In surveys of most innovative companies, firms like Apple, Google, Microsoft, or Virgin regularly top the ranks, and stories of their emblematic leaders arerecurring topics for management books and magazines. But what do SteveJobs, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Bill Gates, and Richard Branson have incommon? What do they do that steers innovation in their companies? Are theythe sole drivers of innovation leadership? And is there a direct link between theinnovation capability of a firm and the charisma of its leader? (Bel 2010: 47)
In nowadays, managers have to face many kinds of problems which deal on hand with toughassessable. With problems which appear as considered problems. It is a challenging field for every leader to keep the business running none of these can be deserted.(Risopoulos 2010) And it is well known that activities of Innovation leadership are about inspiration, generating ideas, a vision, and a strategies and design building an organizational structure and a flexible philosophy as well as the immediate processes that assist them.
The process of innovation is usually viewed as being structured in two main steps which are idea generation and conceptualization (the “front end”) and product development and launch (the “back end”). The first part is insecurity and need creativity. However, the second phase requires discipline and efficiency. These two steps noticeably require different kinds of leadership. (Bel 2009) It is revealed that successful innovation leaders are categorized by a group of common characteristics, skills and abilities, which makes them generalists and authorities in between.By its nature, innovation involves risks and uncertainty. A good innovation leader is person who deals with risks effectively, however there is not much that leader knows this key success factors. It is explained by the following figure
Furthermore, one more common abilities of innovative leader is showing passion and enthusiasm for new thing and also motivate people around with their passion. It can call that it is shaper of company culture, like it can be seen in Apple and Steve Jobs.
Besides, Innovation leaders identify that innovation is an effort of team because it requires a number of competences to make it occurs. Daniel Borel, chair-man of the board at Logitech, mentions that “the great leader is one who is able to build a team with people who have a different psyche of one versus the other, get them to work together, share the same language for the sake of the customer.”
Even though innovation leaders havesame regular characteristics, it is argued that different types of innovation leadership are addressed at different stages of the organization, for different plans, stages of innovation, and depend on the abilities of the team members as well. And it is discussed that innovation leadership style may be functional not only to the stage of team but also to individual characteristics of members which the leader should adopt style to the personalities, in particular to the demands.
In conclusion, leadership needs to be regarded as something that happens across functions and levels and evolves along the organizations and the innovation life cycle of strategy. Likewise, innovation leadership involves different roles and abilities through organization altitudes and strategic directions, and along the organization and innovation life cycle. Overall, innovation leadership is too diverse to be left to individuals. Embedded in the organization is a must.
Joseph Campbells point of view that on society and the interests of humans is still popular. Transferring to traditional leading practice one can summarise that in order to be effective, societies frequently follow the fundamental if then and forget that one still deals with living systems, with people who to say that with respect do not function like trivial machines.(Cambells 1960)
References
Bel, R. (2009) Leadership and innovation: Learning from the best. Global Business and Organizational Excellence , 29 ( 2), p.47–60.
Campbell, J (1968).The hero with a thousand faces, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey
Risopoulos, F. (2012) What do innovative leaders have in common with ancient myths? A view of the archetypal hero within the modern manager.Proceedings of the 50th Annual Meeting.
Scribd.com (2010) Leadership and Innovation_LearningFrom the Best (Bel, R., 2010). [online] Available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/60811813/Leadership-and-Innovation-Learning-From-the-Best-Bel-R-2010 [Accessed: 16 Sep 2012].
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