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The Innovator’s DNA

To think differently successful innovators act differently. 

This was revealed in a long term, global research project called The Innovator's DNA.  The researchers studied the leaders of successful innovative companies to find out what they did differently than leaders of less innovative companies.  Their findings included:  

• The ability to generate creative ideas is as much a function of behavior as thinking.
• And there are specific behaviors the most successful business innovators practice more often than less innovative leaders.

Each of these behaviors, individually and in combination, increase the ability to make creative new connections: 

Questioning:  asking more questions more often, to better understand what is and what could be.

Observing:  engaging your senses to take in what's working and what isn't, across many different environments.

Networking:  frequently meeting people who are different from you, to learn more about what they know, do and think.

Experimenting:  creating pilot tests and prototypes, to test ideas, develop new insights and share ideas with others.    

The ability to make creative new connections, associating, is a cognitive skill that can be increased by practicing the four behavior skills.

Innovative entrepreneurs who are CEOs spent 50% more time questioning, observing, networking, experimenting and associating than CEOs with no innovation track record.  

Another interesting result?  If you want to increase your ability to think creatively, and encourage creative thinking in others, you only need to practice two or more of these skills more often.  

"Innovation is a habit," the researchers said. "And for these innovative entrepreneurs it's a way of life. It's the fabric of who they are. And for others who aren't that way, they could be: if they choose to act different to think different."

How to Get Unstuck with "Catalytic Questioning"

Ever have one of those challenges you're just sick of thinking about?  Where it seems that you're working too hard, and going nowhere fast?

Catalytic Questioning can help you get unstuck. There's a smart article on it in July's HBR that defines a process you can use individually and with teams. 

In a nutshell, here are the steps:

• Check to make sure all involved are intellectually and emotionally connected to the challenge, and truly don't know how to answer it.
• Sit or (better yet) stand in front of a whiteboard or several sheets of flip chart paper. Pick a scribe.  Before starting, take a breath, relax and set aside any mental distractions.
• One at a time, state a question related to the challenge.  The scribe simply writes each question.  At this stage, only questions are allowed - no explanations, comments or answers.  Each person works to provide interesting, provocative and/or important questions.  At times, the well will run dry.  Stick with it for 10-20 minutes, or until you have 50 - 100 questions.  Find the questions no one's asking ... yet.
• When you've exhausted your ability to define questions, take a quick break or stretch.  Come back and identify the most "catalytic" ones - the ones with the potential to disrupt the status quo, or provide entirely different perspectives or solutions. Narrow it down to the 3-4 that matter most.
• Now that you have 3-4 fresh lines of inquiry, go find some answers!  You can use Catalytic Questioning as often as needed to get unstuck and develop deeper insights and better solutions.

As an executive coach, I've seen over and over again how the right question can unlock new thinking, energy and solutions.  This question storming process can help you do the same.

Choosing An Effective Response to Conflict

Got conflict?  Many good leaders do.  Our response to conflict determines both its impact and our willingness to continue to lead, innovate and raise the bar in new ways.  

Thomas and Kilmann found that we're better able to respond effectively when we're comfortable using several conflict strategies, and match the strategy to the situation.

They identified five conflict strategies that incorporate different levels of assertiveness (focused on meeting your concerns) and cooperativeness (focused on meeting other's concerns).  

Each can be a valuable social skill in certain situations, so let's take a quick look:

Competing is a power-oriented strategy - useful when winning is what's important.   High assertive/low cooperative.  "I'm standing up for my rights."

Collaborating searches for a solution that meets everyone's concerns.  High assertive/high  cooperative.  "Let's find a creative win-win."

Compromising finds a solution that's "good enough."  Moderate assertive/moderate cooperative.  "Let's split the difference."

Avoiding sidesteps or withdraws from the situation.  Low assertive/low cooperative.  "I'm choosing my battles."

Accommodating sets aside your concerns to help someone meet theirs.  High cooperative/low assertive.  "This is more important to you than me."

So which one to use when?  Considerations to guide your choice include:  

Importance of the issue:  Not that important to you?  Consider accommodating, avoiding or compromising.  Very important?  Consider competing or collaborating.

Importance of the relationship: Very important?  Accommodating, collaborating and compromising become more attractive.  

Time:  The less you have, the more attractive compromising, accommodating, and avoiding become.

Trust:  The lower the trust levels (and the higher the stress levels), the more challenging collaboration becomes.

Complexity:  one-dimensional issues lend themselves to competing, accommodating and compromising.  Multidimensional issues lend themselves to collaboration.

  

This kind of conflict literacy creates a practical and powerful advantage.  Happily, Kilmann has a tool and many more insights to share.

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

We know storytelling is a great leadership skill for engaging and influencing others.  However, there is also a growing body of research on how to harness the power of our inner narratives:  

Use a Redemptive Rear View Mirror 

The stories we recount about our past have a powerful impact on our memories and behaviors. Psychologist Jonathan Adler's research highlights three habits that build resiliency and emotional strength as you reminisce:

• Recalling both the positive and negative aspects of past situations.
• Seeing negative events from your past as external events ("That speech didn't go over well," rather than "I'm not a good presenter.")
• Identifying how you have grown stronger and more effective as a result of your experiences.

Regulate with Reframing     

When you get emotionally triggered by a challenging situation, find a plausible but more positive way to view what's happening.  The research on this practice ("reframing") has confirmed significant benefits.  Psychologists Gross and John grouped hundreds of people based on whether they tended to use reframing or suppression (pretending everything's fine) to deal with strong emotions.  They compared the two groups on factors including optimism, environmental mastery and positive relationships.  On every factor, those who reframed were significantly better off than those who suppressed. 

Forecast Your Successes

Envision how you will be successful over the next few years. The more you revisit this story of what your future will look, sound, feel, smell and even taste like, the clearer it becomes.  Replaying this movie in your mind helps you recognize and act on choices that support it.

"Mental imagery impacts many cognitive processes in the brain: motor control, attention, perception, planning, and memory," says researcher Angie LeVan. "It's been found that mental practices can enhance motivation, increase confidence and self-efficacy, improve motor performance, prime your brain for success, and increase states of flow."

This awareness of what you're telling yourself, and how balanced but empowering your narratives are, is like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the better your story can become.