Whatever level of management role you currently have or would like to have, you may no longer be able to rely solely on traditional technical abilities and interpersonal skills. The best managers are now those who understand and foster innovative leadership strategies.
These ‘strategies’ are the things you need to do to inspire productivity, cohesion, and commitment in your team. It’s true whether you are in charge of a small project, a retail unit, or a multi-department workforce.
Just ‘getting the job done’ is certainly no longer sufficient if you work in a competitive field or your employer is facing change or economic pressure. It is certainly when managers need clear leadership abilities.
The most commonly described difference between a manager and a leader is that in a management role, you instruct and focus on completing tasks well and on time. As a leader, it is more about influence and giving your team everything; they need to take responsibility for doing tasks well and on time.
Taking that a step further, you also now need to be an innovative leader and inspire innovation in others. In other words, you need to know how to get your team – no matter how large or small –thinking creatively and looking for ways to do things better, faster, and cheaper, for example.
That could be the best way to ensure your contribution is noticed and build your career prospects. However, it could even be the only route to keeping your employer on track for success.
So, what are the innovative leadership styles that modern managers need?
There is not one straightforward answer to that question.
In the past, the three main leadership styles were often characterized as autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire. It meant that leaders gave commands that had to be obeyed without comment, delegated responsibilities to others, or stood back and let their teams get on with their tasks with as little active involvement as possible.
Modern leadership styles involve a great deal more variation and adaptability. There is recognition that, to be a successful manager, ‘one size does not fit all’. In fact, you may need to change your approach according to the task and the team.
Are innovative leaders born or created?
It is another important consideration before you decide on the leadership style that best suits your management role and personality.
Is success in leadership something that comes naturally, or can you acquire the skills needed to be an effective and creative leader?
It is a much-debated topic. There is a body of opinion that you must have certain key personal characteristics to be effective in leadership at any level. However, there is also a great deal of evidence that experience, qualifications, and a determination to succeed can give anyone the power to be a successful leader at work.
One thing you need to do when deciding whether to aim for a management role is to focus on your work experience to date and your existing qualifications. However, the best guide to finding your career path will also suggest that you think carefully about your individual goals and preferences.
You may also find benefit in taking personality tests to get an even better understanding of what your most prominent characteristics are and any areas of personal development that may need some work.
If you want a job that carries leadership responsibilities, then you will probably need to look for courses and other opportunities that not only build up your technical abilities but also your soft skills. These could be ways of growing your communication, presentation, or critical thinking abilities, for instance.
The fact that leadership can be an acquired ability is also supported by the fact that leadership development is now a $366bn industry globally, and around 95% of learning organizations are finding ways to underpin or grow their investment in this field.
You don’t have to be extroverted and super-confident to be a successful and innovative leader.
In fact, in some situations, introverts make the best leaders. If you read on in this article and consider some of the leadership styles and attributes detailed below, you will see that being calm, responsive, and empathetic, as well as listening well to others, are all vital leadership attributes. Less vocal and socially active people may have an easier time delivering these traits in workplace situations.
Good at building relationships
According to consulting and research company Gallup, among the most crucial skills you need to be an innovative and successful leader are the ability to build strong relationships with others and then do what is needed to bring the best out in them.
That includes investing time and effort in creating meaningful relationships.
What are ‘meaningful relationships’ in a work situation? It is when you don’t simply establish your authority as a supervisor, manager, or colleague. Instead, you also recognize and respond to other people’s personalities, strengths, challenges, and needs.
From this level of understanding, you can then take the steps needed to ensure everyone you need to work with has your support to be confident, productive, and innovative in their role.
Emotionally intelligent
Another way of describing the process of creating meaningful relationships as a manager is by showing emotional intelligence.
It is an attribute that is often associated with innovative leadership styles. In fact, it is considered a vital component of successful leadership in general, at any level of management.
It means having a clear perspective on your own feelings and responses and being able to appreciate and respond to the emotional needs of others.
For example, in high-pressure or stressful situations, do you become short-tempered, abrupt, withdrawn, or distracted?
Being emotionally intelligent involves recognizing that this is not constructive and undermines your leadership abilities. That requires you to take steps to address this and remain balanced, level-headed, positive, and inspirational in your role.
Showing emotional intelligence to others requires that you remain alert to the feelings and responses of all of your colleagues. That also means being an empathetic person to be effective as a leader.
A good illustration of why empathy and understanding matter in modern management is that they can be invaluable in high-pressure or stressful situations. If you know your team well—their strengths, challenges, and needs – you are ready to step in and support them in all the right ways.
That ability to keep your team together and on track could involve providing individual or collective help and advice. It could certainly be the best way to get your team through a crisis situation or period of intense work.
They say a chain is only as strong as its weakest link!
Inspire their teams
Apart from being empathetic and supportive, innovative and successful leaders at any level of management also need to be good at motivating people.
It doesn’t have to involve being great at thinking up clever speeches or uplifting mantras.
It does mean that you may have to choose your words carefully to ensure you use inspirational and positive language in every situation, even when delivering less-than-favorable news!
One of the best ways to motivate your team is to recognize and acknowledge their individual and collective contributions constantly.
Even the simple words ‘thank you’ can go a long way toward incentivizing future dedication to duty!
Recognizing and rewarding your team is central to ensuring that they feel appreciated. It, in turn, increases job satisfaction and loyalty.
Research shows that around 50% of people who change jobs do so because they feel undervalued by their management. Absenteeism drops when a team feels cohesive, well supported, and appreciated.
It is just common sense, really. A workforce that feels appreciated and listened to is far more likely to stay in its posts and go beyond the call of duty when needed.
Communicate constantly
A lot of the leadership styles and traits outlined so far hinge on one of the most important things you need to do to keep productivity and loyalty high: communicate well.
It is ironic that in the digital age, with so many ways to communicate, there can be a significant drop in team cohesion and focus. That’s especially true if your management role puts you in charge of teams with remote or hybrid work patterns.
To be a successful and creative leader in this situation, you must create systems and checks to ensure everyone in your team gets your attention on a regular basis. It shouldn’t simply be work-goal-focused either. Touching base with your team should include welfare checks and the empathy already been mentioned in this article.
It is easy to become so focused on making sure remote workers have the technology and other equipment they need to maintain their physical health. The best managers also focus on mental and emotional wellbeing.
Does everyone on your team feel in the loop and involved, for example? Is anyone feeling isolated or unheard? That also means you need to show constructive listening skills, know what questions to ask, and be aware of non-verbal communication from your colleagues too.
Encourage social interaction
Some innovative leaders ensure their organization has corporate social networks or orchestrate digital exchanges of general news and informal information. It replaces the social interaction that used to take place on corridors, in lifts, and in coffee break areas.
Another option is to invest in team-building activities, including in-person networking opportunities.
Despite the reliance on technology, human warmth is still a key component of all business relationships. Giving your team opportunities for more informal exchanges can be a great way to reinforce team dynamics, build cohesion, and stimulate better collaboration.
Entrepreneurial and enabling
Mention has already been made of how the most innovative and effective leaders work hard to get the best out of their teams, supporting and encouraging them to fulfill their individual roles and responsibilities. One of the best ways to achieve this is to give team members their own individual goals and the power to make important decisions.
In effect, a team can become its own business, and you delegate problem solving and entrepreneurial thinking to the whole group.
It is possibly most appropriate for managers who can identify tasks that a team can take full responsibility for with just a small amount of guidance and support.
It is often amazing how productive this approach can be. In a position of trust, team members may be more inclined to bring their own ideas to the table and may show new levels of dedication and determination.
You may need to provide professional and personal development opportunities to ensure all team members can carry out their roles with both competence and confidence.
Get everyone behind a shared vision
A modern leadership style that applies more to senior roles in organizations is sometimes referred to as transformational leadership.
It involves providing your team with a clear organizational or project vision and guiding them on how they can play their part in achieving that vision.
Transformational leadership relies heavily on creating team unity and a strong culture of inclusivity and collaboration. That, in turn, requires that managers be authentic, approachable, and demonstrably committed to the process.
No one is going to work hard to achieve the overall vision if it appears the manager is not pulling their weight.
Charismatic leadership
This links to the above innovative leadership style, as it focuses on a manager using the force of their own personality to inspire, motivate, and support their team. If your management role is in a creative organization or involves a lot of problem solving and imaginative thinking, a charismatic leadership style may be a particularly valuable asset.
It is not simply being someone who is popular and has good interpersonal skills. Charismatic leadership involves being able to provide a lot of energy and being open to new ideas. You would also have to be willing to listen and react positively when things don’t go according to plan.
The opposite would be a manager who believes in blame and shame, letting colleagues know when their performance is less than perfect. Instead, a charismatic leader turns missteps, oversights, and mistakes into learning opportunities and keeps things positive.
A major benefit of this approach to management is that your team will be far more willing to alert you to issues at an early stage. They may well also be happier to come to you with ideas for improvements and new opportunities, as they know you will listen with an open mind.
Inspire creative thinking in others
Of course, one of the main goals of acquiring strong and creative leadership skills is to get the best out of everyone else.
It includes understanding the many ways that leaders can encourage innovation in others. It’s the caliber of insight you gain from working towards an online doctor of education qualification at Spalding University, which focuses on having the ability to stimulate and recognize individual and collective innovation throughout an organization.
Getting your whole team to do ‘blue sky thinking’ can also be a great way to increase their involvement and commitment to tasks and projects.
Bureaucratic and autocratic leadership
Is there ever a time or situation when you need to be more prescriptive in your leadership style?
The short answer is yes. There are occasions when managers need to be firm in their own decision-making and give their team unequivocal directions.
It could be due to a pressing deadline, for instance, when something crucial needs to be done on time. It can also be necessary to be bureaucratic or autocratic if your organization must follow established policies and procedures. It is especially true in heavily regulated areas of business or government. You can’t have your team innovating and experimenting when you have a large amount of legislation to stick to.
Agile leadership
Irrespective of your management level or type of organization, one of the leadership traits you will certainly need is agility. That may well involve switching between some of the innovative leadership styles already discussed, depending on the team, task, deadline, and overall goal.
You certainly need to be ready to step in quickly when decisions need to be made at the management level or when one of our teams is showing signs they are struggling.
Economic pressures can also mean managers in some organizations need to be adept at switching roles and multi-tasking. That’s certainly true when it comes to technology and using data effectively. Every manager now needs to be adept at using their organization’s devices, software, and systems and understand the value of good data management.
Is it worth investing in your ability to be a creative, agile, and emotionally intelligent leader?
The rewards are not just about earning the big bucks and climbing the career ladder. You are far more likely to enjoy job satisfaction if you know that your innovative leadership style is creating a better future for your colleagues, employer, and yourself.
