As technology keeps disrupting day by day, week by week, month by month. As an organisation, we cannot flee or avoid the disruption that acts as an absolute necessity for all of the organisation across the globe. Many executives have been trying to survive and find some creative ways to pave the way for leading through innovation. But yet, there’s only a few who can thrive and be more successful than they were previously.

Cited from Simon Sinek’s stories titled “3 Things Every New Leader Should Know According to a CEO”, they asked the CEO of Student Maid named Kristen Hadeed for valuable knowledge to be a leader who can lead through innovation. The first thing that comes to mind when we talk about leading through innovation is when she said “40% of new leaders fail within their first 18 months”. And it’s quite surprising that almost half of the new leaders could mistakenly fail themselves as the leader and get the company broken down. But, why did these things happen? We have deep-dived into some valuable lessons from various references. Here it is:

Avoiding Critical Insights and External Perspectives

Structured guidance, mentorship, or constructive feedback are essential for new leaders to get himself/herself elevated but also his/her company. Without these kinds of support, new leaders could face heavy struggles to understand their impact and miss huge opportunities to grow. A research by Lifeway further reports that avoiding leaders will tend to make less-informed decisions and lead to disconnect from both their team and also the organisation’s objectives. This will create an enormous snowball effect of low effectivity and get the company various risks that they potentially couldn’t handle.

Inability to Build Relationships Because of Shame

Building a team without the ability of building key relationships with key team members will only get the company crippled. This kind of ability of building key relationships matters as it fosters trust, influence, and a strong support system within the organisation. Sources like Henley Business School cited that relationships are essential not only for individual leadership success but also for achieving key organisational goals. Whether it is for short-term goals or long-term goals.

Of course, the points below are quite frightening and could be happening at the same time. Causing undetected chaos that hinders the possibility of achieving higher growth of the team and the organisation itself. For thus, Kristen said that there are three things that we have contextualised as achievable as we can. The contextualised form of three things that has been said by Kristen are as follows:

Fostering Growth Mindset within the Team, Fundamentally

One of the biggest hurdles for leaders to fail leading through innovation is the fear of failure. Kristen said that “Growth mindset is about leveraging your past experiences–call it your resilience resume to face new challenges with confidence”. To get this mindset right, everything must be put into the right perspective, and this one works that way too. So, when we’re facing our next difficult times, think about everything bad that is happening to us on our Resilience Resume. Remember that this obstacle will be on the resume too, one day.

Endless Support for Everything that Get the Leaders Think “I am Leading Through Innovation”

Everyone who has already worked in various companies, led various kinds of businesses, and failed hundreds of times, even thousands of times will know that disagreement is common in every way leading through innovation and growth. Kristen said that embracing disagreement and support simultaneously will get you to another level of leadership. Train yourself to say “I get it. I respect it. I understand why you feel that way. I need to ask for your support”.

Work like Today is your Last Day on Earth, Listen like Today is your Last Time to be able to Use Your Ear

Many leaders tend to be so busy doing their work. Especially new leaders. They handle so many things, from A to Z, from the micro level to the macro level. But then again, most new leaders forgot the true meaning of listening. Not just to words, but to what was left unsaid. One powerful phrase that could elevate your leadership way is “Tell me more”. As it seems quite some simple words, it opens the door for deeper connection with your peers and your subordinates. It gets you understanding. Whether it’s in feedback, discussion, or casual conversation, the magic words will get you much better at leading through innovation.

Again, we have to think that if it is not difficult yet, then we’re not doing it right. Keep embracing what’s going to happen in the future, whether it’s challenge or opportunity. Leaders could learn adaptively and effectively. And this is what we could get for you.