Innovation and leadership: Executives fail to foster innovation

2008 – Few managers today will deny that innovation is important. Indeed, surveys and conferences show that most executives indicate that innovation is one of the main points on the agenda, and essential for growth of the organization. Despite this strong focus many organizations still fail to develop an innovation-oriented corporate culture and it appears that the main problem lies with the managers themselves.

The message from various studies is that managers pay too little attention to this subject. Innovation is still too little shaped and stimulated. The approach often is informal, corporate cultures hardly change and most managers do not make clear the importance of innovation. There is a big gap between the ambitions of managers and their ability to live up to these ambitions.
This article discusses the main findings of several studies in the field of leadership and innovation: the critical role of management, innovation in practice the principles of innovation and integration.

Reference: Innovation and Leadership – Executives fail to foster innovation (2008). In: Strategic Direction VOL. 24 NO. 5 2008, pp. 36-38, ® Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 0258-0543.