How CEOs Can Lead Innovation: An Important Driver of Growth
A creative mind leads to innovation in the company by inspiring others to be generating creative thoughts. One should provide good ideas for the betterment of the company but Innovation is more than an idea or an invention, it is a vast subject when it comes to running a company.
A CEO can lead innovation by supporting his employees to think creatively big. When it comes to the employees of a company, they are less confident about sharing their innovative idea in front of the CEO as they think if the ideas are not presented with evidence to the contrary, their job might be at risk.
An employee should be provided with the freedom to express his thoughts in the company and there should be a person in the lead who can listen to them patiently and can support their ideas. That is when innovation happens.
Drive Innovation as a Culture
When it comes to the hands of a CEO to lead innovation for the growth of their company, they have a choice of two things that weather one has to LEAD or FOLLOW. There is a classic saying by Winston Churchill, “To improve is to change, to be perfect is to innovate”. So if one has to be PERFECT than you have to lead a path to innovation.
A simple strategy to be used is to establish innovation as a strategic imperative. Innovation must be at the top of your agenda consistently and one has to understand that it is not a flavor of the season that can be changed; you should truly be committed towards Innovation. The success of your company can be led by Innovation and a CEO should create an environment for the employees to feel free to express their ideas, a CEO can lead innovation by Communicating, Speaking openly to the employees would let them open up as well.
You never know that, when the time is that an amazing idea strikes up in one’s mind so they would be confident enough to stand and keep their points in front of everyone. This would be the one common way of leading innovation. A CEO leads a company and he has a huge amount of power to create change within his organization and innovation happens when the power is used intelligently.
Innovation requires breaking down the old rules of thought; trust is the main thing a company can have so always trust yourself enough to trust others. A team should be transparent enough because when you can accomplish this trust then only you can be more tolerant, a better listener can be more grateful for experiencing new things.
A CEO must always support creative advice or ideas because you never know that at what time, which idea might take shape into an innovation that would create an impact in the marketplace.
Never put pressure on your employees to get things done faster or to meet higher quotas. Instead, if they are facing any delay in delivering things, ask them what the matter is that they are facing and consider what you can do to help. Ask questions that may stimulate creative thoughts rather than criticizing and the idea that falls short of expectations. There are a lot of failed ideas behind successful innovation. To think creatively, one needs to have a peaceful environment where they can create innovations as innovation is closely linked to creative freedom.
A CEO must promote motivation to its employees as it is a very important factor in the development of new ideas. Innovation is used as a success factor for the company therefore it must create appropriate incentives. Following this, an employee can prepare ideas that appeal to the company but it should be carefully planned.
The different approaches mentioned above are the important approaches a CEO can use to lead innovation for the growth of their company. Promoting fresh ideas would encourage employees to speak up and it can be a point that would lead your company to a great level. No ideas are a waste, every idea has its importance and throwing the ideas in the trash might be a bad factor, whatever ideas are coming your way be it big or small just appreciate whatever is coming your way as said above we never know what strikes good for the growth of the company.
No innovation can happen in the company without the knowledge of a CEO so these are the ways through which a CEO can lead to innovation for the growth of the company.
