Innovation - Lesson # 3 - - Leslie R. Reid

[Leslie]

B. Post on the Discussion Board:

Choose one leader you know, have worked for, or have simply followed via press, books, podcasts, etc.



I choose Reid Hoffman who worked at Apple^® in its early years; created an online dating company; was involved in the development of Paypal^® and in 2003
co-founded LinkedIn^®. He also was an early investor in innovative companies like AIRBNB^® and Groupon^®.



- What is one way trait or behavior that they practice that encourages innovation in their team?

I believe the behavior or mindset that Mr. Hoffman operates from that encourages innovation is eternal curiosity. “Always learning - - Always adapting” and asking, “What do else I need to know” is his operating system in business and in life. This “Always Learning mindset is aligned with several of the 10 Traits of Innovative Leaders, however Trait #1 - Being innovative means doing things differently or doing things that have never been done before. An innovator is someone who has embraced this idea and creates environments in which employees are given the tools and resources to challenge the status quo, push boundaries and achieve growth. I believe curiosity is linked to innovation and innovation paves the way to change.


- What is one thing that you took away from their work that you are striving to implement today in your work?

I took away the importance of establishing and maintaining authentic relationships with your team. He talks genuinely about creating bonds with the people who you rely on in business and about building systems of trust that can sustain setbacks and competition. I have found in my own work that authentic relationships disrupt the drift of talent. It reduces an employee’s feeling of being disconnected to the collective. I strive to have the kind of team cohesion that inspires great ideas and sustains itself in times of challenge. It appears Reid Hoffman co-founded LinkedIn on the premise that connected people who work and support each other through leveraged networks find more success and satisfaction and are able to strengthen their brand and their access.

[jennfriesen]

Leslie, nice post! I agree establishing and building authentic relationships is such an important aspect in building strong teams. When you create trust, open dialogue, and the space to innovate (and potentially fail, then learn from that failure), the team will ultimately be more successful. I like that you talk about striving to have a team that inspires great ideas. How do you go about doing that?

[Leslie]

Hi Jennifer,

Thank you for your comments. I think inspiring staff to have great ideas can take many forms. I have created opportunities to "brainstorm" responses to common challenges we face; I have also created a space for different staffers to take the lead on chairing a meeting or planning an event and other times I have simply kept my mouth shut and led by signaling to the group that my voice wasn't the only voice that could add value. An example that comes to mind is we are sitting and problem solving a challenge we were facing and someone asked a question and in a moment I saw every head at the table turn in my direction, as if I was the only person in that room who could offer a solution. It was an enormously powerful moment, when I simply asked "What do you think"? It changed the dynamics of the conversation and drew in almost everyone into creating a set of solutions.

[jennfriesen]

Leslie, those are some wonderful examples, thank you for sharing. I think creating a space for your team to share their thoughts is so important and you are doing a wonderful job with that. In your original post, you also mentioned how Hoffman builds systems of trust that can sustain setbacks and competition; how do you think creating teams that are inspired to share new ideas helps one another when the team is faced with a setback?