A leader's role in innovation is not to present a vision for others to execute. Instead, they must create the culture and capabilities for the team to co-create the future with them. This shifts the dynamic from top-down followership to a collaborative partnership.
Visionary leaders can unintentionally dominate conversations, preventing their teams from sharing crucial ideas. A practical tactic is to consciously remain silent for a set period in meetings (e.g., the first 20 minutes) to create the necessary space for others to contribute their 'slices of genius'.
To combat the natural reluctance to abandon a failing project, leaders should actively incentivize objectivity. One effective, counter-intuitive tactic is to offer a bonus to employees who kill their own ideas, fostering a culture where resources are not wasted on projects that are not working.
Expertise can stifle innovation. Experts may become rigid and dismiss novel ideas that challenge established knowledge. Innovative organizations like Pixar recognize this danger and create processes to ensure experts and bosses don't dominate brainstorming sessions and kill nascent concepts.
The critical bottleneck to scaling innovation is the scarcity of leaders who can act as "bridgers" between technical and business teams. These individuals are essential for translating digital capabilities into business value, yet most organizations fail to develop or reward this cross-functional talent.
In an uncertain world where no one knows the future, leaders cannot be "pathfinders" with a pre-defined map. Instead, they must be "wayfinders" who use tools, values, and a shared purpose as a compass to help their teams navigate and co-create the future together through experimentation.