Lead Innovative Thinking and Practice: UAT 1 Assignment Report

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Lead Innovative Thinking and Practice
UAT 1

Table of Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................................. 3
Task - 1..................................................................................................................................... 4
Q1)........................................................................................................................................ 4
Q2)........................................................................................................................................ 7
Q3)...................................................................................................................................... 10
Q4)...................................................................................................................................... 13
Q5)...................................................................................................................................... 15
Q6)...................................................................................................................................... 18
Q7)...................................................................................................................................... 21
Q8)...................................................................................................................................... 23
Q9)...................................................................................................................................... 26
Q10).................................................................................................................................... 28
Q11).................................................................................................................................... 30
Q12).................................................................................................................................... 32
Q13).................................................................................................................................... 35
Activity – 1 Innovative Tool and strategies....................................................................37
Activity – 2 Lead innovative practices............................................................................40
Activity 3 - Foster, promote and support Innovation...................................................42
Activity 4 – Sustain Innovative Thinking........................................................................44
Conclusion........................................................................................................................... 46
Q1........................................................................................................................................... 47
Q2.......................................................................................................................................... 48
Q3.......................................................................................................................................... 49
Q4.......................................................................................................................................... 50

Q5.......................................................................................................................................... 51
Q6.......................................................................................................................................... 52
Q7.......................................................................................................................................... 53
Q8.......................................................................................................................................... 54
Q9.......................................................................................................................................... 55
Q10........................................................................................................................................ 56
Q11........................................................................................................................................ 57
Q12........................................................................................................................................ 58
Q13........................................................................................................................................ 59
Q14........................................................................................................................................ 60
Q15........................................................................................................................................ 61
Reference List.........................................................................................................................62

Task - 1
Q1)
Compare and contrast the current theories and philosophies regarding innovation
theories and thinking from the past.
There has been a gradual shift towards creativity in the thinking and innovation theories.
This shift has occurred due to its impact on the innovation outcomes and the changes in the
scope and focus of innovation. The past theories pertaining to the thinking and innovation
were singularly focused upon enhancing the organisational profitability and its operations
while creativity and organisational, industrial, or individual development were totally
ignored. These theories focused on product development, identification of newer strategies,
and implementation of processes that result in an increase in the organisational
effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and efficiency. The absence of creativity can be attributed
to the inherent inflexibility of theories of innovation and thinking. On the other hand, the
current scenarios had changed with creativity becoming an integral aspect of the theories of
innovation and thinking (Wisdom et al., 2014). The current theories of innovation and
thinking also make organisations more cost effective and efficient but their impact is not
limited to these objectives and has a wide-reaching consequence for the industry as a
whole, and the involved individuals and organisations. These new theories focus on the
creation of balanced Human Resources, conducive and collaborative environment at work.
The following are some of the current innovation and thinking theories that depict the
creativity and flexibility absent in the old theories associated with innovation and thinking
Disruptive Innovation
It's a popular theory and a matter of concern for a number of larger organisations, especially
in the technology field. It puts forward the theory that a new entrant small in size and scope
as compared to existing established companies can produce an idea or innovation such as a
new technology that can disrupt the established market environment and positioning. It
suggests that this new idea or technology would be inferior in terms of available quality but
would have other attributes like a new way of doing the thing, convenience, cost-

effectiveness, etc. As the demand for this new product or service grows, it starts improving
and subsequently captures the market of the existing bigger players (Wisdom et al., 2014).
Open Innovation
There are many organisations seeking solutions to their problems through innovation or
seek a new idea for a new product or a service. For this purpose, the organisation can issue
an innovation challenge to people both inside and outside their system and ask them for
their ideas. Earlier the process was done through traditional methods like emails or
suggestion boxes. This way highly unstructured leading to the loss of ideas and slow
processing of submitted ideas. Nowadays, the availability of software's to handle innovation
challenges in a structured manner has made open innovation success (Wisdom et al., 2014).
Design Thinking
Design Thinking can be considered to be a problem-solving methodology used by designers
to solve complex issues and garner solutions. This is a highly successful methodology that
leads to innovative solutions to existing issues due to its focus on the solution instead of the
problem. This methodology involves understanding the issues to comprehend the real
challenges and their solutions. It involves the use of aspects like imagination, logic,
reasoning, etc. These are utilised to explore different potential outcomes and for creating
the most beneficial outcome. Design Thinking can be a part of lean innovation framework
for better agility and outcomes (Wisdom et al., 2014).
Lean Innovation
Lean innovation can be described as an approach that focuses on managing innovation
based projects in a manner that reduces wastage, optimises value creation, and is more
agile as compared to project management. In other words, lean innovation focuses on
learning and experimenting with minimal risk and resources. Lean innovation is conceptually
similar to the concept of lean startups. It involves establishing an innovation framework that
utilises minimal resources and time to create, identify, share, review, prioritise, develop, and
implement ideas. The lean innovation framework considerably reduces the per idea/project
resource and time utilisation while enhances the number of experimentation considerably
leading to a larger number of innovations. This also allows multiple experimentations

towards a single goal to identify the best and most efficient approach. Lean Innovation has
transformed the innovation landscape by altering its scope and utility to various
organisations (Wisdom et al., 2014).

Q2)
Explain how the theory and thinking on innovation could contribute to organisations
applied practice, examples are to be included, and these examples explained in detail.
An organisation is subjected to a variety of complex problems that are ever-changing and
open-ended. Constant innovation becomes a critical part of overcoming these issues and
gaining a competitive edge that's necessary for the survival and growth of every
organisation. This is the reason that has made the organisations understand the need and
importance of innovation as a part of their day-to-day operation. Another aspect of the
organisational acceptance and willingness to practice innovation is recognising innovation as
a skill set that promotes the individuals to practice it. The development of abilities like
thinking out of the box and idea generation requires active efforts. Creativity like other skills
can be learnt and people can be taught to think creatively. A creative and innovative person
can incorporate various tools and techniques that can contribute to organisational practices
and growth (Edquist, 2013). The following are some of these tools and techniques that help
in idea generation in individuals as well as in groups
Enablers
Enablers can be described as the activities that assist in idea generation by creating an
atmosphere that's conducive for idea generation. The following are some of the examples of
Enablers
 Self-Belief – It's a necessary part of the creative thinking since positive
reinforcement directly affects the performance. Self-Belief plays a critical role in a
person's ability to generate ideas. So, they need to believe that they can think
creatively and ideas will occur to them (Edquist, 2013).
 Changing the Environment – Changing the place where one is can be a huge
differentiator in successful idea generation. So, instead of conducting a discussion
while sitting in the office going out for a cup of coffee and discussing at the coffee
shop could be more productive (Edquist, 2013).
 Blocking the distractions – To generate an idea while considering an issue it's
necessary to remain mentally unoccupied and distraction free. So, avoiding any kind

of distraction can be more conducive for idea generation (Edquist, 2013). An
example could be choosing a silent place devoid of distractions like talking,
smartphones, traffic etc.
Creative Matrix
A creative matrix is a design-thinking tool that helps in idea generation at the connection of
disconnected categories. It promotes divergent thinking and it requires a group to work. A
creative matrix includes a grid drawn on a whiteboard with the problem depicted at the top.
Every row and column is designated by an aspect of the problem and the people in the
group are then asked to give ideas for each cell using sticky notes (Edquist, 2013). This
results in multiple ideas for each cell out of which top one or two are chosen and pursued.
De Bono Tools
The tools proposed by Dr de Bono are quite effective for idea generation and creative
thinking. One of these tools is Lateral Thinking. It involves pursuing the problem from a
different angle or shifting the perspective. This includes re-examining the situation from a
different perspective to facilitate the generation of the idea. Another effective and popular
tool is the Six Thinking Hats. It includes six different directions of thought represented by six
different coloured hats. The direction of thinking is defined by the Hat colour. White
represents facts, red represents Emotions, yellow is for logic, Black for judgement or
caution, blue represents control, and Green hat is for Creativity. The Six Hat Method can be
used both individually and in a group (Edquist, 2013).
Brainstorming
This is a group technique of generating ideas. It involves a group of people making collective
efforts to solve a problem by contributing multiple spontaneously generated ideas. The
concept behind this technique is that people start thinking freely without any inhibition
while giving multiple spontaneous ideas. Each of these spontaneous ideas is noted and later
pursued to identify the best approach. Another similar technique is mind mapping. It
involves writing down every idea that occurs irrespective of its viability or association.
People are expected to write down every idea without ignoring anything. The collection of
ideas is later processed to solve the problem (Edquist, 2013).

Q3)
Identify the impact leadership styles can have on innovation in organisations. Include in
your answer how specific approaches may encourage or inhibit innovation.
Leadership style can be defined as the manner in which a leader leads within the
organisation. Usually, the leadership style changes with time, requirements, and experience.
Leadership styles decide the performance of the organisation and the team depending upon
the position of the leader within the organisational hierarchy. A leadership style suitable for
the organisation and its culture can be a tremendous asset in improving the performance of
individuals as well as the organisation. Different Leadership styles have a varying impact on
the innovated and related practices within the organisation (Vaccaro et al., 2012). The
following are some of the leadership styles and their impact on the innovation within the
organisation
Directive & Participative Leadership
Directive Leadership involves the positional power of the leader that's expressed by way of
providing clear directions as well as expectations to the employees under him. It involves
active structuring of the employees by the Leaders. Participative or democratic leadership
involves seeking contribution from the team within the organisation for the decision-making
process. In both the above styles the decision making power lies with the leader, in one
(Directive) the leader exercises this power while in Participative style the leader chooses to
exercise it with while a participative Leader shares it with the subordinates (Vaccaro et al.,
2012).
A directive leader drives the innovation within the team by monitoring, controlling,
hierarchical influence, instructing and by providing a framework for action and decision
making with a focus on implementation. This type of leadership does not leave space for
creativity hence the innovation is hindered. A Participative leader gets involved in the early
stages of an innovation project and gives his team a free hand to seek and develop
solutions. The team environment promotes innovation although there's an increase in
conflict level as well. This type of leadership promotes Innovation (Vaccaro et al., 2012).

Interactive Leadership
In this type of leadership, the leader helps the team in developing their comprehension of
the goals to improve their effectiveness. They communicate important matters to the team
that are relevant to the goal. An interactive style of leadership promotes innovation by
guiding, supporting, and coaching the team members while allowing them temporary
empowerment to pursue the goals. This leadership style creates an environment that
encourages participation, enthusiasm, and involvement of the team. The team feels a
commitment towards effective execution of their work. The environment ensures a positive
impact on the innovation effectiveness of the team (Vaccaro et al., 2012).
Charismatic Leadership
This type of leadership is dependent on the persuasiveness and charm of the leader. They
are often also known as transformational leaders due to a number of similarities shared by
these two leadership styles. The Charismatic leadership has a mixed effect on the innovation
projects since they can inspire the team and enhance ideation but their lack of knowledge
leads to issues related to the execution of ideas (Vaccaro et al., 2012).
Transformational Leadership
This type of leadership can be considered as the next stage of charismatic leadership. A
transformational leader exhibits characteristics towards the team such as guiding, engaging,
encouraging, and motivating. They give individual attention to the team members and lead
by example. In terms of innovation, a transformational leader is able to motivate,
intellectually stimulate the team while providing consideration and information on an
individual basis. This result in higher motivation levels, individual mental empowerment,
enhanced self-performance expectation, and creation of an individual needs and aspirations
within the team. This type of leadership promotes creativity and generation or creation of
ideas (García-Morales et al., 2012).
Transactional Leadership
This type of leadership is focused on structure and order. The leader employs a system of
rewards and punishment that may motivate a team for the short term. This type of

leadership inhibits innovation since it hinders ideation and innovation although; it can be
effective for the implementation stage (García-Morales et al., 2012).
Innovative Leadership
The Innovative Leadership is a style that’s focused on promoting innovation and it includes
traits of various leadership styles that favour the enhancement of innovation. An innovative
leader is charismatic, creative, exhibits transformation leadership attributes, and an expert
in his domain. He must also have strong social skills and ability to plan. An innovative leader
promotes every aspect of innovation from ideation to implementation (Černe et al., 2013).

Q4)
Demonstrate why organisational and industry context is relevant to innovation.
Innovation is not an individual activity especially resource intensive or complex innovations
since innovation requires various resources that could be necessary for the successful
implementation of creative ideas. At an individual level, one can work on generating
creative ideas and implementing them if their scale is small but in a business context, the
innovation goals and objectives require team efforts (Edison et al., 2013).
The organisational context becomes an important influence on the innovation process since
the resources and supporting mechanism required for successful innovation is provided by
the organisation. The organisation will not be keen on wasting resources that align with its
business objectives and their current and future goals. The organisational goal and business
objectives usually define the innovation strategy within the organisation marking the
importance of the organisational context. Another consideration for the organisation is the
potential profitability of the innovation that decides the objectives of the innovation team.
An innovation without any monetary benefit will not be endorsed by an organisation except
in cases where the organisation gains other benefits from it such as innovation related to
processes within the organisation. It can be said that the organisational context is
component that defines the area of innovation and direction of the innovation strategy
(Edison et al., 2013). For example, smartphone manufacturers like Samsung will not be keen
towards innovations that have no relevance to their field of business such as smartphones.
So, the company will promote innovations that are relevant to their business areas and
activities but it will not support innovations that may say improve the fuel efficiency of a car
engine unless it has value in terms of intellectual property. Usually, even if the innovation
has potential value as intellectual property but no relevance to the field of operation the
companies don't promote such innovations. The industrial context also has a similar effect
since the organisational and industrial contexts are correlated in this regard (Edison et al.,
2013).
The organisational and industrial context defines the barriers to innovation that varies
among the industries and businesses. The identification of barriers to innovation and
enablers that can allow overcoming these barriers is an integral aspect of successful