DeepSummary
The podcast episode features an interview with Linda Hill, a professor at Harvard Business School, discussing the difference between leading for innovation and leading for change. Hill explains that innovation requires collaboration, experimentation, and the ability to co-create the future together as a team with diverse perspectives, rather than an individual enforcing a singular vision.
Hill emphasizes the importance of building a culture that fosters innovation, which involves establishing shared purpose, values, and rules of engagement that promote mutual trust, respect, and constructive conflict. Effective communication plays a crucial role in achieving this, by inviting people to contribute their unique talents and passions towards a collective goal.
The conversation also explores the value of conflict in fostering creativity, as well as the need to balance structure and improvisation. Hill shares insights on managing dilemmas and paradoxes that arise during the innovation process, and stresses the significance of storytelling and understanding one's audience in communicating effectively.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Innovation is a collaborative process that requires diverse perspectives, experimentation, and continuous learning.
- Building a culture that fosters innovation involves establishing shared purpose, values, and rules of engagement that promote trust, respect, and constructive conflict.
- Effective communication plays a crucial role in inviting team members to contribute their unique talents and passions towards a collective goal.
- Conflict and diverse perspectives can be valuable for achieving innovative solutions, and leaders should amplify and navigate these differences constructively.
- Purpose, specifically in terms of serving customers or a greater cause, is a powerful driving force for innovation and effective communication.
- Balancing structure and improvisation is essential, with minimal structures in place to support collaboration, experimentation, and learning.
- Storytelling and understanding one's audience are critical components of effective communication in fostering innovation.
- Managing dilemmas and paradoxes, such as the tension between individual expression and collective goals, is a key aspect of leading innovation.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “So, shared values. There are four shared values. And obviously each organization has its own culture, but we did see these values in all of them. The first is bold ambition. These are organizations where people aren't thinking about just what they should be doing, but what they could be doing.“ by Linda Hill
- “So if you want a group to be able to innovate time and again, what you need to be able to do is first make sure they're willing. How you make sure they're willing is really about your culture.“ by Linda Hill
- “If you want to have an innovative solution, you as a leader actually want to amplify the differences that are happening, not minimize them. And once they're amplified, if people are talented and passionate, guess what? There's going to be a little bit of tussle.“ by Linda Hill
- “So purpose can also be about who we serve. So I've been doing a lot of work on digital transformation, and it turns out that in terms of communication, and the reason why you often want to put in digital tools is so that you could be more agile and you can innovate for your customer.“ by Linda Hill
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Episode Information
Think Fast, Talk Smart: Communication Techniques
Stanford GSB
5/7/24
So you want to lead your team toward innovation. Does that require that you know where you’re going? Not according to Linda Hill.
Hill is a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School whose research focuses on leadership and how organizations achieve innovation. When it comes to generating breakthrough ideas, Hill says it’s less about a creative vision and more about stepping into the unknown. “Innovation [is] not about an individual coming up with a new idea,” she says. “Instead, innovation is the result of the collaboration of people with diverse expertise and diverse perspectives coming together, being able to collaborate, being able to experiment together and learn.”
In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Hill and host Matt Abrahams discuss how leaders can foster cultures and environments where innovation thrives — where teams use communication and collaboration to “co-create the future.”
Episode Reference Links:
- Harvard Business School Profile: Website
- Linda's books:
- Collective Genius: The Art and Practice of Leading Innovation
- Being the Boss, with a New Preface: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader
- Becoming a Manager: How New Managers Master the Challenges of Leadership
- Linda’s article on the value of collaboration & conflict: Collective Genius
- Communicator Linda admires: Vineet Nayar + Employees First, Customers Second
Connect:
- Email Questions & Feedback >>> thinkfast@stanford.edu
- Episode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart Website
- Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io
- Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn Page, Instagram, YouTube
- Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn
- Stanford GSB >>> LinkedIn & Twitter
Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
Host Matt Abrahams introduces guest Linda Hill, an expert in leadership development and innovation from Harvard Business School.
(00:01:10) Leading for Innovation vs. Leading for Change
Fundamental differences between leading for innovation and for change, and the unique challenges required for innovation.
(00:02:53) Creating a Culture of Innovation
The essential components of a culture that promotes innovation, with focus on communication and collaboration.
(00:06:21) The Role of Shared Values and Purpose in Innovation
Shared values, and the distinction between vision and purpose within innovative organizations.
(00:09:43) Communication's Impact on Innovation
How effective communication facilitates innovation, including strategies for engaging diverse teams and the significance of storytelling.
(00:14:30) Conflict and Creativity in Collaborative Environments
The value of conflict in innovation, and how managing disagreements and diverse viewpoints can lead to more creative solutions.
(00:16:06) The Final Three Questions
Linda Hill shares practices to foster collaboration with others, a communicator she admires, and her ingredients for successful communication.
(00:19:54) Conclusion
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