You see it often in startup world –– someone develops an amazing, innovative product that takes off, makes people wonder how they lived without it. He/she becomes an instant “leader” in their market niche. I’ve seen this happen thousands of times in my career.
You don’t have to invent a completely new technology. It’s often just a twist on some existing, like the thousands of software libraries that have been built from existing languages, or a novel type of business model applied to older technology (touchscreens). Great innovations are usually based on a creative mind adapting present thought process to create something new. Hiding in plain sight.
Often serendipity is the catalyst — someone sees a way to create something that no one else did, or “scratches their own itch,” or experiments and discovers something new.
That’s innovation leadership. They listen to their own voice, keep going when people doubt them.
Here’s another very common scenario: The followers watch these innovations create new markets and try to mimic them. It’s a giant market, there’s room for several versions of this innovation, right? Amazingly, no, because it is a copy, lacks the soul and discovery and iteration.
Apply Innovation to people management
The same magic can happen in the art of leading people. Great leadership also requires original thinking, not copying others. I’ve had some great bosses teach me vital lessons over my career, then adapted those lessons when it was my turn.
A very good leader can figure out how to handle almost any situation on the fly, in real time. Impossible problems don’t scare them (much), because they synthesize a new creative answer to every situation, just like an expert software engineer welcomes any technical challenge. They use their instincts based on practice and experience. They borrow from their best teachers.
People who want to become the leader, the CEO or whatever they want to call it, of their own company, should see this simple method as one of the fundamental rules of building great leadership instincts. Keep practicing, building, prototyping your leadership.
It’s much better than simply copying others.
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#innovation #leadership