Kill The Experts: Why People Inhibit Innovation

Creating a culture of innovation isn't about just labeling a company as innovative. The key is to empower and inspire everyone, even those in entry-level roles, to think innovatively and be equipped to act innovatively.

This comprehensive approach, instilled from leadership down to the newest team members, builds a collective power of innovation. Innovation is not about what we do but how we think about what we do.

From “Projects” to “People”

To foster this mindset shift, leaders need to model innovative behaviors, challenging the traditional management mindset. Studies show that expertise hinders innovation, as with growing expertise comes a sense of rigidity that makes it harder to even recognize possibly new and better ways even when they’re right in front of us.

By shifting our focus from our projects and tasks to understanding the people we serve. Using the Japanese philosophy of "mono no aware," a compassionate sensitivity to things outside ourselves, we can prioritize the needs of those we serve, allowing innovative ideas to surface naturally. The emphasis shifts from individual expertise to serving others better, fueling a culture of innovation.

From “Statements” to “Questions”

Recognizing a leader with the right innovation mindset involves observing certain behaviors. Trust is a crucial factor, and leaders should respond to ideas with curiosity, asking questions instead of making statements. Becoming adept question-askers is a challenge, but it's essential. Leaders can practice by monitoring their question-to-statement ratio in meetings, fostering a culture of inquiry.

Another trust-building behavior is establishing idea equity, where leaders emphasize that once an idea is shared, it belongs to the entire team. This ensures that ideas are evaluated with equal weight, irrespective of the person's title or position. In truly innovative cultures, meetings echo with diverse voices asking questions, while less innovative cultures may have a dominant leader making statements.

For example, Pixar is a notable example of an organization that transformed its approach to foster innovation. Initially, creative discussions were limited to a table where only directors sat, leaving designers and fresh thinkers out. Ed Catmull, Pixar's leader, recognized the need for change and shifted the dynamics. He brought everyone to the table, encouraging questions and eliminating the hierarchy. This shift faced challenges due to egos and the discomfort of change but highlighted the importance of breaking down barriers for a collective and innovative "we" mindset.

From “Delivery” to “Discovery”

This involves recognizing the gravitational pull towards delivery skills. In business, success often hinges on execution, attention to detail, and analytical prowess. However, this emphasis on delivery skills can overshadow discovery skills essential for innovation. These include questioning, observing, networking, and experimentation. Corporate antibodies, which resist new ideas, often emerge from the focus on day-to-day operations. To transform, intentional efforts are needed to balance and prioritize discovery skills alongside delivery skills, ensuring a holistic approach to both aspects.

In organizations with longstanding biases and pre-existing mindsets, changing the perspective of senior leaders can be a tough journey. However, the power of the innovation mindset lies in its adaptability and its potential for adoption by anyone in the organization.

As an individual, irrespective of your position, you can proactively exercise this mindset by responding to ideas with questions, engaging in continuous questioning, and fostering a culture of curiosity. Even at an entry level, interacting with colleagues and leaders with an innovation mindset sets the groundwork for future change.

Over time, as these behaviors permeate the organization, a ripple effect is created. It's not just about waiting for senior leaders to adopt the mindset; it's about starting the change at any level and watching it organically transform the organization's culture.

While having subject matter expertise is essential, the key lies in how that expertise is applied. As a leader, it's important to recognize when to exercise decision-making and make statements, as that is your responsibility. It’s all about the ‘how’ you get to that decision- relying on past experience and your own opinion, or making sure that diverse perspectives have been taken into account.

One way to do that is by regularly surrounding yourself with a small group, sharing current challenges or projects, and allowing others to ask you questions. This not only provides fresh perspectives on your own challenges but also cultivates a culture of constructive questioning.

From “Ideas” to “Problems”

Often, expertise comes to the surface when ideas are being evaluated and decisions about those ideas need to be made. To shift this, rather than leading with the idea, start by leading with the problem.

Instead of diving into subjective debates about those ideas, focus on objectively understanding the problem. Begin by establishing agreement on the target audience(s). Once there's consensus on the significance of the audience(s), objectively acknowledge the pain or obstacle they face. Make sure to use data to validate these observations and identify the root cause.

The key is to align on whether solving this problem is worth the effort.

You eliminate the subjective debates that often hinder progress by anchoring discussions in objectively assessing the audience, their needs, and the root cause. It's a strategic way to ensure that decisions are based on a shared understanding and objective criteria. When you eventually present an idea, its merit is not evaluated subjectively but objectively against the agreed-upon problem and solution criteria.

From “Failure” to “Unexpected Outcomes”

In many organizations, the word "failure" carries a negative connotation, and employees may be apprehensive about admitting mistakes. Most colleagues dread seeing their name under the category of celebrating failures. To address this, reframe failure as "unexpected outcomes."

Instead of viewing failures as unsuccessful attempts, the focus shifts to identifying unexpected outcomes during experimentation. This approach helps teams embrace the learning opportunities that come with unexpected results. When you list both expected and unexpected outcomes before prototyping, teams can systematically evaluate the success and potential areas for improvement. The goal is to iterate and refine the idea based on these outcomes, gradually reducing the number of unexpected outcomes until they become minor and inconsequential.