In 2000s the Chinese government declared its intention to transform China from a ‘manufacturing only society’ to ‘an innovative society’ by 2020 (and a world leader in Technology and Science by 2050). The aim was to reduce China’s reliance on imported innovation and technology to no more than 30% within five years and to leapfrog foreign global rivals. Today Chinese-based MedTech, TelComm, and Automotive companies are emerging global leaders. Some say this innovation revolution started by embracing designers and artists to lead start-ups instead of engineers (Jason Lim, Editor of TechNode). Others say it’s with the opening of over 230 industrial design schools in China in the early 2000s (Canada at 12, UK at 92, and the US at 216 schools). Building design schools usually means a foundation for building a culture of innovation.

Building a culture of innovation within an organization requires strong leadership commitment and engagement, a top-down approach. Leaders must create a vision for innovation, provide the resources and infrastructure necessary to support it and model the behaviours and values that foster creativity, experimentation, and risk-taking. They should also understand innovation beyond the knowledge extracted from online courses or books. This chapter will explore the role of leadership in building a culture of innovation and provide tips and best practices for leaders who want to create and sustain an innovative organization.

Creating a Vision for Innovation

Does your company of organisation have Chief Innovation, Chief Creative, or Chief Design Officers sitting around the boardroom table? Having the right leadership plays a critical role in setting the tone for innovation within a company/organization. The senior team must communicate a clear vision for innovation and demonstrate their commitment through words and more importantly, their actions. This includes setting ambitious goals for innovation, encouraging experimentation, and celebrating successes and failures along the way.

Creating a vision for innovation requires a deep understanding of the organization’s strengths and weaknesses and the external factors that may impact its success. It also would suggest that those with an academic background or training in creativity, innovation and design thinking leading these conversations. Innovation leaders must clearly understand the organization’s mission and values and how innovation can help it achieve its goals. They must also articulate a compelling vision for innovation that inspires and motivates employees at all levels of the organization. The vision for innovation must be supported by investments from the core of the company /organisation, and depending upon the total $ value of investment, might suggest if it’s truly transformational or simply checking off the boxes.

Providing the Resources and Infrastructure for Innovation

Building a culture of innovation requires more than just a vision; it also requires spending, resources and infrastructure necessary to support it. This includes providing the tools and technologies necessary to innovate and the time and space for employees to experiment and collaborate.

Leaders must be willing to invest in innovation, both financially and organizationally. This may involve allocating research and development resources or creating cross-functional teams for innovation projects. It may also include creating a physical space for innovation, such as a dedicated innovation lab or co-working space.

In addition to resources, leaders must also create the structures and processes necessary to support innovation. This includes creating an innovation strategy that aligns with the organization’s overall goals, objectives, and processes for ideation, experimentation, and testing. Leaders must also be willing to experiment with new processes and technologies and adapt quickly as needed.

Modeling Behaviors and Values

Leadership’s role in building a culture of innovation also involves modeling the behaviors and values that foster creativity, experimentation, and risk-taking. Embracing a culture of failing, yes, letting ideas fail is pivotal. It’s the difference between Tesla and the traditional global OEs. This includes demonstrating a willingness to take calculated risks, encouraging open communication and collaboration, and celebrating failure as a learning opportunity.

Leaders must be willing to lead by example and create a psychological safety culture where employees feel comfortable taking risks and sharing their ideas. They must also be willing to listen to feedback and adjust their approach as needed.

In addition to modeling behaviors and values, leaders must create incentives and recognition programs that reward innovation. This can include recognizing employees who generate new ideas or providing financial incentives for successful innovation projects.

“No organization ever created an innovation. People innovate, not companies.”

Seth Godin

Best Practices for Leaders

To build a culture of innovation within an organization, leaders must be intentional and deliberate in their approach. The following tips and best practices can help leaders create an environment that fosters creativity, experimentation, and risk-taking:

1. Your people. Find the right leaders and practitioners of design thinking and support them.
2. Set a clear vision for innovation that aligns with the organization’s overall goals and objectives.
3. Provide the resources and infrastructure necessary to support innovation, including tools, technologies, and physical spaces.
4. Create an innovation strategy outlining ideation, experimentation, and testing processes.
5. Model the behaviors and values that foster creativity, experimentation, and risk-taking, and the creation of a ‘safety’ culture where employees feel comfortable taking risks and sharing their ideas.
6. Create incentives and recognition programs that reward innovation and celebrate successes and failures as learning opportunities.
7. Encourage cross-functional partnerships and create opportunities for employees to work on innovation projects outside their traditional roles.
8. Experiment with new processes and technologies and be willing to adapt quickly as needed.
9. An open innovation culture within your company/organization.

(NOTE: Regarding China’s design education. A 2005 Business Week article (Rocks 2005) outlines the current design education situation in China: “…Since Hunan University opened China’s first school of design in Changsha 23 years ago, the discipline has taken off. Beijing’s Tsinghua University is opening a new 60,000-square-meter design building, and in Guangzhou the Academy of Fine Arts just moved to a new eight-story facility with enough space for 3,000 industrial design students—five times its current capacity. Today, China has some 400 schools offering design classes that together graduate some 10,000 industrial designers annually, up from just 1,500 or so five years ago. ‘Design schools are popping up like bamboo shoots,’ marvels Yan Yang, chairman of Tsinghua’s industrial design department…”)

Next blog: Creating a Culture of Psychological Safety