In this ever-evolving business world, leaders must keep their fingers on the pulse of the market to identify opportunities for innovation and mitigate potential threats. To create an innovation pipeline, IT leaders must encourage creative thinking and new ideas across the organization. So, how do you foster disruption and achieve long-term organizational success? As a chief information officer (CIO), if you want people to innovate, then define specifically what you are expecting from them. In this article at CIO.com, Eric P. Bloom explains how to illustrate your ability to be an internal change agent.
How to Encourage an Innovation Pipeline
Focus on What Must be Done
“My definition of IT innovation: The successful creation, implementation, enhancement, or improvement of a technical process, business process, software product, hardware product, or cultural factor that reduces costs, enhances productivity, increases organizational competitiveness, or provides other business value,” says Bloom. By approaching work with this perspective, your team can ensure that their innovative pursuits are geared toward what your customers truly want.
Create Space for the Innovation Pipeline
Building an innovation pipeline demands different resources and processes than those traditionally employed within your organization. To drive your team’s creative work, establish a standalone space where ideas can be tested and improvised. Additionally, develop a formalized process to identify, collect, evaluate, and implement innovative ideas. Allow ideas to come from any direction, including your vendors, customers, internal business partners, employees, competitors, and accidental discoveries.
Embrace Risk and Experimentation
Driving innovation takes more than a shift in organizational culture. You must embrace risk and experimentation and encourage team members to learn from failures. Emphasize that failure is a crucial step towards advancement. Furthermore, create a transparent work environment where employees feel empowered to share their ideas and feedback. Remember, long-term organizational success often comes with setbacks.
Recognize Your Internal Innovations
Make sure that you bring up the topic of innovation in your staff meetings often. When an idea is implemented, ensure to acknowledge the person behind it. This will undoubtedly encourage other employees to work harder.
To learn more about creating an innovation pipeline, click on https://www.cio.com/article/408109/7-ways-to-foster-it-innovation.html.
