Building Engagement in Innovation

Andy Wynn, CEO at TTIP Global, Jim Hick, Global Head of Leadership Development at TTIP Global

People generally have a positive perception of innovation and its benefits in general. However, they have an overwhelmingly negative perception about innovation within their organizations.

This video is available for members of Innov8rs Community and with the Digital Companion to The Innovator's Handbook 2024.

Would you like access?

Upgrade to dive deeper with the Digital Companion, giving you access to 80+ videos plus additional resources and content. Click here.

Are you a member of Innov8rs Community? This video is available in your content library.

This disconnect can be attributed to three key aspects that organizations need to establish for successful innovation: a well-defined innovation process, an aligned organization that supports the process, and innovative individuals with positive mindsets who are willing to collaborate and drive business growth.

However, there are institutional obstacles that hinder the implementation of these aspects, and the main obstacle is engagement, getting individuals to actively participate in the innovation process. Lack of engagement is mostly caused by these seven barriers:

  1. Lack of direction from top management. One factor is the tendency to start new projects without finishing previous ones, resulting in too many projects and a lack of focus and alignment. Often, also middle management struggles to translate the organization's goals into practical actions due to inexperience, fear, overload, or complacency.
  2. Lack of sharing and trust between employees, hindering collaboration.
  3. A risk-averse culture with a resistance to taking risks and leaders being intolerant of failure. In one company, employees were ranked based on their performance and the occurrence of errors or failures. This ranking system led to a risk-averse mindset, as employees were afraid of failure and possible separation from the company. When companies have strict objectives to meet each year, pursuing innovation becomes financially risky and results in a risk-averse culture. One solution to this is embedding innovation targets, such as a certain percentage of revenues being allocated to innovation and setting targets specific to the Stage Gate process or pipeline to ensure a certain number of projects at different stages.
  4. Lack of a company-wide understanding of innovation, leading to the burden of innovation being placed solely on R&D.
  5. Conflict between existing business processes and the innovation processes required for the future.
  6. Resource constraints, with individuals being too busy to actively engage in innovation. One company allocated 10% of employees' time for projects unrelated to their current roles. Initially, employees did not utilize their free time for innovation until it was tied to their performance appraisal. This measurement and accountability led to a shift in culture.
  7. Difficulty in prioritization, with many opportunities and limited focus.