Andrea Zintz on Shaping, Stimulating and Supporting Innovation

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There are some people that make their
work just another thing they have to do,

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and there are those that make their
work something that they want to do.

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Welcome to Working on Purpose with your
host Elise Cortez. In our program,

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we provide guidance and inspiration from those
people who have found deeper meaning and

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personal connection to their work life.
It's beyond nine to five. It's working

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on Purpose. Now Here is your
host, Elise Cortez. Welcome back to

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the Working on Purpose Show. Thanks
for tuning in again this week. I'm

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your host, Elise Cortez, joining
you from Dallas, Texas, which is

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home base for me. This program
is all about helping people more meaningfully and

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productively connect with their work and equipping
organizations due to the same for their employees,

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and so I bring on guests with
a particular perspective or experience that I

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think expands this conversation, and I
often draw on the meaning of work research

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I've been doing over the last fifteen
years, as well as from my own

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consulting experience, including the work I
do today in the Signium, which is

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a global management consulting firm. I
will get to my program in just a

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Thank you jobbing dot Com. Last
week, if you missed the show

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live, you can always catch it
via recorded podcast. We were on the

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air with Hendas Samaran, who was
a real estate broker with Dave Perry Miller

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real Estate in Dallas, Texas and
the author of Grit Under My Nails,

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a memoir and three Acts. We
talked about her own journey field by grit

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through various careers, battling and surviving
breastcancer and a heart attack, and living

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life literally by sucking its marrow breath
by breaths. It was an incredibly inspiring

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conversation with us. This week is
doctor Andrew Zinz, who is the president

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of Strategic Leadership Resources and co author
of the book Orchestrating Sustainable Innovation, A

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Symphony in sound Bites, which is
launching in March twenty eighteen. We'll be

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talking about what leaders can do to
shape stem and support innovation in organizations,

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as well as how the principles of
jazz can lead to innovation. Andrea,

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welcome to Working on Purpose. Thank
you. It's an honor to be part

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of your show. So looking forward
to this conversation, Andrea, innovation is

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something that we hear a lot about
today. It's a very important topic when

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we think about just how competitive the
landscape is today. To stay relevant and

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vibrant in today's marketplace, innovation is
a very very important ingredient. So I'm

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very happy to have your perspective in
your years of experience. So to get

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us started here, I wanted to
talk about something that started my human capital

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career twenty some years ago, and
that's the talent acquisition part of things.

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And so I know that you've got
a perspective at about innovative leaders and what

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they're looking for in talent today,
which is probably been from what it was

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when I began. So what do
we need today in talent? Well,

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of course, when you're considering talent, you always want to lay the foundation

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for talent acquisition with the strategic plan
for the organization. Where where are you're

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really trying to go? Now?
This involves looking at the whole system,

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both in the present and aspirationally,
noticing sort of recurrent patterns and other factors

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that might either inhibit or support new
thinking and possibilities. So then it's about

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looking for the kind of talent who
have strategic mindset, they can take the

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long term view, they can be
and you hope they are divergent thinkers who

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can then creatively to generate new ideas
and approaches. And if the talent,

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the talent that innovative leaders are looking
for are other leaders, then you really

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want to look for the ability to
shape the right mindset for others. Can

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these candidates provide structural, develop mental
and social support. Is this a leader

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that can shape innovation having the opportunity
to bring in others who fit in the

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current culture but also think creatively to
generate new ideas and approaches. And another

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characteristic of talent for innovation is the
ability to gain the buy in, the

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sponsorship and the commitment necessary to attract
leaders and investors who would support new ideas

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and approaches. Sounds like a really
fantastic palette of talent to me now for

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our listeners. And by the way, Andrew, we enjoy listenership across the

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globe, so we were speaking to
all different kinds of people here. Contrast

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for us, how this particular need
for kind of talent would be different from

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say, you know, twenty years
ago or ten years ago, even how

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is it different from then? Well, historically a company's view of an ideal

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hire was somebody who had broad practical
experience as well as knowledge of the industry.

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So while in the past that was
usually an internal candidate, you know,

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leaders eventually realized and they found themselves
what limited by hiring only from within,

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especially when this tended to recycle old
ideas and perpetuate the status quo.

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So a common strategy today is to
partner with research organizations, universities, and

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other sources of intellectual energy that can
be imported and then developed. For example,

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this practice of doing this kind of
external recruitment prompted leaders at very progressive

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companies such as Apple to take another
tack by recruiting individuals from outside the company's

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industry. Then these leaders could rely
on new employees to infuse new ideas and

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challenge current thinking and establish new business
practices. Another limitation of past hiring practices

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was the tendency to recruit only people
with strong technical skills. Now today we

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see some new trends, for example, changes in the admissions policy these of

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medical schools. As an example,
at one time these medical schools only accepted

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applicants with hard science backgrounds, Yet
when graduates began practicing as physicians, they

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were often unable to relate effectively to
people, including patients. Knowing this,

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administrators and medical schools began to accept
liberal arts applicants in addition to those with

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backgrounds and the hard sciences. In
fact, today one school even mandates that,

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once admitted, students must visit art
museums to understand what various artists are

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attempting to communicate through their work.
The goal there is to produce physicians with

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both technical and soft skills who can
relate to patients human conditions as well as

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their medical issues in How might leaders
also apply this practice in the public and

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private sectors, not just not just
companies. So many organizations to they are

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attempting to attract talent with both soft
and hard skills, such as those taught

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now in STEM education and with its
focus on science, technology, engineering,

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and maths. Attracting and recruiting talent
then is followed by intentional onboarding practices with

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attention to retaining employees with required skill
sets and leveraging their abilities and efforts.

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So leaders, just like employees,
need both the technical and the administrative,

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the hard skills, as well as
the emotional and relationship intelligence or the soft

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skills. And one way to ensure
that employees learn them both is by having

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them engage in dialogues that stimulate new
ways of thinking and operating. And when

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leaders teach employees how to communicate,
such as by skillfully and strategically asking questions,

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listening, sharing ideas, then they
promote employees ability to influence through participation

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and problem solving and decision making.
Oh my gosh, Andrew, there was

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so much really good meat there you
just gave us. Thank you for that

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thought leadership. I want the way
end just quickly just presencing some of the

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work I've been doing recently in this
consulting space, and that just to bring

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it and apply it to what I've
been seeing in the real world as well,

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and that is that we're working with
their organization right now, who has

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most of its senior leadership actually in
their HR team that have been there for

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like twenty and thirty years and very
very little new organizations are just like you

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were saying, there's a lot of
depth and experience with the organization, but

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not much from without. So very
there's not very much innovation happening there because

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there's no new ideas to stimulate that. So they're starting to bring in some

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newer people from outside the company,
as you were saying, even outside the

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industry, and what a difference that's
making to really stir things up. And

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then also what I was just thinking
about when you were talking, Andrew,

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as I just got off a booster
session called one of our clients and we

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were we had them working on a
project to be able to inculcate the inspirational

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leader work that we were working with
them on, and we asked them to

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do projects together across the nation.
They don't normally do that together as a

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team. They stay very very regional
or even by city. And they were

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incredibly amazed by the stimulation that they
got by working together across talents and divisions

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and what that produced in the in
the project. So just again some of

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that mixing that you're talking about that
seems to be so important to produce something

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entirely different, So just really wanted
to comment that I just got that and

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it was just exciting. Well,
you know, innovation has so much to

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do with adjacencies, So something hasn't
done in the auto industry might be you

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could maybe import that and reset it
in a maybe in the retail you know,

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or in the in the wardrobe industry. You know, you never know

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where are you going to pull a
fabulous idea that could be adjacent to and

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applicable to something totally different. I'm
Elise cortezure host. We're in the year

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with Doctor Andrews and see with us. We'll be right back. Friend us

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se at Elise Cortez dot com. Now

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back to Working on Purpose. Thanks
for staying with us, and welcome back

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to Working on Purpose if you're just
joining us. My guest is doctor Andrew

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Zinz, who is the president of
Strategic Leadership Resources and the co author of

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the book Orchestrating Sustainable Innovation, A
Symphony in Soundbites. Before starting her own

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consulting practice, as Andreas served in
two executive roles at Johnson and Johnson,

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as vice president of human Resources for
the J and J subsidiary Orthobiotech, Inc.

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And subsequently as Director of Leadership Development
at J and JAY Corporate headquarters.

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We've been talking in about the whole
notion of talent acquisition and that strategy,

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and also the notion of what goes
into this idea of adjacency. How we

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can maybe borrow ideas from one industry
and apply them to another. So next,

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Andrew, if we can, let's
talk a little bit about the making

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of a culture of innovation. We
do a lot of work around culture,

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but maybe specifically in that space of
creating one that's aimed at igniting innovation is

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something very specific. So tell us
some important things we need to know about

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that. Oh great, Well,
we all know that the way a business

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gets done is heavily influenced by an
organization's culture, and cultures consist of attitudes,

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values, and habits that are expressed
through its norms or unwritten rules of

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behavior. Now cultures, there is
often a crisis de jure mentality, the

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tyranny of the urgent at play filled
leaders tend to counter this by slowing it

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down, listening carefully, asking questions
of themselves and others, and exploring creative

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ideas. And these practices are critical
elements in creating a culture for innovation and

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also in establishing good leadership credibility.
In fact, a mindset of curiosity is

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one of the most challenging yet valuable
aspects of sustainable innovation. To co generate

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win win solutions with employees, leaders
should on a very daily basis help create

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and model constant dialogue about how actions
and decisions are matching up to the standards

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that are professed in one's company vision
and the value statements that companies usually abide

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by. Since the most skilled leaders
ask more than tell, they tend to

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model and elevate that ability to ask
questions skillfully, and when they do this,

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they strategically build these leaderships, leadership
skills, and other people so the

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best questions do lead to the best
thinking and to create culture around innovation,

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leaders can identify the current practices and
behaviors that will yield rewards, as well

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as practices that serve as obstacles to
innovation. Most people in an organization tend

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to want to behave according to what's
rewarded. Leaders should then identify the normative

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behaviors and ask what are the prevailing
success models in the organization. To sustain

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and innovative culture, leaders should also
focus on the practices that their organizations will

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meet in the future, such as
those which connect to the vision and the

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strategy. This type of ongoing examination
ensures that the behaviors that are necessary to

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achieve innovation to achieve the goals and
objectives become opportunities you know, growth plans,

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and it also establishes a very common
language and very clear expectations for practices

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needed for the organization. If the
stated vision and the policies are at odds

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with what gets rewarded through both formal
and informal means, then employees will do

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what they think will bring about success. And since innovation and change typically require

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risk taking, leaders can do well
by reinforcing a new norm to show appreciation

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to people when they experiment and learn
from failure and mistakes. Leaders should also

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recognize employees when they advocate for something
that they believe is important and when they

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achieve something right in the face of
challenges or obstacles. So there's one more

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watch out on this when you're creating
or shifting to a culture of innovation.

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Our human brains are wired hardwired to
intuit whether another person is a friend or

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a foe, so there's a tendency
to favor collaborating with people who we view

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as being a lot like us.
And because diversity can run counter to existing

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cultural norms and create some tension,
leaders should be skilled in change management,

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and human resource professionals today should be
able to work as teams of internal consultants

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together to actively engage leaders and diversity
efforts and create cultures that value and embrace

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diversity. It is so key to
a culture of innovation. Andrew, I

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want to go back to something that
you said back there just really brought me

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back to a conversation we had on
Friday. As a firm and insignium,

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we will read thought leadership books and
then we also enroll many of our clients

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to do the same so they can
join in the conversation continue their own learning

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journey as well as leaders. And
we read Creative Confidence together. And one

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of the things that we were talking
about, which is what you mentioned,

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was you know, when you were
in it, when you're trying to be

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able to create univerization and innovate,
you do go out on the line there.

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And so being able to recognize employees
when they don't necessarily innovate or even

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actually when they fail, when they
actually find out, well, we found

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sixteen reasons or sixteen ways it doesn't
work. Now maybe the next one would

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be how it actually does work,
but recognizing that it was an important part

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of the process and celebrating them.
And so one of the things that you

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talk about in your book that I
think is interesting and like to hear a

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little bit more about. Is the
notion the role of trust and safety.

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Yes, and they are so important
to shaping innovation. Trust is a very

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potent factor in creating an environment that
fosters and sustains innovation. If employees don't

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feel safe enough to take risks and
experiment with new behaviors that support the goals

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that you're trying to achieve, then
the chances of introducing innovation will be slim

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to none. We're talking about psychological
safety here. When attempting to build trust,

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leaders should be willing to listen deeply
for what may underlie and employees' requests

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or their demands. For example,
these might include issues arising from complaints or

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commitments that have made work life balance
difficult. Processes they experience is unwieldy.

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Leaders can help create a model dialog
on a daily basis and sort of cogenerate

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win win solutions with employees. This
increased the sense of psychological safety. Risk

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tolerance is also an essential element that
drives innovation. As we just talked about,

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successful leaders help employees summon their courage
for new tasks and develop new behaviors

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or skill sets by tapping into the
principles to which they're most committed. Another

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way in which leaders help employees build
risk tolerance is when they create effective risk

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management strategies and they establish guidelines and
some guardrails for employees. These structures create

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psychological safety, and this important trust
or safety in an organization's culture makes it

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easier for employees to raise potential risks
and discover mitigating strategies before any possible disasters

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can occur. And leaders of innovation
reinforce risk tolerance by recognizing and rewarding people

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who exhibit trust, take calculated risks, and demonstrate a willingness to continue and

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persist in innovating. Oh my goodness, there's so much in there. Andrew

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and I have a very very singsong
voice. It's I don't know how much

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radio you've done, but it's very
lovely to hear your voice in the way

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that it sounds. So this is
a little bit of a different direction.

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We've been talking about how to shape
innovation, and this next question might get

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more into the supporting it or stimulating
it, but that is You've got a

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whole section in your book about casting
meaningful and inspiring visions. And of course

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most of us have heard about inspirational
leadership and the importance of being able to

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have vision. But would you say
a little bit about what you mean by

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casting meaningful and inspiring visions? Absolutely, boy, Communicating shared visions and values

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is such a critical thing for inspiring
high performance, and it works at the

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individual level, the team level,
and the organizational levels. And it's not

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just one way. Two way communication
also ensures alignment between the employees goals and

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ambitions and the strategic agenda that the
leaders are trying to drive. Now,

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as human beings, we all sort
of make meaning, right, We interpret

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things through a filter and we make
meaning out of it. And since all

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meeting is a meaning is really socially
constructed. Leaders can use this as a

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very powerful force on the whole.
Leaders want fair people to experience a feeling

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or have a dream, because these
are what help to overcome fear and what

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will ultimately endure through challenge. We've
probably watched leaders stimulate people when they're speaking

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passionately about their missions and their vision
as well as what personally moves them.

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This is important. Leaders can encourage
employees and other critical stakeholders by helping them

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see how their unique roles contribute to
the organization's mission and vision and to be

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sufficiently stimulated to innovate. People really
benefit from frequent communication about how the work

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they're doing connects to the greater good. Then they can relate the importance of

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their roles and the ways in which
their work makes a significant difference, helping

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to create that storyline and make meaning
Examples of meaningful activities or outputs might include

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clear and accurate information for enhanced decision
making, help and cures for diseases,

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or products and services that improve people's
quality of life in general. Now author

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and educator Jim Kuses is a contributor
to our book. He wrote The Leadership

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Challenge, and he talks about leaders
on their ability to show how innovation itself

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has value and can be brought about
in meaningful ways. In our interview with

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him for our book, he said
people don't think of life in statistics or

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metrics. Jim Kuses beliefs that the
ways in which leaders communicate with employees reflect

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the meaning behind innovation. What employees
tell themselves about their roles, their responsibilities,

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and their goals concerning certain innovation is
very important. When people commit to

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a shared vision collectively, they want
to feel and they often feel a part

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of something larger than themselves, and
that's what creates synergy. Leaders can initiate

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these kind of conversations to stimulate new
thinking, and when they do this,

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they manage the creative energy that helps
shape an innovative culture, an innovation type

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culture, and helps employees see that
their assets that are worthy of an investment

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of time and energy, sharing new
knowledge and facilitating provocative and engaging conversations among

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team members and across department boundaries.
These are examples of what leaders can do

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to raise the excitement about what may
be possible, especially as it relates to

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a vision an image of what can
be attained. I'm hanging on every word,

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Andrew, because it's of course very
much in alignment with the work that

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we do as a firm and the
work that I've been doing for years also

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in leadership development. And you know, when I think about what we're up

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to in terms of like breakthrough performance
kind of work, Andrew, a lot

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of times what we're doing is just
what you're saying, is we're helping develop

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in leaders this notion of how do
you tell the story in a way that

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enrolls people to your vision and such
that they can't resist basically, and you

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do it, And I like the
way that you said this right, being

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able to connect their individual role and
their contribution to something bigger. It takes

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language to do that right, and
so it may not be obvious to the

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person who's doing a particular part of
the job because they can't see they can't

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see the threat. So being able
to do that as a leader is something

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that I think is really really important
and terribly prized, especially in an innovation

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initiative. So really appreciate the way
that you put that all together for us

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and then related that one go ahead
and say something else. Yes. One

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other kind of quick example of that
is Orthobiotech. We used to have town

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halls with employees and some of the
people who were operate operators and you know,

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on the line creating pharmaceutical drugs didn't
really understand or couldn't really grasp how

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meaningful their role was in producing things
that changed and improved the quality of other

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people's lives, of patients lives.
So at our meetings we would invite some

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of the patients whose lives were turned
around or improved by the provaliance we're making.

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And I have to tell you just
how incredible it was for these employees

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when they left, they really felt
the meaning and the importance of what they

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were contributing. I think that is
a brilliant example, Andre and reminds me

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of when I was doing my meeting
and work research, even and I both

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went to fielding. That was how
this whole thing began. I don't know

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if you remember that, but that, yes, I do. Original connection

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point, but I remember distinctly when
I was interviewing a CIO of a very

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large food service, a food company, and his whole thing was, I

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want to stay as close to the
heartbeat of the customers I can't so I

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can hear it beating, I can
be connected to that heartbeats. So important

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to be able to do that.
So I really love that idea of a

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town hall I'm bringing in the patients. That's amazing. The next thing I

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want to talk about, if we
can, It's one of my favorite topics.

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By the way, Andrea, you
have another section about signals and motivators.

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Motivation is something that I've been very
intrigued with because really, at the

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heart of it. It gets to
energy, and I'm all about energy.

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Anybody who knows me, I talk
fast, I walk fast. I care

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what gets people going in up in
the morning. So tell us a little

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bit about that perspective on signals and
motivators. Well. Great. One of

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the things that foundation for this is
that leaders, actually, anyone who is

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being inspirational in any way, are
communicating almost all the time, whether they're

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consciously aware of it or not,
and this communication occurs when followers interpret nonverbal

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communication as well as action or non
action as signals. Followers also attribute meaning

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to a leader's nonverbal messages when they
share their perceptions with others, and for

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this reason, very effective leaders in
almost everywhere benefit by consciously giving clear and

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unambiguous signals. It means being mindful. Leaders should also provide the necessary vision

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and structure while still allowing their partner's
latitude in how they express So, keeping

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in mind that signals enable leaders to
exercise their authorities, employees are, especially

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today, are unlikely to tolerate authoritarian
or dictatorship behavior. Why won't Neuroscience has

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really taught us a lot and confirms
that our brains are hardwired to see the

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lack of autonomy as a threat.
People feel safer with the ability to make

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choices, So leaders must stimulate their
followers with signals that strike the right balance

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between too much structure or structure and
freedom. Now I have an example of

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this. I've witnessed the managers use
what I call the symbolic act as a

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clear signal when I was with Jay
and Jay. An executive who I greatly

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admired, employed this exemplary strategy when
he took on a new leadership role in

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corporate administration. His name is Roger. Roger questioned a very long standing and

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unpopular policy that allocated all award travel
mileage to the company. By subsequently changing

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the system to us assign award miles
back to the travelers, he sent a

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very strong signal without any words.
He showed that he could listen to all

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these complaints and act in the best
interest of hard working employees who had to

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travel for work. Leaders like Roger
engage in symbolic acts when they clearly and

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thoroughly communicate plans, visions, and
goals while simultaneously encouraging people to challenge the

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status quo question long held assumptions.
One way that leaders can do this effectively

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is the way in which they seek
out and obtain the answers to questions.

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And that is one of the other
things I wanted to talk a little bit

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more about. You've already mentioned this
notion that leaders should do more more listening

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and questioning than talking, and I
wanted you to talk a little bit more

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about the power of inquiry. I
certainly understand the power of that, really

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generously listening to someone speak, but
but a listening their thoughts and their and

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their passions. I think it's becoming
almost a bit of a lost art almost,

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so it really stands out when it's
done well. So what can you

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tell us about the power of inquiry
and how we can use it, especially

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when we're trying to stimulate innovation.
Well, two habits can really help with

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this. The first is asking questions
that open up new possibilities in thinking,

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rather than the kind of questions where
we know the answers and you, the

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listener, needs to get it right, you know what I mean. So

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it's asking questions that come from curiosity. The second is taking multiple perspectives.

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So when leaders try out the point
of view of someone whose ideas are usually

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dismissed. They can learn and bring
about value from that diversity of thought.

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For example, when a question asked
inside an old model of thinking can only

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be answered from outside it, that's
when paradigm shifts occur. Now, in

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the same sense, innovation in processes, products, or services can represent a

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response to a new question or to
an old question asked in a new way.

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And that's why innovative leaders thrive on
inquiry. I'll give you a quick

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example. I was once in a
strategic planning meeting. It was another Ja

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and Jay company and I was facilitating, and one of the leaders in the

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group was very quiet, and there
was an art about to go there regarding

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the definition of a particular term,
and the whole strategy really depended on being

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able to align and understand this term. And while they were talking, all

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of a sudden, the guy raised
his hand, this company president raised his

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hand and he said, well,
what do we mean by And he named

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the word What do we mean by
this word? And everybody turned around like

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he was out of Everybody knows the
answer to that, and they tried to

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teach him. And while they were
arguing with him about trying to define the

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word, they realized they didn't have
a common definition of this word. By

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just asking that simple what sounded like
a clueless question, it changed the entire

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dialogue to one that helped to move
it forward and create a very innovative new

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strategy. So innovators often search for
new questions and new answers because they know

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if they keep asking the same questions, they're going to keep getting the same

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old answers. And to produce a
new response and potentially create a different future

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than expected, a person needs to
ask a new question. The juncture at

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which a new inquiry opens up a
new path often occurs at the very moment

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it's asked, just like I did
in that example. The difference between leaders

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who are innovative and those who aren't
depends in large part on the way in

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which they ask questions of themselves and
others, and because of that, no

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question exists apart from its delivery.
The way in which leaders deliver a query

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and express their intention can speak louder
than any words, whether they ask questions

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of themselves or others, leaders inquiries
can come across as requests or invitations or

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missiles, and those who are skilled
in the art of question asking deliver it

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in a very constructive way, rather
than as a way to intimidate or criticize

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or show how much they know.
It's very important to ask questions with a

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mindset of authentic curiosity. The big
difference between a mindset of curiosity and one

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that's judgmental includes how flexible a person
is, their respect for another person's point

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of view, and their ability to
operate in a resolution seeking or problem seeking

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mode. Since our mindset consists of
attitudes, the power of leadership resides in

402
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the ability to observe ourselves and choose
a particular mindset from which to operate,

403
00:34:52.880 --> 00:34:58.719
and this strengthens the use of our
natural curiosity while it taims our natural tendency

404
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sometimes to be judged metal not only
a bet ourselves but other people and for

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supporting and sustaining innovation. Over time, leaders demonstrate good leaders really demonstrate presence

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their vulnerability aren't their authenticity when they
ask good, provocative questions and engage with

407
00:35:19.599 --> 00:35:23.840
others in a very transparent, transparent, and humble way. And this conscious

408
00:35:23.960 --> 00:35:30.000
choice is a discipline that becomes easier
with practice, intention, and reinforcement.

409
00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:36.559
One of the things I was thinking
about as you were talking, Andrea,

410
00:35:36.719 --> 00:35:42.079
is just the power of inquiry means
that we're soliciting input from all different kinds

411
00:35:42.079 --> 00:35:45.760
of people. You mentioned diversity before, and certainly all different kinds of people

412
00:35:45.760 --> 00:35:49.559
with different backgrounds, different perspectives within
the organization. And one of the things

413
00:35:49.559 --> 00:35:52.360
that I was certainly present to it
as you began speaking, was the importance

414
00:35:52.360 --> 00:35:57.519
of soliciting information from people who don't
normally offer it. In other words,

415
00:35:57.559 --> 00:36:01.400
maybe they're more introverted. And it's
amazing what you learned when you let somebody

416
00:36:01.440 --> 00:36:05.000
talk, you stand back for a
moment and give them space to talk.

417
00:36:05.880 --> 00:36:08.000
I'm sure you've seen that over and
over again. The power and the beauty

418
00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:10.840
of that when you stand back and
see that, Oh my god. Well,

419
00:36:12.079 --> 00:36:19.920
here's a big legend, really,
Jane Jay around innovation and Jansen,

420
00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:27.119
the guy who Janssen Pharmaceutical is named
for. He was known for going around

421
00:36:27.239 --> 00:36:30.840
as a scientist into the different laboratories
and asking everyone out of the blue,

422
00:36:31.280 --> 00:36:37.800
so what's new? So what's new? And everyone started to get ready to

423
00:36:37.920 --> 00:36:43.480
give him something that was new because
he kept asking the question, and it

424
00:36:43.639 --> 00:36:51.440
totally jazzed up the innovation in that
organization. How wonderful and a perfect way

425
00:36:51.440 --> 00:36:53.440
to send us into a break.
I'm Elise cortezure host. We were in

426
00:36:53.440 --> 00:36:58.320
the air with doctor Andrewsens, who
is the president of Strategic Leadership Resources and

427
00:36:58.360 --> 00:37:01.920
the co author of the book Orchestra
Get Sustainable Innovation, a Symphony and soundbites.

428
00:37:02.519 --> 00:37:08.320
We've been talking a good bit about
how to shape and to stimulate innovation.

429
00:37:08.320 --> 00:37:09.920
After the break, we're going to
talk a little more about how to

430
00:37:09.920 --> 00:37:22.440
support it. Stay with us,
We'll be right back. Friend us on

431
00:37:22.480 --> 00:37:28.880
Facebook to keep up with what's empowering
the world. Voice America Empowerment. Elise

432
00:37:28.960 --> 00:37:34.400
Cortez is a speaker and engagement and
development catalyst. She designs and delivers professional

433
00:37:34.440 --> 00:37:38.599
development, leadership and engagement workshops and
can bring her expertise to your organization.

434
00:37:38.840 --> 00:37:44.880
She will help ignite meaningful development within
your workforce that will increase employee engagement,

435
00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:49.159
performance and retention. To learn more
or to invite Elise to speak to your

436
00:37:49.280 --> 00:37:53.719
organization, please visit her at www
dot Elise Cortez dot com. She would

437
00:37:53.760 --> 00:38:00.559
welcome the opportunity to help get your
employees working on purpose. You're making it

438
00:38:00.639 --> 00:38:04.760
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439
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446
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447
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pm Pacific on the Voice America Empowerment
Channel. Tune into the Power Party for

448
00:38:57.519 --> 00:39:15.360
positive, uplifting, life changing talk
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449
00:39:15.639 --> 00:39:27.920
Follow us on Twitter for more great
ideas at Voice America Empowerment. This

450
00:39:28.079 --> 00:39:32.000
is working on Purpose with Elise Cortez. To reach our program today, please

451
00:39:32.039 --> 00:39:37.800
call into one triple eight three four
six nine one four one. Again that's

452
00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:42.199
one triple eight three four six nine
one four one. You may also send

453
00:39:42.239 --> 00:39:47.599
an email to Elise A l I
s E at Elise Cortez dot com.

454
00:39:47.599 --> 00:39:53.119
Now back to working on Purpose.
Thanks you for sting what's us and welcome

455
00:39:53.119 --> 00:39:57.199
back to working on Purpose if you're
just tuning in. My guest is doctor

456
00:39:57.239 --> 00:40:00.199
Andrew Zins, who is the president
of Strategic Leadership Resources and the co author

457
00:40:00.199 --> 00:40:06.079
of the book Orchestrating Sustainable Innovation,
A Symphony in sound Bites. Before starting

458
00:40:06.079 --> 00:40:09.039
her own consulting practice, Andrews served
in two executive roles at Johnson and Johnson,

459
00:40:09.320 --> 00:40:14.719
as vice president of Human Resources where
the Jay and Jay subsidiary Orthobiotech,

460
00:40:14.840 --> 00:40:19.599
Inc. And subsequently as Director of
Leadership Development at Jay and Jay Corporate Headquarters.

461
00:40:19.639 --> 00:40:22.199
I'm your host of these Cortez,
So for this last little bit of

462
00:40:22.199 --> 00:40:25.280
time together here, Andrea, I
want to talk about a few things that

463
00:40:27.119 --> 00:40:30.159
I think are important. First,
I want to get to the importance of

464
00:40:30.280 --> 00:40:35.199
leadership assessment and then of course development. I'm struck by the number of organizations

465
00:40:35.199 --> 00:40:38.079
that we work with that are very
established and they're very successful, and they

466
00:40:38.079 --> 00:40:44.239
have done little assessment and development.
What can what's your perspective on assessment and

467
00:40:44.280 --> 00:40:50.239
development of leaders Well, as we
know, leadership drives culture, it drives

468
00:40:50.400 --> 00:40:55.079
action, It sets you know,
leadership is it sets the strategic plan.

469
00:40:55.159 --> 00:41:00.360
I mean all things sort of flow
from leadership. The ability to ensure that

470
00:41:00.719 --> 00:41:07.440
you've got the right kind of leaders
for the strategy that you're trying to execute,

471
00:41:07.760 --> 00:41:12.400
as well as ensuring that they are
developing in a way that helps to

472
00:41:13.320 --> 00:41:17.239
create the conditions for innovation. Those
are very important, and I think these

473
00:41:17.760 --> 00:41:24.599
really show up in partnerships, partnerships
between leaders, partnerships between leader and employees,

474
00:41:25.079 --> 00:41:30.159
and outside concerns as well, because
these are essential for generating the proverbial

475
00:41:30.320 --> 00:41:37.760
spark that leads to innovation. The
entire innovation process, from idea generation to

476
00:41:37.920 --> 00:41:44.400
execution is based in leaders commitments to
their followers as well as their dedication to

477
00:41:44.480 --> 00:41:50.679
evolving themselves as leaders. Now,
this process ideally begins with formal and accurate

478
00:41:50.719 --> 00:41:57.039
skills assessment and continues with both structured
and formal development efforts, and is a

479
00:41:57.079 --> 00:42:05.039
way to move development beyond class rooms
and coaching. Leaders frequently assign people to

480
00:42:05.199 --> 00:42:12.280
meaningful projects, and they themselves sponsor
these projects. That these projects require the

481
00:42:12.360 --> 00:42:17.639
application of some newly acquired skills and
experience, and we know now that it's

482
00:42:17.719 --> 00:42:24.159
through experience and practice that people grow
and learn and accelerate that growth and learning.

483
00:42:24.519 --> 00:42:30.920
Applying new skills generates confidence and competence
with new practices and habits. So

484
00:42:31.079 --> 00:42:38.199
leaders demonstrate commission commitment most effectively when
they sponsor initiatives that develop other employees.

485
00:42:39.000 --> 00:42:45.760
So through formal coursework, coaching,
on the job training, leaders can strengthen

486
00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:51.719
their benches with potentially skilled replacements and
at the same time that they help people

487
00:42:51.840 --> 00:42:57.440
close skill and competency gaps. And
because research has proven that learning is more

488
00:42:57.480 --> 00:43:02.719
powerful when it is experiential, lead
ship best practice is also to include special

489
00:43:02.760 --> 00:43:10.639
projects, international assignments, volunteer roles
on boards, and other developmental initiatives in

490
00:43:10.679 --> 00:43:19.679
a potential leaders development plan. This
gives them exposure to potential adjacencies, new

491
00:43:19.760 --> 00:43:24.400
ideas as from other sources, just
as we talked about previously. And when

492
00:43:24.480 --> 00:43:31.559
leaders create a deep innovation bench,
they also optimize employee retention because building and

493
00:43:31.639 --> 00:43:39.000
sustaining innovation requires an effort to expand
capacity. And when leaders line up create

494
00:43:39.000 --> 00:43:45.639
a lineup of both current and potential
internal candidates, they also develop and support

495
00:43:45.719 --> 00:43:52.079
their organization's innovation potential and capabilities.
Now here's a warning about a common mistake

496
00:43:52.119 --> 00:44:00.119
that's easily made when you're formulating training
and development initiatives, leaders sometimes predicate new

497
00:44:00.239 --> 00:44:06.679
projects on the competence is needed to
address the existing business and business as usual,

498
00:44:07.559 --> 00:44:13.119
rather than anticipating skills necessary for the
future. When leaders look at development

499
00:44:13.199 --> 00:44:19.280
as the foundation for both current and
emerging competences, then they really ensure sufficient

500
00:44:19.360 --> 00:44:27.599
preparation of those high potentials. And
when leaders link skill requirements to both present

501
00:44:27.639 --> 00:44:35.239
and future strategies, there's another benefit. The linkage often becomes aspirational, and

502
00:44:35.280 --> 00:44:39.760
then there's power to engage employees as
they develop the required skills and experience because

503
00:44:39.760 --> 00:44:45.599
they can see what they're contributing to
the future. It's very exciting. It's

504
00:44:45.679 --> 00:44:52.440
all based in the direction that the
organization is taking. Oh my goodness,

505
00:44:52.519 --> 00:44:55.159
Andrews, so just very quick,
I want to make sure you have enough

506
00:44:55.199 --> 00:44:59.119
time for at least one other question
before we have to go. But I

507
00:44:59.159 --> 00:45:04.079
do want to present that it's so
important to socialize with other leaders because people

508
00:45:04.119 --> 00:45:06.639
don't know what they don't know about
themselves as leaders. Right, So,

509
00:45:06.760 --> 00:45:08.119
as an example, when we go
in to do any kind of a leadership

510
00:45:08.119 --> 00:45:12.639
initiative, we will have interviews with
each of the participants ahead of time and

511
00:45:12.679 --> 00:45:14.880
just gage where they think they are
and what they want, how they want

512
00:45:14.880 --> 00:45:17.880
to develop and transform themselves. And
it's amazing the number of people who say,

513
00:45:17.920 --> 00:45:22.039
I'm pretty good where I'm at.
I'm thick, I'm pretty good leader

514
00:45:22.079 --> 00:45:23.920
as it is so there. In
other words, I think I'll just audit

515
00:45:23.960 --> 00:45:28.079
this whole course that you're going to
send me through, and then as you

516
00:45:28.119 --> 00:45:31.639
get into it, their presence as
you say to that possibility of something completely

517
00:45:31.800 --> 00:45:37.760
transformative for themselves, and they get
access to that possibility and recognize just how

518
00:45:37.840 --> 00:45:40.519
much they can grow. And so
I just really think it's important. The

519
00:45:40.519 --> 00:45:45.119
assessment piece is so important to socializing
with other leaders to be able to learn

520
00:45:45.239 --> 00:45:51.039
from them, so important. Yes, I couldn't agree more. Well,

521
00:45:51.119 --> 00:45:53.199
we have just about I guess,
probably eight minutes left here. I want

522
00:45:53.239 --> 00:45:59.639
to make sure that I give to
my listeners something that we've been teasing them

523
00:45:59.639 --> 00:46:02.440
with, and that's this whole notion
of using the principles of jazz to lead

524
00:46:02.480 --> 00:46:06.800
innovation. I'm terribly intrigued by the
idea here, and of course I know

525
00:46:06.840 --> 00:46:08.840
that's the basis of your book,
So tell us a little bit about this.

526
00:46:09.480 --> 00:46:15.280
Sure. Of course, we use
throughout the book both symphony orchestras and

527
00:46:15.639 --> 00:46:22.480
jazz ensembles as a metaphor for innovating
and really speaking to the art and the

528
00:46:22.559 --> 00:46:30.079
science of innovation. So I'll use
an example. John cow a former professor

529
00:46:30.119 --> 00:46:36.559
of innovation at Stanford and Harvard,
told us when he was contributing his notes

530
00:46:36.599 --> 00:46:43.599
to the book that they must perform
in ways. That it's important to perform

531
00:46:43.639 --> 00:46:47.199
in ways that are similar to those
employed by symphony orchestras and jazz musicians,

532
00:46:47.360 --> 00:46:53.840
rather than by the methods most leaders
use to manage their organizations currently. So

533
00:46:54.039 --> 00:46:59.559
let's take a quick look at this. Some leaders outside the art world are

534
00:46:59.599 --> 00:47:05.519
trained in the science of innovation,
but very few have expertise in the art

535
00:47:05.559 --> 00:47:13.800
that's also required, the art meaning
a certain degree of intuition and risk,

536
00:47:14.159 --> 00:47:19.400
thinking and dreaming. The art of
a professional symphony orchestra, for instance,

537
00:47:19.559 --> 00:47:23.559
first and foremost, is an expression
of the creativity of its talent, namely

538
00:47:23.599 --> 00:47:29.320
its musicians, and their expertise is
usually the result of years of preparation,

539
00:47:29.519 --> 00:47:35.440
mastery, and excellence. In highly
innovative organizations, the art is evident in

540
00:47:35.519 --> 00:47:39.960
their talent as well. If leaders
are to adapt to the ongoing dynamics of

541
00:47:40.039 --> 00:47:45.159
internal and external shifts in the market, for instance, or in the landscape

542
00:47:45.159 --> 00:47:52.039
they're working in, they have to
continually anticipate and manage change while they also

543
00:47:52.079 --> 00:47:59.280
deliver on value. And a very
few innovative symphony orchestra's leaders are now blending

544
00:48:00.079 --> 00:48:06.880
a combination of classical and new music
and some jazz, matching it in very

545
00:48:06.920 --> 00:48:15.480
culturally appropriate ways to the changing demographics
and preferences of audiences today. Now that's

546
00:48:15.559 --> 00:48:20.679
really a metaphor because if you take
that to successful business leaders, they've been

547
00:48:21.159 --> 00:48:27.199
meeting and anticipating consumer needs for years
through adjacencies as we've mentioned, and expanded

548
00:48:27.199 --> 00:48:35.079
distribution. But these methods usually only
facilitate very incremental innovation. But how this

549
00:48:35.239 --> 00:48:40.440
wonderful professor shows how a jazz metaphor
best illustrates what else needs to be done.

550
00:48:40.840 --> 00:48:46.920
Business leaders, like experienced jazz musicians, often benefit from sort of playing

551
00:48:46.960 --> 00:48:52.320
with ideas that have the potential to
meet current needs but also to disrupt marketplaces

552
00:48:52.360 --> 00:48:59.679
and even entire industries. Without disruptive
innovations, leaders might limit the growth of

553
00:48:59.679 --> 00:49:04.480
their organizations and ultimately compromise their ability
to keep pace with competitors. And there

554
00:49:04.480 --> 00:49:07.920
are a lot of examples out there
in the business world. In business settings

555
00:49:07.920 --> 00:49:16.840
the science that can create and preserve
value is like evident in evident by producing

556
00:49:16.840 --> 00:49:22.960
strategic and operations planning, you know, and other critical processes such as a

557
00:49:22.039 --> 00:49:30.519
portfolio management and performance management in benchmarking
and metrics and process optimization. All these

558
00:49:30.519 --> 00:49:35.199
things keep things in play and they're
very important. But when with jazz,

559
00:49:35.480 --> 00:49:39.840
jazz musicians bring things to life as
they go along. They improvise, they

560
00:49:42.400 --> 00:49:45.800
build and play off of each other. And we see this in leaders of

561
00:49:45.880 --> 00:49:52.000
startup operations. If you look at
some of the really wonderful startup operations that

562
00:49:52.079 --> 00:49:58.519
have disrupted their industries and become highly
successful, they do it through co creation,

563
00:49:58.840 --> 00:50:06.239
collaboration, bringing interesting ideas and adjacency
into play. Jazz musicians and leaders

564
00:50:06.320 --> 00:50:09.039
of startups, you know, have
a lot in common. They deliberately produce

565
00:50:09.119 --> 00:50:16.480
something new or different that sounds so
incredibly exciting to me. And I've really

566
00:50:16.800 --> 00:50:21.519
one of the great things about doing
breakthrough performance work and doing breakthrough projects.

567
00:50:21.519 --> 00:50:22.800
It's just exactly what you were saying
before, Andrew. When we work with

568
00:50:22.880 --> 00:50:27.960
clients, you know, obviously we're
helping them create or to produce the critical

569
00:50:28.000 --> 00:50:30.079
business outcome that they need, and
in so doing, it's all of the

570
00:50:30.079 --> 00:50:35.400
efforts are wrapped into a project,
of course, and it's that experience and

571
00:50:35.920 --> 00:50:39.679
living it, of practicing it that
action inculcates the abilities and then create something

572
00:50:39.719 --> 00:50:44.960
totally different. It's it's magic every
time for me to be able to witness

573
00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:50.159
that. So I appreciate how you
you language that for us. In our

574
00:50:50.280 --> 00:50:52.559
last bit of time together, we've
got maybe just maybe two minutes if you

575
00:50:52.599 --> 00:50:58.280
can talk about this. Is you
mentioned you have two actual idea actionable ideas

576
00:50:58.320 --> 00:51:00.119
that lead to innovation, and I
know all the would love to walk away

577
00:51:00.119 --> 00:51:04.559
with something they can put into effect
immediately. So what do you have,

578
00:51:05.280 --> 00:51:10.760
well, action actionable idea I've got
two of them. One is to ensure

579
00:51:10.880 --> 00:51:16.719
sustainability. Now we can we can
create new exciting things, it's the sustaining

580
00:51:16.760 --> 00:51:22.559
it that's so tough. So to
ensure sustainabilities, leaders need to make sure

581
00:51:22.639 --> 00:51:30.519
that their organizations maintain a balance between
competing priorities and conflicting forces. So how

582
00:51:30.559 --> 00:51:35.519
can leaders find the sweet spot between
things that are competing rights? What's our

583
00:51:35.559 --> 00:51:42.360
highest priority? I've got three a
priorities and all these conflicts. What to

584
00:51:42.400 --> 00:51:46.920
do about the seemingly opposing forces?
Leaders should find the right balance between idea

585
00:51:47.039 --> 00:51:52.920
generation and execution. One of our
other contributors to the book, Vja gov

586
00:51:53.360 --> 00:51:57.519
Well, I'll call him VG because
I can never say his last name,

587
00:51:57.559 --> 00:52:01.199
and you also to say author Chris
Tremble. They both were Christian bull Is

588
00:52:01.239 --> 00:52:06.400
from the Tuch School. They both
say there's just too much focus on idea

589
00:52:06.480 --> 00:52:12.519
generation and not enough on execution.
They believe that's because people innately prefer the

590
00:52:12.519 --> 00:52:17.039
front end, or the fun part
of innovation, where brainstorming and other ways

591
00:52:17.079 --> 00:52:22.599
of generating ideas can be so much
fun. Far less exciting, and certainly

592
00:52:22.639 --> 00:52:25.960
more grueling, is the back end
of innovation, where ideas are translated into

593
00:52:27.000 --> 00:52:31.800
actionable strategies and then executed. Leaders
at the back end of innovation are needed

594
00:52:32.079 --> 00:52:37.119
to keep projects on course and within
budget while continually looking for better, more

595
00:52:37.159 --> 00:52:42.559
efficient ways of operating. So this
actionable idea is to make sure you're paying

596
00:52:42.599 --> 00:52:46.480
a lot of attention to the exciting
front end, but also finding balance in

597
00:52:46.559 --> 00:52:52.400
the back end, because that's what
keeps things sustainable. That's so I'm going

598
00:52:52.440 --> 00:52:54.239
to have to that's perfect end.
We're about at a time, So I

599
00:52:54.239 --> 00:52:59.280
want to make sure listeners how to
get to your website who's got about thirty

600
00:52:59.280 --> 00:53:01.039
seconds left, So let me first
thank you for being on the show.

601
00:53:01.079 --> 00:53:05.920
Andrew. You gave us a wealth
of information. Thank you, You are

602
00:53:06.119 --> 00:53:09.199
so welcome. It's been it's really
been fun. Thanks, it has been

603
00:53:09.199 --> 00:53:13.559
delightful. And listeners, if you
want to learn more about doctor andrewsens Good

604
00:53:13.679 --> 00:53:15.320
or her new book, or what
she's doing on with her business and her

605
00:53:15.320 --> 00:53:21.880
consulting, go to her website.
It's Strategic Leadership Resources dot com. Again,

606
00:53:21.960 --> 00:53:25.159
Strategic Leadership Resources dot com. Next
week we'll be on the air with

607
00:53:25.320 --> 00:53:29.920
Ed Christmas of Soulogy Solutions. We'll
be talking about how smart cars and other

608
00:53:29.960 --> 00:53:32.199
technology advances will change the way we
live and work. See you then,

609
00:53:32.239 --> 00:53:36.039
remember that workers at least one third
of our lives, So let's work on

610
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purpose. We hope you've enjoyed this
week's program. Be sure to tune into

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Working on Purpose featuring your host Alis
Cortez, every Wednesday at six pm Eastern

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time, free pm Pacific time on
the Voice America Empowerment Channel. This week,

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find your life's purpose at work