Section 4: Preparing yourself as an innovator

Innovation stages, roles and leadership

n Section 2, you saw that it is possible to think about innovation within an organisation or service as following a staged process, although sometimes there are iterations between stages rather than a simple linear flow. The idea of stages is useful in that it helps to clarify different roles that need to be taken up at different points, including who provides which kinds of leadership.

Stakeholder mapping

Let’s take a more in-depth look at some of these drivers for innovation and change in healthcare, many of which apply globally.

Activity

Take a look at this list, which identifies six roles critical to service innovation.

Inventor – identifies the idea
Innovator – develops the idea into something tangible
Entrepreneur – brings the product or service to market
Gatekeeper – keeps abreast of new developments (Belbin’s resource investigator)
Champion – advocates and supports the innovation within the organisation
Sponsor – uses power and influence to secure the necessary resources

Now think about an innovation you have been involved in or know about.

Can you identify people who played the parts of inventor, innovator, etc?
Which role or roles did you play?
What characteristics do you notice in each of these people?
What are the implications for roles that need to be fulfilled more strongly for innovation to succeed within your service?
What role or roles might you play in the future to make innovation succeed?

Make some notes in your MyStuff learning journal on your reflections.

Reveal discussion

Activity

Explore the issue of leadership for innovation further by reading an article by Anthony Le Storti. Le Storti describes the roles that senior executives need to take up at different points during the innovation process. In relation to your service consider how far these various roles are, in fact, typically taken up by someone senior. What are the implications for additional roles or forms of leadership that you or others in your service need to take up yourselves?

Update your notes in your MyStuff learning journal in the light of these further thoughts.

<< Previous page