Auburn University
‘Role of Leadership in Innovation Management’
Graduate Student Paper-MGMT 6560-Leadership
Prashant Malyala
4-21-2014
Introduction:
This paper talks about the role of leadership in managing technological innovation. The topic of innovation management is briefly explained with emphasis on the potential of an innovation and the strategic innovation process. Prior to analyzing the role of leadership in innovation management it is important to understand the role of technological trends and innovation strategy. Innovation Management requires a certain different human side of management especially from a leadership standpoint. Innovation Management, simply put is the art of managing innovation across multi-disciplinary fields of study. I believe that from a leadership standpoint it allows one to develop capabilities for leading innovation and leveraging skill sets from different fields of technical expertise.
After briefly introducing the concept of Innovation Management and the various models of innovation, this paper moves on to talk about managing different innovative groups and project teams. This is followed by the discussion of leadership of technical professionals from various domains in innovative groups. The discussion is substantiated by academic research taken from various sources cited at the end of this document. The discussion has strong emphasis on managing the creativity in high performing technical teams and the role of leadership in motivating and maintaining an organization structure. It is supplemented with the analysis of the leadership style of two individuals working in innovative groups and leading high performing engineering projects. The leadership analysis is related back to concepts ...
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...provide incentives for excellence in a method where information will flow in the shortest possible time to the right targets for decision making. The leadership plays a crucial role in motivating people to extend and apply themselves in a non-traditional organization structure which will be discussed later on in this report. Leadership is also responsible in adopting what this case study terms as three generic strategies to protect its profits. The first one is teaming up with others in order to maximize chances of gaining a dominant design. The second one is blocking in which the firm ensures that it prevents others from imitating its innovation by the use of patents and other legal binding constrains to do so. The third strategy known as the ‘run’ in which the firm frequently introduces new products, cannibalizing its own products before anyone else does.
“Leadership will be the most important resource an organization can possess. After all, it will be leadership that determines whether organizations successfully harness the emerging opportunities and overcome the perils that await.” Jay A.Conger – Professor, London Business School.
...resent diversity within the labor force and “each of them will also have networks of professional associates whose knowledge they can tap in order to solve problems and accomplish tasks. Needless-to-say, diverse people will have diverse networks and provide your company with a vast and diverse meta-network at your disposal” (p.1). In short, in supporting of creativity, innovators essentially need the backing from top leaders, and without that support, many initiatives may break down or die on the vine (Harvard). For any idea to be successful, it is vital that it is aligned with company strategy; there is more likely to occur naturally when top executives involve and take the lead with a idea or creativity initiative and this is a main reason why management commitment is a key factor in the accomplishment of any idea or innovation process (Baumgarther, 2010).
In a firm, management and leadership are important and needed. Leadership and management are similar. Actually, leadership and management are totally different. The leadership would influence the firm. The leader would have difference leadership styles to lead the subordinate.
All leaders start somewhere in life, whether if it’s in a garage or in the basement working with dad. There is the, one-and-only leader who took innovation through his own ideas. This leader took steps beyond his wildest dreams. This immense leader was demoted from his own company. Many say his ego got in the way of true life and visions, but this leader is the seed to the blueprints of ideas that he had created visions of a leading company. This leader created a legacy; he is the action of a revolutionary breakthrough.
Hamel G. and Breen B. (2007). The Future of Management: Aiming for an Evolutionary Advantage (Management Innovation in Action). Harvard Business School Press.
Creativity and innovation can help organisations get the advantage in the competitive market and adapt to the uncertain external environment. In the early research by Gassman (1467), he illustrated that although diversity in the team result language barriers and cultural differences occur frequently, some benefits can still be found, for example, opening up opportunities. Another experiment in problem solving creativity found that, the team which composed of people with different attitudes and perspectives were much better than the team which composed of people with similar attitudes (Triandis). Although diversity in team members has shown some advantages for creativity and innovation, there is still some research and experiment that demonstrated that there are no relationships between team member diversity and team performance or the diversity in team members have negative impact on creativity and innovation. Ochse (1990) illustrated that creativity may be impeded if the team member is quite knowledgeable in their own area.
Moore, G. A. (2004, Jul/Aug). Darwin and the Demon: Innovating Within Established Enterprises. Harvard Business Review, 82(7/8), pp. 86; pp. 7.
Smith, T. (2008). "Leadership: theory and practice (4th ed.)." Engineering Management Journal. Rolla, MO American Society for Engineering Management. Retrieved July 20, 2011 from HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1480702701.html
Sarin, S. & O’Connor, G. (2009). First Among Equals: The Effect of Team Leaders Characteristics on the Internal Dynamics of Cross-Functional Product Development Teams. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 26(2), 188-205. Doi: 10.1111/j.1540-5885.2009.00345.x
Effective leaders are able to accomplish their goas by competently organizing the business and support of other people. Leaders learn to be great leaders by doing what other admirable leaders have before you. To develop ideas and chart the course of their business, leaders need to be creative. Nowadays, leaders need to approach idea generation and innovation within the business, and they also need to look to others for ideas. Leaders can get the work done by using their power to generate creativity and promote
Kelley,T. (2005, Oct.). The 10 faces of innovation. Fast Company, 74-77. Retrieved 6th March’ 2014 from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=9&sid=1d6a17b7-c5f7-4f00-bea4 db1d84cbef55%40sessionmgr10&hid=28&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=bth&AN=18386009
Team leaders shows creativity in a unique way, once they have a general idea or plan for
Leadership is one of the most important facets in organizations. In most cases, leaders act with respect to organizational culture as well as the codes of conduct that determine the manner in which leaders relate with subordinates. Leadership entails the use of effective communication skills to get activities done in the workplace and to ensure that employees shelve their individual interests for the sake of their organizations’ shared targets. It is the role of leaders to ensure that consumers attain high quality products and services by making certain that members of their firms’ workforce are fully motivated to work effectively and utilize resources in an efficient manner (Bass, 22). With the increasingly sophisticated nature of the corporate world, leadership should not be based solely on the desire to control and coordinate affairs within the workplace, but leaders should also exhibit positive examples and continually monitor the changing trends in corporate governance to initiate the most relevant guidelines. Competitiveness can only be attained when leaders are in a position to set the right standards in their firms and coordinate affairs appropriately by understanding consumer and employee needs.
Leaders know in their gut that creativity and innovation are the life blood of their o...
Innovation in leadership requires for continuous learning and starts with an inner journey. According to Rosenbach and Taylor in Contemporary Issues in Leadership, all leaders need to take this inner journey. Your success professionally and in life depends on how well you know yourself. Rosenbach and Taylor explain, “You need internal guidance to navigate the turbulent waters in this stormy world. A clear set of personal values and beliefs is the critical controller in that guidance system” (pg. 170). It is important to be able to lead your self though times of change in order to better make the transition for smoother for others. Even if this means taking advice and guidance from others because you could just be holding yourself back from