Leadership

Leading innovation: Respect (week 6)

November 25, 2023 by Taran Swan

Leading innovation: Respect (week 6)

To effectively lead innovation with respect, establish rules of engagement that focus on mutual respect for all.

Traditional leadership: Old

The conventional view has been that respect is ascribed by seniority and those perceived to be experts.

A fresh approach: New Era

New-era leaders help establish rules of engagement to foster a creative community. One of these rules is that of mutual respect, where members all consider each other competent even though each brings different abilities and strengths. Every colleague is thought to have something to offer. This belief is critical because it fosters the listening, openness, and transparency necessary for an innovative culture.

Bring it to life:

Establish a clear set of behavioral expectations and rules of engagement for collaboration that everyone can count on.
Foster the belief that everyone has something valuable to contribute
Practice listening and model attentiveness in meetings, no matter who is speaking
Strive to be, and encourage others to be, honest and forthright in conversations
Invite diverse points of view, welcome differences of opinion and respectful creative clashes
Do not allow people to demean others publicly or privately

Next week: Mutual Influence

Build mutually respectful and beneficial relationships.

Innovation solutions from Paradox Strategies

Our Collective Genius simulation and learning journey is designed to help leaders inspire action, nourish creativity, and build a culture of innovation. We also offer keynotes and our proprietary innovation diagnostic assessments re:Mind™ and re:Route™ as first steps in developing the mindset, culture, and capabilities of innovative organizations. Contact us via the form below if you would like to know how to bring these great tools to your organization.

Leading innovation: Responsibility (week 5)

November 17, 2023 by Taran Swan

Leading innovation: Responsibility (week 5)

To lead innovation with responsibility, be personally invested in your team ‘s success and the organization’s success.

Traditional leadership:

The conventional view has been that, as a leader, you are personally invested in the team’s success and doing one’s work.

A fresh approach:

Our research shows new-era leaders can better inspire innovation when they are personally invested in the team’s success AND the organization’s success.

Bring it to life:

Possitive Accountability. Feel accountable to the entire organization, not only your team’s performance
Standards. Set and maintain high standards for follow through and accountability
Modeling. Model responsibility by holding yourself to the highest professional standards
Negative Accountability. Hold individuals accountable for actions that go against the organization’s values
Go Beyond. Be willing to go beyond your job requirements to get important work done.
Think Big. Feel personally responsible for the organization’s success. When solving problems, consider what’s best for the whole organization, not just what’s best for yourself.

Next week: Respect

Establish rules of engagement that focus on mutual respect for all.

Innovation solutions from Paradox Strategies

Leading innovation: Learning (week 4)

November 10, 2023 by Taran Swan

Leading innovation: How to Use learning (week 4)

To lead innovation with learning, focus on developing broad skills through the flow of work.

Traditional leadership:

The conventional view has been that, as a leader, you see learning & development as an individual endeavor with the focus on improving technical skills.

A fresh approach:

Our research shows new-era leaders embrace learning as a collective activity with the focus on acquiring and developing broad skills through the flow of work with others.

Bring it to life:

Model life-long learning and share trends and insights with your team; keep apprised of happenings in other industries; live on the cutting-edge.
Be curious about your employees’ interests and their work. Connect them to people and knowledge (e.g. books, articles, resources) that can catalyze their interests and work.
Create stretch assignments and opportunities for employees to rotate or work in different areas.
Provide your employees with exposure to learning opportunities beyond the organization, sector, or geography
Create forums for intellectual exchange, to explore fresh ideas and share resources
Bring new knowledge into the organization. Be connected to other parts of the ecosystem (e.g. private sector, public sector, academia)
Encourage employees from across the organization to experiment and pilot projects together

Next week: Responsibility

Be personally invested in your team ‘s success and the organization’s success.

Innovation solutions from Paradox Strategies

Leading innovation: Collaboration (week 3)

November 3, 2023 by Taran Swan

Leading innovation: Collaboration (week 3)

To lead innovation using collaboration, focus on rewarding the team, not star performers.

Traditional leadership:

The conventional view has been that, as a leader, you reward star performers who get the job done well.

Here’s a fresh approach to leadership*:

Our research shows new-era leaders should reward teams who get the job done well together.

Bring it to life:

Model collaboration, Deomonstrate what collaboration looks like. e.g. with your senior team and other colleagues or groups; limit taking action in isolation and/or showing up with fully-formed thoughts.
Appoint diverse, cross-functional teams to work together on difficult problems.
Allow working groups the time, autonomy, and head cover to work on solutions to problems.
Allow yourself to be influenced by asking questions, presenting new data, and offering feedback, but refrain from directing a result.
Make space for employees at every level of the organization to give feedback on work in progress
Highlight teamwork in town halls, companywide emails, etc.

Next week: Learning

How to smoothly integrate continuous learning into your company’s ongoing operations.

*Fresh means up-to-date, modern, based on fresh research, ideas, real-world application.

Innovation solutions from Paradox Strategies

Leading innovation: Bold Ambition (week 2)

October 27, 2023 by Taran Swan

Leading innovation: Bold Ambition (week 2)

Challenge your team to think about what the organization could be doing to tackle a problem that has never been solved.

Traditional leadership:

The conventional view has been that, as a leader, you place the focus on what you think your organization should be doing.

A fresh approach:

Our research shows new-era leaders of innovation should focus not only on what the organization should be doing but also on what the organization could be doing. To innovate, challenge your team to look at problems that have never been solved.

Bring it to life:

Communicate aspirations for your organization that exceed current capabilities
Show your unyielding faith in others to achieve these aggressive goals and ideas
Ask employees to consider where they want the organization to be 5, 10, 20 years in the future, and what they need to do now to achieve that vision
Connect your organization’s business and mission to large-scale problems in need of solutions
Encourage employees to tackle problems that industry competitors can’t or won’t
Set goals and benchmarks that are tied to your organization’s purpose, as well as performance
Seek to generate excitement and commitment around tackling big problems

Next week: Collaboration.

Focus on the team, not star performers.

Innovation solutions from Paradox Strategies

Leading innovation: Shared Purpose (week 1)

October 20, 2023 by Taran Swan

Fresh leadership for a new age: A series on the art and practice of leading innovation

The award-winning book Collective Genius by our founding partners Dr. Linda Hill and team reveals the strategies behind some of the world’s most innovative organizations. Their research makes it clear that a fresh approach to leadership is critical for organizations needing to sustain innovation or create transformative change. This 22-week series features tips on when and how you can bring this new leadership style to life in your organization.

Leading innovation: Shared Purpose (week 1)

If you want to retain your best employees and attract strong talent, co-creating and committing to a shared purpose will help.

Traditional leadership:

The conventional view has been that, as a leader, you shape and articulate the purpose for your organization. You see yourself as the keeper of purpose, which can lead to the notion of purpose being amorphous since it is not clearly tied to a shared sense of how others’ work relates to the organization’s purpose.

A fresh approach:

As our research has shown, to be effective you must co-create meaningful shared purpose with your employees, then embody it so that it can inform strategic decisions. You must ask them, “How does what you are doing fit with our purpose?”

Bring it to life:

Ask your employees questions: “Why do we exist?” “Who are we? “Why do we do what we do?” “Why are we together?”
Invite your employees—especially those closest to your customers—to share what is meaningful about their work.
Celebrate and recognize examples of their work that embody the shared purpose.
Consistently translate and reinforce how the work your employees do every day ties to the shared purpose.
Make sure that the shared purpose also resonates with and has a direct link to your current and future customers.

Next week: Bold Ambition

Challenge your team to look at problems that have never been solved.

Innovation solutions from Paradox Strategies

Being the Boss learning journey earns 2023 Brandon Hall Group Gold Award in DEI for initiative at Reprise Digital

August 24, 2023 by Julie Wolpers

With Paradox Strategies’ Being the Boss learning journey at its core, elevateHER, a strategic women’s leadership development initiative at Reprise Digital, has won a 2023 Brandon Hall Group Gold HCM Excellence Award in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Best Advance in Leadership Development for Women, organizers of the highly esteemed awards program have announced.

Reprise Digital, a division of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG) and a global digital marketing agency, teamed up with our partners at Advantage Performance Group to deploy Paradox Strategies’ Being the Boss, a mobile app and an accompanying learning journey, as part of the initiative to increase representation of women leaders in senior leadership ranks across the globe.

Best Advance in Leadership Development for Women

The Being the Boss learning journey, combined with internal mentorship and custom curated workshops, has effectively advanced the company’s need to support and develop women leaders globally. This program targeted specific development needs of women leaders at mid-level management and promoted a culture of diversity, helping to support women in their wholistic needs for advancing in leadership roles.

“It is exciting to have our work recognized and celebrated. It was a pleasure sharing the Being the Boss journey with these inspiring women,” said Paradox Strategies Founding Partner Dr. Linda Hill. who is also a Harvard leadership professor and author of the widely acclaimed book on which the app and learning journey are based. “Our combined approach of self-paced content and reinforcement sessions had a powerful effect on participants. Their impressive work in the program led to promotions and increased responsibility. We see women thrive after completing the program, and I am eager to see where their careers take them.”

“As a senior female HR leader, I see first-hand that the need for programs and resources which support rising female leaders in passing the plateau of mid-level leadership is particularly evident and vital for the overall diversity and success of the organization.” said Michelle Crenshaw, Global Chief Talent Officer for Reprise and executive sponsor for the program.

“At Reprise, we made a commitment to further the careers of our high-potential female talent, through our elevateHER program and a key partnership with Advantage Performance utilizing the Being the Boss curriculum. Moreover, we are proud of the growth and success of this program across two cohort cycles so far and are compelled to renew that commitment and investment year over year, as we collectively work toward the betterment of the agency as a whole,” Michelle said.

Reprise has seen steady gains in female retention, new hires, and promotions.

The program included a powerful combination of self-paced content, via the leadership development app Being the Boss, and reinforcement sessions, including talks by Dr. Hill. Participants were high potential women from four markets: Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the U.S. These participants experienced promotions and increased responsibility following the program.

The camaraderie between the participants is an important component of the Being the Boss journey. One participant said, “It feels like we are not alone.”

“We are delighted with our partnership with a client that values leadership development and invests in the advancement of women leaders,” said Selva Blum, senior leadership development consultant at Advantage. “Through this program, they have made significant progress in building a strong diverse pipeline of leaders at a global level.”

“Dr. Linda Hill’s timeless imperatives for becoming a great leader resonate profoundly, particularly in the context of the challenges that women often navigate on their journey to leadership excellence,” she said. “I am personally grateful and honored to have met the remarkable women leaders in the program and witnessed their dedication to their resilience, growth, and development.”

About the award

Now entering its 30th year, the Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards is among the most prestigious awards program in the industry. Often called the “Academy Awards” by learning, talent and business executives, the program was one of the first of its kind when it debuted in 1993. The awards recognize the best organizations that have successfully developed and deployed programs, strategies, modalities, processes, systems, and tools that have achieved measurable results. We are honored to receive applications from organizations around the world ranging from small, medium, large, and global enterprises, to government, not-for-profits, and associations.

The 2023 Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards™ recognize best practices for initiatives in Learning and Development, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Talent Acquisition, Human Resources, Sales Performance, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, and the Future of Work.

“Excellence Award winners are shown to be organizations that truly value their employees and invest in them through their human capital management programs. These HCM programs have been validated as best in class for business value and the impact on the employees themselves,” said Brandon Hall Group Chief Operating Officer Rachel Cooke, HCM Excellence Awards program leader.

Entries were evaluated by a panel of veteran, independent senior industry experts, Brandon Hall Group analysts, and executives based on these criteria:

Excellence Award winners will continue to be honored at Brandon Hall Group’s HCM Excellence Conference, February 13-15, 2024, at the Hilton West Palm Beach, Florida. Select winners also will serve as presenters in breakout sessions, sharing their leading practices during the conference.

“Our award winners are relentless in their pursuit of excellence,” said Brandon Hall Group Chief Executive Officer Mike Cooke. “We have received some of the most innovative use of HCM strategy that we have seen in the last 30 years, and in most cases, technology and collaboration across departments have helped them achieve amazing business results.”

ABOUT BRANDON HALL GROUP

Brandon Hall Group™ is a professional development company that offers data, research, insights, and certification to learning and talent executives and organizations. For over 30 years, they have empowered, recognized, and certified excellence in organizations worldwide, influencing the development of over 10 million employees and executives. The HCM Excellence Awards program was the first to recognize organizations for learning and talent and is the gold standard, known as the “Academy Awards of Human Capital Management.”

The awards recognize the best organizations that have successfully developed and deployed programs, strategies, modalities, processes, systems, and tools that have achieved measurable results. They are honored to receive applications from organizations worldwide ranging from small, medium, large, and global enterprises to government, not-for-profits, and associations.

View the complete list of award winners on their website.

To learn more about Being the Boss or how to bring it to your organization, contact us via the form below. We’d love to share more!

One of HBR’s 10 must reads 2023: Drive innovation with better decision-making

October 20, 2021 by Julie Wolpers

***This article has been selected for HBR’s 10 Must Reads 2023: The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review – coming in October!***

Don’t let old habits undermine your organization’s creativity.
By Linda A. Hill, Emily Tedards, and Taran Swan
in Harvard Business Review

Despite their embrace of agile methods, many firms striving to innovate are struggling to produce breakthrough ideas. A key culprit is an outdated, inefficient approach to decision-making.

Today’s discovery-driven innovation processes involve an unprecedented number of choices, from which ideas to pursue to countless decisions about how to conduct experiments, what data to collect, and so on. But these choices are often made too slowly and informed by obsolete information and narrow perspectives.

To align their decision-making processes with agile approaches, businesses need to include diverse points of view, clarify decision rights, match the cadence of decisions to the pace of learning, and encourage candid conflict in service of a better experience for the end customer. Only then will all that rapid experimentation pay off.

In the November-December 2021 edition of Harvard Business Review, co-authors Linda A. Hill, Emily Tedards, and Taran Swan suggest best practices for these interventions, drawing on the story of the transformation at Pfizer’s Global Clinical Supply, which would go on to play a critical role supporting the rapid development of the pharma giant’s Covid vaccine.

About the authors

Linda A. Hill is a founding partner at Paradox Strategies and the Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. She is author of Becoming a Manager and coauthor of Being the Boss and Collective Genius.
Emily Tedards is a research associate at Harvard Business School.
Taran Swan is a managing partner at Paradox Strategies.

Leadership

Leading innovation: Respect (week 6)

Traditional leadership: Old

A fresh approach: New Era

Bring it to life:

Next week: Mutual Influence

Traditional leadership:

A fresh approach:

Next week: Respect

Leading innovation: How to Use learning (week 4)

Traditional leadership:

A fresh approach:

Bring it to life:

Next week: Responsibility

Leading innovation: Collaboration (week 3)

Traditional leadership:

Here’s a fresh approach to leadership*:

Bring it to life:

Next week: Learning

Leading innovation: Bold Ambition (week 2)

Traditional leadership:

A fresh approach:

Bring it to life:

Next week: Collaboration.

Fresh leadership for a new age: A series on the art and practice of leading innovation

Leading innovation: Shared Purpose (week 1)

Traditional leadership:

A fresh approach:

Bring it to life:

Next week: Bold Ambition

Best Advance in Leadership Development for Women

Reprise has seen steady gains in female retention, new hires, and promotions.

About the award

ABOUT BRANDON HALL GROUP

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