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 Cortes. 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 Cortes. Welcome back to

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Working on Purpose show. Thanks for
tuning in again this week. I'm your

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

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

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connect with their work and equipping organizations
do the same for their employees, and

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

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this conversation. And I often draw
on the meeting and work research I've been

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doing over the last fifteen years,
as well as from my own consulting experience,

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including new work I do today in
the SIGNAM, which is a global

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

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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 Henda Samaran, who is
a real estate brooker with Dave Perrymiller real

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

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memoir and three Acts. They talked
about her own journey fueled by grit through

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various careers, batting and throviving breast
cancer and a heart attack, and living

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life literally by sucking its marrow breath
by breath. 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 steam late 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

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part of your show. So looking
forward to this conversation, Andrea, Innovation

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

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

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

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very happy to have your perspective and
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 about innovative leaders and what they're

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looking for in talent today, which
is probably differ from what it was when

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

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

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talent acquisition with the strategic plan for
the organization. Where are you really trying

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to go now? This involves looking
at the whole system, both in the

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present and aspirationally, noticing sort of
recurrent patterns and other factors that might either

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inhibit or support new thinking and possibilities. So then it's about looking for the

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kind of talent who have strategic mindset, they can take the long term view,

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they can be and you hope they
are divergent thinkers who can think creatively

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to generate new ideas and approaches.
And if the talent, the talent that

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innovative leaders are looking for are other
leaders, then you really want to look

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for the ability to shape the right
mindset for others. Can these candidates provide

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structural, developmental and social support.
Is this a leader that can shape innovation

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having the opportunity to bring in others
who fit in the current culture but also

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think creatively to generate new ideas and
approaches. And another characteristic of talent for

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innovation is the ability to gain the
buy in, the sponsorship, and the

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commitment necessary to attract leaders and investors
who would support new ideas and approaches.

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Sounds like a really fantastic palette of
talent to me now for our listeners and

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by the way, Andrew, we
enjoy listenership across the globe, so we

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were speaking to all different kinds of
people here. Contrast for us, how

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this particular need for kind of talent
would be different from say, you know,

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twenty years ago or ten years ago, even how is it different from

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then? Well, historically a company's
view of an ideal hire was somebody who

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had broad practical experience as well as
knowledge of the industry. So while in

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the past that was usually an internal
candidate, you know, leaders eventually realized

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and they found themselves what limited by
hiring only from within, especially when this

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tended to recycle old ideas and perpetuate
the status quo. So a common strategy

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today is to partner with research organizations, universities, and other sources of intellectual

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energy that can be imported and then
developed. For example, this practice of

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doing this kind of external recruitment prompted
leaders at very progressive companies such as Apple

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to take another tack by recruiting individuals
from outside the company's industry. Then these

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leaders could rely on new employees to
infuse new ideas and challenge current thinking and

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establish new business practices. Another limitation
of past hiring practices was the tendency to

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recruit only people with strong technical skills. Now today we see some new trends,

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for example, changes in the admissions
policy of medical schools. As an

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example, at one time these medical
schools only accepted applicants with hard science backgrounds,

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Yet when graduates began practicing as physicians, they were often unable to relate

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effectively to people, including patients.
Knowing this, administrators and medical schools began

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to accept liberal arts applicants in addition
to those with backgrounds and the hard sciences.

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In fact, today one school even
mandates that, once admitted, students

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must visit art museums to understand what
various artists are attempting to communicate through their

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work. The goal there is to
produce physicians with both technical and soft skills

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who can relate to patients human conditions
as well as their medical issues. How

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might leaders also apply this practice in
the public and private sectors, not just

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not just companies. So many organizations
to They are attempting to attract talent with

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both soft and hard skills, such
as those taught now in STEM education and

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with its focus on science, technology, engineering, and maths. Attracting and

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recruiting talent then is followed by intentional
onboarding practices with attention to retaining employees with

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required skill sets and leveraging their abilities
and efforts. So leaders, just like

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employees, need both the technical and
the administrative, you know, the hard

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skills, as well as the emotional
and relationship intelligence, so the soft skills.

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

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

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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 and

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

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much really good meat there. You
just gave a thank you for that thought

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leadership. I want to weigh in
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
the organization right now who has most

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

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twenty and thirty years and very very
little organizations. So just like you were

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

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

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

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

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

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also what I was just thinking about
when you were talking Andrea, is I

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

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had them working on a project to
be able to inculcate the inspirational leader work

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that we were working with them on, and we asked them to do projects

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

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

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

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that produced in the project. So
just again some of that mixing that you're

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talking about that seems to be so
important to produce something entirely different. So

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just really wanted to comment that I
just got that and it was just exciting.

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Well, you know, innovation has
so much to do with adjacencies,

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So something wasn't done in the auto
industry might be you could maybe import that

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and reset it in a maybe in
the retail you know, or in the

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in the wardrobe industry. You know, you never know where are you going

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to pull a fabulous idea that could
be adjacent to and applicable to something totally

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different. I'm ELISEE Cortez, your
host. We're in the year with Doctor

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Andrews and stay with us. We'll
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A. L i Se at Elisecortes
dot com. Now back to Working on

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Purpose. Thanks foresting with listening.
Welcome back to working on Purpose. If

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you're just joining us. My guest
is doctor Andrew Zince, who is the

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

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A Symphony in Soundbites. Before starting
her own consulting practice, as Andrew

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has served in two executive roles at
Johnson and Johnson, as vice president of

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human Resources for the J and J
subsidiary Ortho Biotech, Inc. And subsequently

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as Director of Leadership Development at J
and J Corporate headquarters. We've been talking

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about the whole notion of talent acquisition
and that strategy, and also the notion

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of what goes into this idea of
adjacency. How we can maybe borrow ideas

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from one industry and apply them to
another. So next, Andrew, if

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we can, let's talk a little
bit about the making of a culture of

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innovation. We do a lot of
work around culture, but maybe specifically in

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that space of creating one that's aimed
at igniting innovation to something very specific.

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So tell us what some important things
we need to know about that. Well?

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Great, Well, we all know
that the way a business gets done

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

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and habits that are expressed through its
norms or unwritten rules of behavior.

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Cultures, there is often a crisis
djure mentality, the tyranny of the urgent

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at play filled leaders tend to counter
this by slowing it down, listening carefully,

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asking questions of themselves and others,
and exploring creative ideas. And these

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practices are critical elements in creating a
culture for innovation and also in establishing good

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leadership credibility. In fact, a
mindset of curiosity is one of the most

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challenging yet valuable aspects of sustainable innovation. To co generate win win solutions with

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employees, leaders should, on a
very daily basis help create and model constant

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dialogue about how actions and decisions are
matching up to the standards that are professed

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in one's company vision and the value
statements that companies usually abide by. And

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since the most skilled leaders ask more
than tell, they tend to model and

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

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strategically build these leaderships leadership skills in
other people, so the best questions do

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lead to the best thinking and to
create culture around innovation, leaders can identify

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

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

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behave according to what's rewarded. Leaders
should then identify the normative behaviors and ask

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what are the prevailing success models in
the organization. To sustain and innovative culture,

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leaders should also focus on the practices
that their organizations will need in the

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future, such as those which connect
to the vision and the strategy. This

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type of ongoing examination ensures that the
behaviors that are necessary to achieve innovation to

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

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also establishes a very common language and
very clear expectations for practices needed for the

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organization. If the stated vision and
the policies are at odds with what gets

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rewarded through both formal and informal means, then employees will do what they think

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will bring about success. And since
innovation and change typically require risk taking,

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leaders can do well by reinforcing a
new norm to show appreciation to people when

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they experiment and learn from failure and
mistakes. Leaders should also recognize employees when

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they advocate for something that they believe
is important and when they achieve something rate

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in the face of challenges or obstacles, so there's one more watch out on

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this when you're creating or shifting to
a culture of innovation. Our human brains

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are wired hardwired to intuit whether another
person is a friend or a foe,

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so there's a tendency to favor collaborating
with people who we view as being a

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lot like us. And because diversity
can run counter to existing cultural norms and

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create some tension, leaders should be
skilled in change management. In human resource

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professionals today should be able to work
as teams of internal consultants together to actively

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engage leaders in diversity efforts and create
cultures that value and embrace diversity. It

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is so key to a culture of
innovation. Andrew, I want to go

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back to something that you said back
there just really brought me back to a

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conversation we had on Friday. As
a firm and instignium, we will read

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thought leadership books and then we also
enroll our many of our clients to do

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the same so that they can join
in the conversation continue their own learning journey

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

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the things that we were talking about
was just what you mentioned was you know,

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when you were in it, when
you're trying to be able to create

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innorverization and innovate, you do go
out on the line there. And so

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

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fail, when they actually find out, well, we found sixteen reasons or

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sixteen ways it doesn't work. Now, maybe the next one would be how

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it actually does work, but recognizing
that it was an important part of the

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process and celebrating them, and so
one of the things that you talk about

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in your book that I think is
interesting. I'd like to hear a little

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

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

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

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

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

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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 employee's requests or

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

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

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can help create and model dialogue on
a daily basis and sort of cod generate

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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. We've just talked about.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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and you have a very, very
sing song voice. I don't know how

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

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way 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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the individual level, the team level, and the organizational levels. And it's

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not just one way. Two way
communication also ensures alignment between the employees' goals

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and 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

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

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

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

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feeling 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 Coos's 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
meaningful ways. In our interview with him

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

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Jim Coos's believes that the ways in
which leaders community with employees reflect the

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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 a

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

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

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

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

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

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and energy, sharing new knowledge and
facilitating provocative and engaging conversations among team members

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and across department boundaries. These are
examples of what leaders can do to raise

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

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

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because it's of course very much in
alignment with the work that we do

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as a firm and the work that
I've been doing for years also in leadership

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

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terms of like breakthrough performance kind of
work, Andrew, a lot of times

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what we're doing is just what you're
saying, is we're helping develop in leaders

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

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to your vision and such that they
can't resist basically, and you do it,

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And I like the way that you
said this right, being able to

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

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

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

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

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

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

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then related and one go ahead,
you're going to see something else. Yes.

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One other kind of quick example of
that is it's orthobiotech. We used

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to have town halls with employees and
some of the people who were operators and

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you know, on the on the
line creating pharmaceutical drugs didn't really understand or

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couldn't really grasp how meaningful their role
was in producing things that changed and improved

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the quality of other people's lives,
of patients' lives. So at our meetings

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we would invite some of the patients
who whose lives were turned around or improved

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by the product engine making. And
I have to tell you just how incredible

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it was for these employees when they
left, they really felt the meaning and

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the importance of what they were contributing. I think that is a brilliant example,

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Andrew, and it reminds me of
that when I was doing my meaning

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and work research, you and I
both went to fielding. That was how

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this whole thing began. I don't
know if you remember that, but that,

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yes, I do. Original connection
point, but I remember distinctly when

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I was interviewing a CIO of a
very large food service, a food company,

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and his whole thing was, I
want to stay as close to the

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heartbeat of the customers I can,
so I can hear it beating, I

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can be connected to that heartbeat.
So important to be able to do that.

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So I really love that idea of
a town hall I'm bringing in the

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patients. That's amazing. The next
thing I want to talk about, if

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we can, it's one of my
favorite topics. By the way, Andrea,

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you have another section about signals and
motivators. Motivation is something that I've

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been very intrigued with because really at
the heart of it, it gets to

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energy, and I'm all about energy. Anybody who knows me, I talk

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fast, I walk fast. I
care what gets people going and up in

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the morning. So tell us a
little bit about that perspective on signals and

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motivators. Well. Great. One
of the things that foundation for this is

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that leaders, actually, anyone who
is being inspirational in any way, are

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communicating almost all the time, whether
they're consciously aware of it or not.

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And this communication occurs when followers interpret
nonverbal communication as well as action or non

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action as signals. Followers also attribute
meaning to a leader's nonverbal messages when they

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share their perceptions with others, and
for this reason, very effective leaders in

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almost everywhere benefit by consciously giving clear
and unambiguous signals. It means being mindful.

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Leaders should also provide the necessary vision
and structure while still allowing their partner's

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latitude in how they express So,
keeping in mind that signals enable leaders to

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exercise their authorities, employees are,
especially today, are unlikely to tolerate authoritarian

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or dictatorship behavior. Why won't Neuroscience
has really taught us a lot and confirms

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that our brains are hardwired to see
the lack of autonomy as a threat.

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People feel safer with the ability to
make choices, So leaders must stimulate their

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followers with signals that strike the right
balance between too much structure or structure and

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freedom. Now I have an example
of this. I've witnessed the managers use

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what I call the symbolic act as
a clear signal when I was with Jay

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and Jay. An executive who I
greatly admired, employed this exemplary strategy when

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he took on a new leadership role
in corporate administration. His name is Roger.

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Roger questioned a very long standing and
unpopular policy that allocated all a ward

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travel mileage to the company. By
subsequently changing the system to US assign award

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miles back to the travelers, he
sent a very strong signal without any words.

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He showed that he could listen to
all these complaints and act in the

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best interest of hard working employees who
had to travel for work. Leaders like

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Roger engage in symbolic acts when they
clearly and thoroughly communicate plans, visions,

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and goals while simultaneously encouraging people to
challenge the status quo. Question long held

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assumptions. One way that leaders can
do this effectively is the way in which

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they seek out and obtain the answers
to questions. M hm. And that

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was one of the other things I
wanted to talk a little bit more about.

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You've already mentioned this notion that leaders
should do more listening and questioning than

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talking, and I wanted you to
talk a little bit more about the power

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of inquiry. I certainly understand the
power about really generously listening to someone speak,

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but a listening their thoughts and their
passions. I think it's becoming almost

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a bit of a lost art almost, so it really stands out when it's

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done well. So what can you
tell us about this, the power of

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inquiry and how we can use it, especially when we're trying to stimulate innovation.

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Well, two habits can really help
with this. The first is asking

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questions that open up new possibilities and
thinking, rather than the kind of questions

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where we know the answers and you, the listener, needs to get it

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right, you know what I mean. So it's asking questions that come from

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curiosity. The second is taking multiple
perspectives. So when leaders try out the

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point of view of someone whose ideas
are usually dismissed. They can learn and

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bring about value from that diversity of
thought. For example, when a question

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asked inside an old model of thinking
can only be answered from outside it,

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that's when paradigm shifts occur. So
in the same sense, innovation in processes,

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products, or services can represent a
response to a new question or to

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an old question asked in a new
way. And that's why innovative leaders thrive

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on inquiry. I'll give you a
quick example. I was once in a

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strategic planning meeting. It was another
J and J company and I was facilitating,

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and one of the leaders in the
group was very quiet, and there

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was an argument to go there regarding
the definition of a particular term, and

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the whole strategy really depended on being
able to align and understand this term.

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And while they were talking, all
of a sudden, the guy raised his

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hand, this company president raised his
hand and he said, well, what

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do we mean by And he named
the word what do we mean by this

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word? And everybody turned around like
he was out of Everybody knows the answer

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to that, and they tried to
teach him. And while they were arguing

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with him about trying to define the
word, they realized they didn't have a

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common definition of this word, and
by just asking that simple what sounded like

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a clueless question, it changed the
entire dialogue to one that helped to move

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it forward and create a very innovative
new strategy. So innovators often search for

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new questions and new answers because they
know if they keep asking the same questions,

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they're going to keep getting the same
old answers. And to produce a

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new response and potentially create a different
future than expected, a person needs to

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ask a new question. The juncture
at which a new inquiry opens up a

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new path often occurs at the very
moment it's asked, just like I did

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in that example. The difference between
leaders who are innovative and those who aren't

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depends in large part on the way
in which they ask questions of themselves and

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others, and because of that,
no question exists apart from its delivery.

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The way in which leaders deliver a
query and express their intention can speak louder

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than any words. Whether they ask
questions of themselves or others, leader's inquiries

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can come across as requests or invitations
or missiles, and those who are skilled

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in the art of question asking deliver
it in a very constructive way, rather

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than as a way to intimidate or
criticize or show how much they know.

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It's very important to ask questions with
a mindset of authentic curiosity. The big

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difference between a mindset of curiosity and
one that's judgmental includes how flexible a person

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is, their respect for another person's
point of view, and their ability to

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operate in a resolution seeking or a
problem seeking mode. Since our mindset consists

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of attitudes, the power of leadership
resides in the ability to observe ourselves and

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choose a particular mindset from which to
operate, and this strengthens the use of

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our natural curiosity while it tames our
natural tendency sometimes to be judged metal not

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only about ourselves but other people and
for supporting and sustaining innovation over time,

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leaders demonstrate good leaders really demonstrate presence
their vulnerability aren't their authenticity when they ask

407
00:35:15.599 --> 00:35:22.199
good, provocative questions and engage with
others in a very transparent, transparent,

408
00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:27.480
and humble way. And this conscious
choice is a discipline that becomes easier with

409
00:35:27.599 --> 00:35:35.000
practice, intention, and reinforcement.
One of the things I was thinking about

410
00:35:35.039 --> 00:35:38.000
as you were talking, Andrea,
is just the power of inquiry means that

411
00:35:38.119 --> 00:35:43.920
we're soliciting input from all different kinds
of people. You mentioned diversity before,

412
00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:46.719
and certainly all different kinds of people
with different backgrounds, different perspectives within the

413
00:35:46.800 --> 00:35:51.280
organization. And one of the things
that I was certainly present to as you

414
00:35:51.320 --> 00:35:55.920
began speaking was the importance of soliciting
information from people who don't normally offer it.

415
00:35:55.960 --> 00:36:00.480
In other words, maybe they're more
introverted. What you learned when you

416
00:36:00.760 --> 00:36:04.679
let somebody talk, you stand back
for a moment and give them space to

417
00:36:04.760 --> 00:36:07.599
talk. I'm sure you've seen that
over and over again. The power and

418
00:36:07.639 --> 00:36:10.599
the beauty of that when you stand
back and see that, Oh my god.

419
00:36:10.639 --> 00:36:19.239
Well, there's a big legend,
really, Jane Jay around innovation and

420
00:36:19.440 --> 00:36:25.360
Jansen, the guy who Janssen Pharmaceutical
is named for. He was known for

421
00:36:25.480 --> 00:36:30.559
going around as a scientist into the
different laboratories and asking everyone out of the

422
00:36:30.599 --> 00:36:37.519
blue, so what's new, So
what's new? And everyone started to get

423
00:36:37.039 --> 00:36:42.400
ready to give him something that was
new because he kept asking the question,

424
00:36:42.920 --> 00:36:50.960
and it totally jazzed up the innovation
in that organization. How wonderful and a

425
00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:52.880
perfect way to send us into a
break. I'm Alice Cortez, your host.

426
00:36:53.119 --> 00:36:55.519
We were in the air with doctor
Andrewsens, who was the president of

427
00:36:55.519 --> 00:37:00.679
Strategic Leadership Resources and the co author
of the book Orchestra Sustainable Innovation, A

428
00:37:00.760 --> 00:37:06.760
Symphony and Soundbites. We've been talking
a good bit about how to shape and

429
00:37:07.480 --> 00:37:09.719
to stimulate innovation. After the break, we're to talk a little more about

430
00:37:09.719 --> 00:37:22.159
how to support it. Stay with
us, We'll be right back. Friend

431
00:37:22.239 --> 00:37:25.679
us on Facebook to keep up with
what's empowering the world. Voice America Empowerment

432
00:37:28.599 --> 00:37:32.840
Alis Cortes is a speaker and engagement
and development catalyst. She designs and delivers

433
00:37:32.880 --> 00:37:38.599
professional development, leadership and engagement workshops
and can bring her expertise to your organization.

434
00:37:38.880 --> 00:37:44.880
She will help ignite meaningful development within
your workforce that will increase employee engagement,

435
00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:47.960
performance and retention. To learn more
or to invite Elise to speak to

436
00:37:49.039 --> 00:37:53.719
your organization, please visit her at
www dot Elisecortes dot com. She would

437
00:37:53.800 --> 00:38:00.599
welcome the opportunity to help get your
employees working on purpose. You're making it

438
00:38:00.639 --> 00:38:04.840
easier to listen to the Voice America
Talk radio network wherever you go. In

439
00:38:04.840 --> 00:38:07.760
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440
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441
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442
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Market And get ready to tune in
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444
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Cast. Look more Stopped, Bigger
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445
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Hour Star Style. Be the star you

446
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are with host and empowerment architect Cindya
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447
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on the Voice America Empowerment Channel.
Tune into the Power Party for positive,

448
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uplifting, life changing talk. Visit
Star Style radio dot com. Follow us

449
00:39:15.199 --> 00:39:29.000
on Twitter for more great ideas at
Voice America Empowerment. This is Working on

450
00:39:29.199 --> 00:39:32.559
Purpose with Elise Cortes. To reach
our program today, please call in to

451
00:39:32.679 --> 00:39:37.719
one triple eight three four six nine
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452
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three four six nine one four one. You may also send an email to

453
00:39:43.159 --> 00:39:49.440
Elise A. L I. S
E At Elisecortes dot com. Now back

454
00:39:49.519 --> 00:39:53.639
to working on Purpose. Thanks you
foresting with us and welcome back to working

455
00:39:53.679 --> 00:39:57.880
on Purpose if you're just tuning in. My guest is doctor andre Zenz,

456
00:39:57.880 --> 00:40:00.639
who is the president of Strategic Leadership
Resources and the co author of the book

457
00:40:00.760 --> 00:40:06.840
Orchestrating Sustainable Innovation, A Symphony in
sound bites. Before starting her own consulting

458
00:40:06.920 --> 00:40:09.760
practice, Andreas served in two executive
roles at Johnson and Johnson, as vice

459
00:40:09.800 --> 00:40:15.519
president of human Resources for the JA
and J subsidiary Orthobiotech, Inc. And

460
00:40:15.639 --> 00:40:19.960
subsequently as Director of Leadership Development at
J and J Corporate Headquarters. I'm your

461
00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:22.960
host, Alis Cortes, So for
this last little bit of time together here,

462
00:40:23.199 --> 00:40:27.480
Andrea, I want to talk about
a few things that I think are

463
00:40:27.480 --> 00:40:30.440
important. First, I want to
get to the importance of leadership assessment and

464
00:40:30.480 --> 00:40:35.719
then of course development. I'm struck
by the number of organizations that we work

465
00:40:35.800 --> 00:40:38.920
with that are very established and they're
very successful, and they have done little

466
00:40:39.000 --> 00:40:45.280
assessment and development. What's your perspective
on assessment and development of leaders Well,

467
00:40:45.559 --> 00:40:52.880
as we know, leadership drives culture, it drives action, It sets you

468
00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:57.840
know, leadership is sets the strategic
plan. I mean all things sort of

469
00:40:57.960 --> 00:41:04.239
flow from leadership. The ability to
ensure that you've got the right kind of

470
00:41:04.320 --> 00:41:08.519
leaders for the strategy that you're trying
to execute, as well as ensuring that

471
00:41:08.639 --> 00:41:15.280
they are developing in a way that
helps to create the conditions for innovation.

472
00:41:15.719 --> 00:41:21.039
Those are very important, and I
think these really show up in partnerships,

473
00:41:21.199 --> 00:41:27.880
partnerships between leaders, partnerships between leader
and employees, and outside concerns as well,

474
00:41:27.960 --> 00:41:32.400
because these are essential for generating the
proverbial spark that leads to innovation.

475
00:41:34.280 --> 00:41:40.599
The entire innovation process, from idea
generation to execution is based in leaders' commitments

476
00:41:40.679 --> 00:41:46.199
to their followers as well as their
dedication to evolving themselves as leaders. Now,

477
00:41:46.280 --> 00:41:52.679
this process ideally begins with formal and
accurate skills assessment and continues with both

478
00:41:52.760 --> 00:41:59.920
structured and formal development efforts. And
as a way to move development beyond class

479
00:42:00.159 --> 00:42:07.880
rooms and coaching, leaders frequently assign
people to meaningful projects and they themselves sponsor

480
00:42:07.960 --> 00:42:14.800
these projects. That these projects require
the application of some newly acquired skills and

481
00:42:14.920 --> 00:42:22.440
experience, and we know now that
it's through experience and practice that people grow

482
00:42:22.559 --> 00:42:28.320
and learn and accelerate that growth in
learning. Applying new skills generates confidence and

483
00:42:28.519 --> 00:42:36.079
competence with new practices and habits.
So leaders demonstrate commission commitment most effectively when

484
00:42:36.079 --> 00:42:42.320
they sponsor initiatives that develop other employees. So through formal coursework, coaching,

485
00:42:42.880 --> 00:42:49.760
on the job training, leaders can
strengthen their benches with potentially skilled replacements and

486
00:42:49.880 --> 00:42:53.679
at the same time that they help
people close skill and competency gaps. And

487
00:42:53.760 --> 00:42:59.920
because research is proven that learning is
more powerful when it is experiential, lead

488
00:43:00.039 --> 00:43:06.679
lee you ship. Best practice is
also to include special projects, international assignments,

489
00:43:07.199 --> 00:43:13.320
volunteer roles on boards, and other
developmental initiatives in a potential leader's development

490
00:43:13.440 --> 00:43:21.280
plan. This gives them exposure to
potential adjacencies of new ideas as you know

491
00:43:21.440 --> 00:43:25.199
from other sources, just as we
talked about previously. And when leaders create

492
00:43:25.679 --> 00:43:32.719
a deep innovation bench, they also
optimize employee retention because building and sustaining innovation

493
00:43:34.199 --> 00:43:39.559
requires an effort to expand capacity.
And when leaders line up create a lineup

494
00:43:39.679 --> 00:43:45.880
of both current and potential internal candidates, they also develop and support their organization's

495
00:43:46.199 --> 00:43:52.800
innovation potential and capabilities. Now here's
a warning about a common mistake that's easily

496
00:43:52.920 --> 00:44:00.880
made when you're formulating training and development
initiatives. Leaders sometimes predicate new new projects

497
00:44:00.519 --> 00:44:06.679
on the competence is needed to address
the existing business and business as usual,

498
00:44:07.599 --> 00:44:13.360
rather than anticipating skills necessary for the
future. When leaders look at development as

499
00:44:13.400 --> 00:44:19.960
the foundation for both current and emerging
competencies, then they really ensure sufficient preparation

500
00:44:20.599 --> 00:44:27.719
of those high potentials. And when
leaders link skill requirements to both present and

501
00:44:27.960 --> 00:44:35.559
future strategies, there's another benefit.
The linkage often becomes aspirational, and then

502
00:44:35.840 --> 00:44:39.920
there's power to engage employees as they
develop the required skills and experience because they

503
00:44:39.960 --> 00:44:45.880
can see what they're contributing to the
future. It's very exciting. It's all

504
00:44:46.400 --> 00:44:52.800
based in the direction that the organization
is taking. Oh my goodness, Andrews,

505
00:44:52.880 --> 00:44:55.360
so just very quick, I want
to make sure you have enough time

506
00:44:55.440 --> 00:44:59.239
for at least one other question before
we have to go. But I do

507
00:44:59.400 --> 00:45:04.320
want to present that it's so important
to socialize with other leaders because people don't

508
00:45:04.360 --> 00:45:06.880
know what they don't know about themselves
as leaders. Right, So, as

509
00:45:06.920 --> 00:45:08.039
an example, when we go in
to do any kind of a leaders but

510
00:45:08.079 --> 00:45:12.639
initiative, we will have interviews with
each of the participants ahead of time and

511
00:45:12.760 --> 00:45:14.880
just gage where they think they are
and what they want, how they want

512
00:45:14.920 --> 00:45:17.840
to develop and transform themselves. And
it's amazing the number of people who say

513
00:45:17.960 --> 00:45:22.280
I'm pretty good where I'm at.
I think I'm pretty good leader as it

514
00:45:22.360 --> 00:45:24.519
is. So in other words,
I think I'll just audit this whole course

515
00:45:24.559 --> 00:45:28.639
that you're going to send me through, and then as you get into it,

516
00:45:28.760 --> 00:45:32.639
their presence, as you say to
that possibility is something completely transformative for

517
00:45:32.679 --> 00:45:37.199
themselves, and they get access to
that possibility and recognize just how much they

518
00:45:37.280 --> 00:45:42.199
can grow. And so I just
really think it's important. The assessment piece

519
00:45:42.280 --> 00:45:45.599
is so important. Socializing with other
leaders to be able to learn from them

520
00:45:45.199 --> 00:45:51.920
so important. Yes, I couldn't
agree more. Well, we have just

521
00:45:52.039 --> 00:45:54.079
about I guess probably eight minutes left
here. I want to make sure that

522
00:45:55.000 --> 00:46:00.280
I give to my listeners something that
we've been teasing them with, and that's

523
00:46:00.320 --> 00:46:04.719
this whole notion of using the principles
of jazz to lead innovation. I'm terribly

524
00:46:04.800 --> 00:46:07.519
intrigued by the idea here, And
of course I know that's the basis of

525
00:46:07.559 --> 00:46:10.000
your book, So tell us a
little bit about this, sure, And

526
00:46:10.039 --> 00:46:17.159
of course we use throughout the book
both symphony orchestras and jazz ensembles as a

527
00:46:17.320 --> 00:46:23.599
metaphor for innovating and really speaking to
the art and the science of innovation.

528
00:46:24.679 --> 00:46:30.559
So I'll use an example. John
cal a former professor of innovation at Stanford

529
00:46:30.760 --> 00:46:37.760
and Harvard, told us when he
was contributing his notes to the book that

530
00:46:37.239 --> 00:46:44.800
they must perform in ways that it's
important to perform in ways that are similar

531
00:46:44.880 --> 00:46:49.679
to those employed by symphony orchestras and
jazz musicians, rather than by the methods

532
00:46:50.239 --> 00:46:55.320
most leaders use to manage their organizations
currently. So let's take a quick look

533
00:46:55.360 --> 00:47:00.239
at this. Some leaders outside the
art world are trained in the science of

534
00:47:00.360 --> 00:47:07.760
innovation, but very few have expertise
in the art that's also required. The

535
00:47:07.960 --> 00:47:15.360
art meaning a certain degree of intuition
and risk taking and dreaming. The art

536
00:47:15.519 --> 00:47:20.880
of a professional symphony orchestra, for
instance, first and foremost, is an

537
00:47:20.920 --> 00:47:27.000
expression of the creativity of its talent, namely its musicians, and their expertise

538
00:47:27.119 --> 00:47:30.519
is usually the result of years of
preparation, mastery, and excellence. In

539
00:47:30.679 --> 00:47:37.280
highly innovative organizations, the art is
evident in their talent as well. If

540
00:47:37.400 --> 00:47:43.320
leaders are to adapt to the ongoing
dynamics of internal and external shifts in the

541
00:47:43.440 --> 00:47:46.719
market, for instance, or in
the landscape they're working in, they have

542
00:47:46.880 --> 00:47:53.000
to continually anticipate and manage change while
they also deliver on value. And of

543
00:47:53.400 --> 00:48:01.159
very few innovative symphony orchestras, leaders
are now blending a combination of classical and

544
00:48:01.280 --> 00:48:07.960
new music and some jazz, matching
it in very culturally appropriate ways to the

545
00:48:08.119 --> 00:48:16.119
changing demographics and preferences of audiences today. Now that's really a metaphor because if

546
00:48:16.159 --> 00:48:22.400
you take that to successful business leaders, they've been meeting and anticipating consumer needs

547
00:48:22.480 --> 00:48:29.280
for years through adjacencies as we've mentioned, and expanded distribution. But these methods

548
00:48:29.360 --> 00:48:37.719
usually only facilitate very incremental innovation.
But Caw, this wonderful professor shows how

549
00:48:37.880 --> 00:48:42.719
a jazz metaphor best illustrates what else
needs to be done. Business leaders,

550
00:48:42.920 --> 00:48:47.920
like experienced jazz musicians, often benefit
from sort of playing with ideas that have

551
00:48:49.079 --> 00:48:53.840
the potential to meet current needs but
also to disrupt marketplaces and even entire industries.

552
00:48:54.599 --> 00:49:00.880
Without disruptive innovations, leaders might limit
the growth of their wife organizations and

553
00:49:00.039 --> 00:49:04.840
ultimately compromise their ability to keep pace
with competitors, and there are a lot

554
00:49:04.880 --> 00:49:08.760
of examples out there in the business
world. In business settings, the science

555
00:49:09.320 --> 00:49:17.480
that can create and preserve value is
like evident in evident by producing strategic and

556
00:49:17.559 --> 00:49:23.400
operations planning, you know, and
other critical processes such as a portfolio management

557
00:49:23.599 --> 00:49:30.039
and performance management in benchmarking and metrics
and process optimization. All these things keep

558
00:49:30.119 --> 00:49:36.800
things in play and they're very important. But with jazz, jazz musicians bring

559
00:49:37.000 --> 00:49:43.519
things to life as they go along. They improvise, they build and play

560
00:49:43.800 --> 00:49:47.039
off of each other. And we
see this in leaders of startup operations.

561
00:49:47.199 --> 00:49:52.440
If you look at some of the
really wonderful startup operations that have disrupted their

562
00:49:52.480 --> 00:49:59.599
industries and become highly successful, they
do it through co creation, collaboration,

563
00:50:00.599 --> 00:50:07.039
bringing interesting ideas and adjacency into play. Jazz musicians and leaders of startups,

564
00:50:07.559 --> 00:50:09.920
you know, have a lot in
common. They deliberately produce something new or

565
00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:17.119
different that sounds so incredibly exciting to
me. And I really one of the

566
00:50:17.199 --> 00:50:22.239
great things about doing breakthrough performance work
and doing breakthrough projects is just exactly what

567
00:50:22.320 --> 00:50:23.800
you were saying before, Andrew.
When we work with clients, you know,

568
00:50:23.920 --> 00:50:28.760
obviously we're helping them create or to
produce the critical business outcome that they

569
00:50:28.880 --> 00:50:31.039
need, and in so doing,
it's all of the efforts to wrapped into

570
00:50:31.119 --> 00:50:37.440
a project of course, and it's
that experience and living it and practicing it

571
00:50:37.519 --> 00:50:42.360
that actually inculcates the abilities and then
create something totally different. It's it's it's

572
00:50:43.039 --> 00:50:45.400
magic every time for me to be
able to witness that. So I appreciate

573
00:50:45.480 --> 00:50:51.360
how you you languishe that for us? In our last bit of time together,

574
00:50:51.440 --> 00:50:53.239
we've got maybe just maybe two minutes
if you can talk about this.

575
00:50:53.480 --> 00:50:59.199
Is you mentioned you have two actual
idea actionable ideas that lead to innovation,

576
00:50:59.320 --> 00:51:00.920
and I know I ers would love
to walk away with something they can put

577
00:51:00.960 --> 00:51:07.440
into effect immediately. So what do
you have, well, action an actionable

578
00:51:07.480 --> 00:51:13.360
idea. I've got two of them. One is to ensure sustainability. Now

579
00:51:13.880 --> 00:51:17.679
we can create new exciting things,
it's the sustaining it that's so tough.

580
00:51:19.480 --> 00:51:23.719
So to ensure sustainabilities, leaders need
to make sure that their organizations maintain a

581
00:51:23.920 --> 00:51:30.840
balance between competing priorities and conflicting forces. So how can leaders find the sweet

582
00:51:30.880 --> 00:51:36.679
spot between things that are competing?
Right? What's our highest priority? I've

583
00:51:36.719 --> 00:51:43.519
got three a priorities and all these
conflicts. What to do about the seemingly

584
00:51:43.559 --> 00:51:49.599
opposing forces. Leaders should find the
right balance between idea generation and execution.

585
00:51:50.360 --> 00:51:53.880
One of our other contributors to the
book, VJ. The Well. I'll

586
00:51:53.920 --> 00:51:58.000
call him VG because I can never
say his last name, and you also

587
00:51:58.000 --> 00:52:01.480
have to say author Chris Trimble.
They both were Christian bull Is from the

588
00:52:01.559 --> 00:52:07.320
tuch School. They both say there's
just too much focus on idea generation and

589
00:52:07.480 --> 00:52:13.119
not enough on execution. They believe
that's because people innately prefer the front end,

590
00:52:13.840 --> 00:52:17.719
or the fun part of innovation,
where brainstorming and other ways of generating

591
00:52:17.800 --> 00:52:22.239
ideas can be so much fun.
Far less exciting, and certainly more grueling,

592
00:52:22.679 --> 00:52:28.320
is the back end of innovation,
where ideas are translated into actionable strategies

593
00:52:28.400 --> 00:52:32.440
and then executed. Leaders at the
back end of innovation are needed to keep

594
00:52:32.519 --> 00:52:37.960
projects on course and within budget while
continually looking for better, more efficient ways

595
00:52:38.000 --> 00:52:42.800
of operating. So this actionable idea
is to make sure you're paying a lot

596
00:52:42.880 --> 00:52:47.679
of attention to the exciting front end, but also finding balance in the back

597
00:52:47.840 --> 00:52:52.119
end, because that's what keeps things
sustainable. I'm going to have to that's

598
00:52:52.199 --> 00:52:54.800
perfect, and we're about out of
time, so I want to make sure

599
00:52:54.800 --> 00:52:59.599
and tell listeners how to get to
your website. Who've got about thirty seconds

600
00:52:59.719 --> 00:53:01.000
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 --> 00:53:09.719
so welcome. It's really been fun. Thanks, it has been delightful.

603
00:53:09.920 --> 00:53:13.719
And listeners, if you want to
learn more about doctor Andrew Zence God or

604
00:53:13.800 --> 00:53:15.800
her new book, or what she's
doing on with her business and her consulting,

605
00:53:16.039 --> 00:53:21.880
go to her website. It's Strategic
Leadership Resources dot com. Again,

606
00:53:22.000 --> 00:53:25.400
Strategic Leadership Resources dot Com. Next
week we'll be on the air with Ed

607
00:53:25.519 --> 00:53:30.440
Christmas of Soology Solutions. We'll be
talking about how smart cars and other technology

608
00:53:30.480 --> 00:53:32.559
advances will change the way we live
and work. See you then, Remember

609
00:53:32.559 --> 00:53:36.440
that workers at least one third of
our lives, so let's work on purpose.

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00:53:43.000 --> 00:53:45.440
We hope you've enjoyed this week's program. Be sure to tune into Working

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on Purpose featuring your host Alis Cortes, every Wednesday at six pm Eastern Time

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

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your life's purpose at work will do