Leading

Innovation in a Risk-Averse

Culture

Michael O'Brien

Professional Pointers

LEADERSHIP

Leading Innovation in a Risk-Averse CultureWhile most healthcare organizations are focused on operational excellence, many leaders are beginning to see that an equal emphasis oninnovation is necessary to remain competitive. But an organization that excels in operational excellence (which minimizes risk) could not bemore different from one that excels in innovation (which rewards risk taking). As a leader in your organization, how can you maintain theadvantages of operational excellence without stifling the creation and implementation of innovative ideas? Use these strategies:

• Go first. Going first means managingyour ovi/n psychological reactionto innovation. Innovation isuncertain and feels risky.Humans are programmed toavoid uncertainty, and leadersare no exception. After all, thenew idea just might fail. If aninnovation creates a significantenough amount of change, you couldliterally fear the change. To keep uncertaintyand fear from stifling innovation, you must become moreself-avyare, tn other words, learn to recognize—and resist—when fear tempts you to shift to a self-protective mode andrevert back to the old way of doing things,

• Shift thinking from "either/or" to "both/and." Armed withyour new self-awareness, you can now heip your staff managewhat seem to be polar opposites: being operationally excellentand being innovative. Typically, your organization might lookat these concepts as either winners or losers. As a result,management staff from each "side" dig in, communicationsdegrade, and nothing happens. By simply reframing the

seemingly opposing concepts with a"both/and" statement, you can open

a creative discussion—becausestakeholders are no longer lockedinto their own particular view-point. For example, ask, "Howcan we both take advantage

of our operational efficiency andbecome more innovative In the way

we address the needs and desires ofour patients?"

Be prepared to manage through disruption. Innovationrequires organizations to let go of old work and take onnew projects and processes. These transitions are disruptiveand create more than the normal amount of breakdowns.Breakdowns happen when people do not do something thatyou thought they "should" do or when something "shouldnot" be the way it is. Discussing these situations feels risky, andit is during these breakdowns that your leadership is vital. Youcan turn breakdowns into breakthroughs by accepting andencouraging divergent points of view instead of resisting opin-ions that are different from your own.

Michael O'Brien, Ed.D , president, O'Brien Group, nc, Cincinnati; (513) 821-9580; michael@obriengroup us; www.obriengroup.us.

Recommended ReadingHow High Is Your Cultural llntelligence?"Cultural Intelligence"By P. Christopher Earley andElaine MosakowskiHarvard Bu5ir)ess ReviewOctober 2004

Like everyone, you have walked into morethan one situation—a foreign country, adifferent community, a new job, or even aparticular organizational division—whereothers' actions, assumptions, speech, andgestures were unfamiliar and could havecaused you to stumble if you had misinter-preted them. In their Harvard Businessfieweiv article "Cultural intelligence," P.Christopher Earley and Elaine Mosakowskimaintain that you need the ability to makesense of these unfamiliar contexts and thenadapt. In other words, you need culturalintelligence, or CQ.

Earley and Mosakowski begin by illustratingthe three components of CQ:

1. Head (cognitive)—using learning strate-gies and observation to tease out cluesthat will help you understand the cul-turf?

2. Body (physical)—adopting the culture'shabits and mannerisms

3. Heart (emotional/motivational)—believ-ing in your ability to adapt to the cul-ture, despite challenges and setbacks

With real-life examples from their study of2,000 managers, the authors paint a vividpicture of the potential downfalls of low CQand the possibilities opened up by high CQ,Included in this article are profiles thatdescribe the typical cultural intelligence of

six different types of managers: the provin-cial, the analyst, the natural, the ambas-sador, the mimic, and the chameleon.

Maintaining that cultural intelligence canbe cultivated, Earley and Mosakowski alsoprovide an instrument for diagnosing yourstrengths and weaknesses and then con-clude with a step-by-step method forenhancing your CQ. With some candidself-assessment and perseverance, youcan learn to accurately interpret others'unfamiliar behavior and use that knowl-edge to create a more successful outcomefrom your interaction with them.

7b purchase the completetext of this article, go to

harvardbusinessoniine.hbsp.harvard.edu.

3 4 Healthcare ExecutiveMAY/JUNE 2005