Innovation matters, and true leadership requires innovation. Leadership is not management. Managing is creating expected results with constraints.
Managers can be leaders, and leaders can be managers.
A leader is a change agent. He or she changes the order of things and pushes for change. Leadership is not about title or position or a corner office or a big
budget. Or power. Leaders imagine a different future and change the order of things, regardless of title or position. I realized this a few years ago when I began (predictably) making a list of all the basic components that comprise innovation.
As I broke down this characteristic, I realized intentionality is made up of at least four elements namely courage, failure, stamina and spark.
Innovation is the opposite of average. It is refusing to coast, rejecting the status
quo, and having the courage to shake up the meaningless routines that lead to
laziness. Innovation is the act of exploring new ideas, and every leader must
develop this habit in his own life if he wants to become a change maker.
Innovators are authentic voices, not just echo chambers. Too many
organizations, conferences, leaders, and communities are just copycats of
someone else. Be unique and stand out. To improve is to change; to be perfect is
to change often, said Winston Churchill.
So be innovative today!