Effective Management: Innovation through the use of Teamwork 1

 Effective Management: Innovation through the use of Teamwork 1

Effective Management: Innovation through the use of Teamwork
Management, leadership, employee empowerment and teamwork have
each had its place in business closely examined (Gillespie, 2004). Innovation can
be defined as a process of “envisioning and successfully implementing new ways
of doing anything that adds value to an enterprise and its customers” (Sebell,
2004). Humans, as employees, have proven to bring to the drawing board an
amazing potential for imagination, inspiration, creativity and innovation. If led
successfully, these credits can blossom in the business world. However, poor
management and poor interpersonal relationships can bring out the credits
employees can also be known for: frustration, dissatisfaction, sensitivity, and
motivational problems (Gillespie, 2004).
Mark Henry Sebell, CEO of Creative Realities Inc. in Boston
Massachusetts, U.S.A., has pointed out in many of his classes on innovation the
nine most important factors to successful innovation within a business (2004).
These nine factors include: a case for action, strategic vision, innovation agenda,
senior management involvement, decision-making model that fosters teamwork,
multi-functional teams, open-minded exploration, willingness to take risks, and a
well-defined, yet flexible, implementation process. As an innovation advisor,
Sebell also clarifies the importance of the role that teams play in business (¶ 7).
Machiavelli once wrote “There is nothing more difficult to carry out, than to
initiate a new order of things. The reformer has enemies in all those who profit by
the old order and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the
new order” (Sebell, 2004). Strong communications between management and a 
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team’s workforce will serve to inform teams of why innovation is necessary;
without this knowledge, a business’s battle for resources will always lose out to
supports of older existing businesses.
Innovation can often be a journey into the unknown when regarding the
business world. A shared, strategic vision must be inspiring to the teams working
around the ideas they develop. This type of vision will allow the innovations to
benefit the business--but only if the innovation helps to further the vision of the
company. Direction for hitting “strategic innovation” on the nose is only provided if
the team of innovators clearly understands and is able to share a company’s
visions and strategies (Sebell, 2004).
Also important to communicate on a team level is a fully aligned agenda
for innovation. Having an agenda for team innovation will convey to the team
where the business wants to go, what role the team will play in getting to the
business’s goals, and what level of innovation the business wishes to acquire.
For example, if a company wishes to grow through a process of incremental
changes, then risky, breakthrough opportunities will not be heavily supported
(Sebell, 2004). A company striving to be a leader in innovation will conversely not
be satisfied with incremental thinking (¶ 4).
Senior management must also remember not to sequester itself from the
innovative processes and communications. Teams are much more successful
when there is an active sponsorship present. The presence and involvement of
management will also lend credibility to breakthrough innovations (Sebell, 2004).
While incremental thinking for innovations can be successfully delegated 
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throughout members of a team, breakthrough innovations, those that require the
largest risks and the most resources, must be shared among all levels of the
team.
A decision-making model that differs from those already used by existing
businesses and fosters teamwork is critical for successful innovative ventures.
Innovation can be impeded by decision-making at the team level that is either
autocratic or consensus-driven. To combat this hindrance, teams must seek out
and embrace the diversity within the teams; this diversity will lead to divergent
opinions that will open doors to newer ideas and more options. Only after
listening to each idea carefully before making a final decision for the team can
the innovation be truly well-rounded.
Multi-functional teams, accompanied by diversity of expertise, diverse
thinking, and multi-functional resources are critical to innovation. People in all
fields are stimulated by different thinking processes and expertise. Teams that
are successful are composed of not only “relevant” differences, but also
seemingly “irrelevant” differences. These differences can often bring new ideas
and innovations to light.
The diversity among teams can also lead to new ideas not seen in the
norm