The Key Characteristics of an Innovative Leader

Any success your company has in the marketplace and with your customers starts from within, especially your leadership. In an increasingly competitive economy, companies that thrive are led by individuals who are willing to challenge norms, take bold risks and experiment with new ideas to reimagine what success looks like. Investing in the development of innovative leaders who can drive new growth is how modern organizations stay relevant and ahead.

Rethinking Innovation

Innovative leadership isn’t about having the smartest ideas but creating environments where smart ideas can be shared and explored. Innovative leaders don’t know all the answers, but what they do know is how to ask the right questions, encouraging open dialogue and collaboration. By leading with curiosity, innovative leaders inspire their teams to explore different ideas, uncover innovative solutions and seize new opportunities.

Leaders who are innovative in the workplace generally have common characteristics that allow them to create opportunities for ideas to flourish.

The 5 Characteristics That Set Innovative Leaders Apart

The following are the top five qualities that innovative leaders have:

1. Intentional Curiosity

Curiosity is at the heart of innovation. When a new idea arises, innovative leaders respond with genuine interest and dig deeper to explore the concept fully, no matter how radical or unconventional it may seem. Their open-mindedness creates a culture where fresh perspectives are welcome and exploration is encouraged, making innovation a part of their team’s everyday approach.

2. Comfort With Uncertainty

New concepts are inherently risky and need to be implemented strategically for the most impact. Innovative leaders are willing to take calculated chances and venture into uncharted territory to find new solutions. They recognize that navigating the unknown can unlock creative ideas that drive greater success for their organization. Innovative leaders accept change and embrace these shifts as growth opportunities.

3. Creative Mindset

At the center of every breakthrough is creativity. Innovative leaders understand that creativity is integral to getting the desired results. A creative mindset allows innovative leaders to challenge conventions and think outside of the box to find the most effective solution. By embedding creativity into their approach, innovative leaders fuel higher performance by inspiring their teams to broaden their horizons in search of original ideas and new possibilities.

4. Open to Collaboration

Innovative leaders know that the best ideas rarely come from one voice alone. They leverage the unique experiences, backgrounds and skills of their team to drive creative insights. By encouraging their team to build on each other’s ideas, innovative leaders unlock the power to turn collective input into breakthrough solutions.

5. Big-Picture Thinking

While innovative leaders work on bringing new concepts to life, they keep the big picture at the forefront of every action. Rather than getting bogged down by the details, they keep a broad perspective, recognizing how effectively their team and the organization overall is aligned to overarching goals. Innovative leaders make decisions that benefit the future of the organization, positioning the company to remain competitive, resilient and innovative as the market changes.

How to Build These Traits Into Your Leadership Approach

These characteristics are not fixed qualities but learned skills that any leader can cultivate. Your company’s leaders can follow these practical tips to develop and internalize innovative leadership traits:

• Self-assess: Routine self-assessments help leaders better understand their strengths, weaknesses and overall impact. This insight allows leaders to more easily identify growth opportunities and intentionally adjust their approach to better foster creativity, experimentation and innovation.
• Focus on one trait at a time: Since innovative leadership has many key qualities, it can take time for leaders to develop all of these skills. Focusing on developing one skill at a time can make the process much more manageable and sustainable. Leaders who give new habits the time to take root build a solid foundation for lasting innovation.
• Invite feedback: Innovative leadership relies on external feedback as well as internal assessment. Leaders can seek feedback from their team to identify gaps and make improvements to better support their team.
• Create continuous learning loops: The world never stops changing. What’s innovative today may easily become outdated tomorrow. To keep ideas fresh, innovative leaders should consistently seek out opportunities to expand their knowledge. By remaining curious and open to learning, innovative leaders can keep innovation alive and progress moving forward.

Lead for the Future With The Center for Leadership Studies

Innovative leaders are an undeniable asset to the workplace. They’re the foundation of a creative work culture where ideas are encouraged, explored and implemented. Their energy, optimism and responsiveness inspire teams to think outside the box and drive the best ideas forward.

Encourage your leaders to take action by building an innovative leadership brand within your organization. Our Your Leadership Brand course teaches leaders how to build an innovative leadership brand. Leaders will learn how to evaluate their leadership behaviors and make adjustments to reinforce an innovative approach in every decision and interaction with their team.

Explore our leadership courses or contact us to learn more.