Thought Provoking: Linda Hill on Innovation

I had the opportunity to hear Linda Hill of Harvard Business School discuss her current research last week.  I'm always interested in listening to academics because they take such a different view of business. Right now, Professor Hill is looking at innovation, and specifically, the type of leadership that enables innovation within an organization.

It's an interesting idea - how do some companies become more innovative, while others don't? Is there a recipe for innovation? Are there specific skills or competencies that you can recruit for to enable innovation?  Her research is really looking for a magic bullet - how do you define innovation, and then how do you bring it into your organization?

Hill's defines this leadership challenge as "creating an organization that is willing and able to innovate".  As she expanded on the definition, the qualities need to make the organization "willing" aligned with a lot of what we've heard when discussing employee engagement: Shared Purpose, Aligned Values, Clear Rules of Engagement, Collaborative.  However as she talked about making an organization "able" to innovate, she went in a different direction.  In this area she defined 3 focuses: Creative Abrasion, Creative Agility and Creative Resolution. Her argument was that if you have an engaged and aligned team, you can generate ideas and have high degrees of debate. You can test ideas quickly, running pilot projects, or test cases. You can also make collaborative decisions. She pointed out that in this kind of environment, consensus is not easy to achieve, but you can reach resolutions.  

Professor Hill pointed to examples from Pixar and several other companies who have participated in her research, sharing their experiences and approaches. One of the comments from Pixar hit home. The participant said "I don't read these types of books, because they say 'You're the leader, set direction' but by definition, I don't know where I'm going."  Hill's response was that leader sets direction by creating the organization culture.  It's an interesting way to think of a leader - as someone who sets the scene, not the person who directs the action.

Professor Hill's book is not yet published, but I'm adding it to my watch list. I'm very interested to hear more stories from the companies she's worked with. I think she's on to something in holding leaders accountable for creating a culture of innovation, and can't wait to read more of her research.

Back to School Goals

School starts this week, and I'm looking forward to Back to School Night. At the beginning of the event, the principal will step up to the podium and present her goals for the year. She'll share the goals she is setting for the school, and her plan to hold the staff accountable. She'll then go a step further and ask the parent community to hold both her and her staff accountable for these goals as well.

The first time this happened, 3 years ago, I was floored. Principals have goals? Beyond test scores? In fact, yes.

I'm not sure why this was such a shock to me. Maybe it's because up to this point, I had viewed the educators in our school system as authorities. Teachers teach and evaluate students learning. Parents support, but mostly defer to the teacher. In the event of a problem, we'd call in the principal to discuss what needed to be done. It never occurred to me that I could be holding the school or teachers accountable to something more than teaching. They were the ones holding people accountable – namely my kids and me!

What a refreshing change to have a series of goals to review. Now, as a "customer" of the educational system, I have better insight. I know what the principal is trying to accomplish, and I have a better sense of why they need help. For example, when they ask for more parents to help with Yard Duty, it's not just to give teachers a lunch break (as certain cynics might have thought), it's because the school is committed to intervening before bullying can start. That requires more eyes on kids during recess, and help from the community.

Also, as an informed customer, I have a better way to interact with the teachers and staff. If I know what they are trying to accomplish, I can assess how my kids' experience fits with the goals. Parent teacher conferences are about more than just the report card. They can include questions about the school lunch program, the anti-bullying initiative, or the new technology focus. If something isn't working, I'm more comfortable asking for a change. Conversations with teachers changes to a dialog around how to get to the outcomes we both want to have.

Many people view the start of a school year as a time to set new goals. What do you want your kids to accomplish this year? Do you know how your goals for your children align with your school's goals? Shouldn't you? Maybe it's time to ask for some additional conversations with teachers at Back to School night. This year, go beyond the review of the syllabus and the homework policy. Ask them how they are held accountable, and how you can help them be successful. You may be surprised to gain a new insight into your school's systems.

Creativity On Demand

I had a great plan for last Friday. I was working from home, and for once had a free calendar. The only thing I needed to do was finish a presentation. So how, exactly, did I end up working ALL Friday night and until 2am Saturday?

Friday turned into a day of writer’s block. By the end of the afternoon I had a very clean house, snippets of graphics, a few cool ideas, and some great quotes, but there wasn’t a story that hung together. So I gave up, decided that I’d write off the afternoon as unplanned PTO and headed out to pick up my daughter at school. An hour later, I was standing in the grocery store, and the answer arrived fully-formed in my head. As usually happens after a block, once the vision came in, it was completely clear. I had the idea, knew the path the story needed to take and had no choice but to focus entirely on the presentation until it was completely finished. Even though that meant working until 2.

It’s a cliché that engineers are known for working weird hours. While I was at the startup, it was common for the developers to come in around 11, take frequent breaks for World of Warcraft or foosball, and then work all night. As an HR person, I used to worry about this schedule – didn’t these guys have home lives? Shouldn’t I be encouraging them to work a normal schedule, or at least try to get them back to 40 hours/week?

The truth is that creativity is not available on demand. When you are managing people who work in a creative space, you need to acknowledge this fact. You will have people who work crazy hours, and deliver at random times. This will be simultaneously energizing and frustrating. Most innovators I’ve worked with are incredibly dedicated people but they are also demanding. As an HR person, and as a manager, I’ve found some principles that help in setting the stage to help innovators:
- Focus on outcomes not hours. Some projects will seem easier than others, but you may not be able to accurately predict this. Better to make sure your team members are aligned on the goal, and not worry as much about the time required.
- Create frameworks for success. When assigning projects, give as much context as possible, and be clear if there are specific requirements such as a requirement for delivery, or a deadline that cannot be missed. Beyond that, try to leave ample room for innovation and creativity.
- Be ready to call “done”. Many creative people have trouble declaring something is finished. There’s always one more refinement, or one more thing to add. You may need to set earlier deadlines, or add in reviews to stop tweaking.
- Acknowledge the need for downtime (which may come from nowhere). An engaged creative person is likely to work insane hours. As a result, they will come close to burnout and may need a manager to encourage PTO. Or, they may catch themselves, and announce a spontaneous trip to Hawaii. This flexibility in time off will be necessary to balance the crazy hours and to allow them to recharge creative batteries.

The creative process isn’t a straight line. There are high highs and low lows, and there will always be late nights. But when you see an innovator deliver their latest product, or present a new solution, they aren’t thinking about the hours they put in. They have created something new, something they can be proud of. That’s the measure of accomplishment, not the hours that they worked.

[Image Source Evil Erin. Used under Creative Commons.]