can only be successful in your job if you are passionate about what you do, and perhaps don’t even see it as a job – just like the saying “Find something you love to do, and you'll never work a day in your life” - Harvey MacKay

It always seemed to me, that Steve Jobs believed this, and portrayed it to his employees, which made Apple so successful. Everyone in the organization is working towards the same common goal. Employees are engaged and empowered to think outside of the box regularly.

Simon Sinek’s concept ‘The golden circle’ also talks about Apple’s innovative marketing strategy:

The golden circle concept can apply to marketing and leadership – first you justify ‘why’ you do what you do, ‘how’ you do it, and 'what' you do.

It’s simple, but effective – and Innovative.

Companies like Apple, and leaders like Steve Jobs don’t come around every day, not everyone thinks immediately creatively in regards to problem solving, managing and organizing. However this does not mean that these traits can be introduced, nurtured and developed into something that can change how people behave, add value and create something beautiful – something Innovative.

Thinking differently nourishes creativity and problem solving, problem solving opens us up to new ways of thinking and viewing perspectives, new perspectives leads to new options, conclusions and innovations - and Innovation is the key to an organization’s future.

Thank you for reading