The Innovation Formula. Imber Amantha

will benefit from reading chapter 3, which focuses on recognition. Recognising individuals for their innovation efforts is an important factor in motivating people to continue pursuing their ideas.

       Above average

      (scores between 21 and 30)

      Your score suggests that the individual-level factors of challenge, autonomy and recognition are present in your organisation. While this means you could skip ahead to some other chapters, you might want to read chapters 1, 2 and 3 for some advice on how to increase these factors even more.

      Team-level factors (items 7 to 12)

       Below average

      (scores between 1 and 10)

      I recommend focusing your efforts at the team level. Your own team is the best place to start, of course, but all teams within your organisation need to focus on the following three elements to improve innovation culture:

       Debate . Your score suggests that your team (or other teams in the organisation) do not welcome different points of view. Instead, homogeneity is encouraged and teams in your organisation are probably guilty of a lot of group-think. Chapter 4 explains why debate is so important. It focuses on how to elicit more debate around ideas and provides some practical methods you could use to start improving your performance on this element.

       Team support . Having a team that is supportive of your and other members' ideas is critical for promoting a culture of innovation. Your score suggests that this support is somewhat absent in your team. Chapter 5 explains how to foster an environment in which team members start to support each other's ideas.

       Collaboration . Teams within your organisation tend to work in isolation from each other, and collaboration between different teams, departments and the outside world rarely occurs. Chapter 6 focuses on the importance of collaboration and on ways to drive greater collaboration between your team and others within your organisation.

       Average

      (scores between 11 and 20)

      Your team environment is probably somewhat conducive to innovation. There is a fair degree of debate in your team, in that different viewpoints are encouraged; your team is supportive of each others' ideas; and there is a decent amount of collaboration between different teams in your organisation. However, there is still room for your team to be more effective at creating a culture where innovation thrives.

      Item scores of 3 or below

       Items 7 and 8 . See chapter 4 for details on why debate and intellectual stimulation are critical for your team. The chapter explains the problems that arise when team members think in the same way and shun points of view that are different from the mainstream. The chapter also offers practical suggestions of ways to spark more debate within your team.

       Items 9 and 10 . See chapter 5 for a discussion on how you can promote an environment where people in your team are supportive of each other's ideas.

       Items 11 and 12 . See chapter 6 for information on the critical role collaboration plays, and for ideas on how to encourage more collaboration between teams in your organisation.

       Above average

      (scores between 21 and 30)

      Your team, and other teams within your organisation, are probably going very well in regard to being innovative. You might want to skip part II if you are comfortable with the way your team is performing, although you might want to read chapters 4, 5 and 6 for ideas on how to increase these factors even more – for your team, and other teams within the organisation.

      Leader-level factors (items 13 to 20)

       Below average

      (scores between 1 and 14)

      Your organisation needs to focus its efforts at the leadership level in order to create a strong culture for innovation. There are four variables that affect innovation culture at the leadership level:

       Supervisor support . Your scores suggest that supervisors and managers in your organisation are not consistently supportive of innovation. There may be some managers who openly listen to and help push forward ideas, but they tend to be the exception to the rule. Chapter 7 will be helpful for you in understanding how to affect the supportiveness of supervisors and managers when it comes to innovation.

       Senior leader support . Senior leaders within your organisation may not be particularly supportive of innovation. While this can be a challenging driver to influence (unless you are a senior leader yourself), chapter 8 provides practical examples of how senior leaders at other organisations deliberately encourage innovation across their companies.

       Resourcing . Your responses suggest that leaders in your organisation do not effectively resource innovation. This may take the form of insufficient money provided for innovation projects, or it may be a lack of time provided for employees to work on innovation. In any case, both types of resources are critical in driving innovation culture. Chapter 9 examines some effective models for how leaders can resource innovation.

       Goal clarity . Being clear on the goals you are striving for and the challenges you are focused on solving is a significant driver of innovation culture. Your scores suggest that there is a lack of clarity on innovation goals within your organisation. Chapter 10 shows you how to set clear goals and missions for innovation, and the role leaders need to play in setting these goals.

       Average

      (scores between 15 and 25)

      Chances are that leaders within your organisation are moderately skilled at encouraging and fostering innovation. There may be some leaders who are particularly supportive, but on the flip side there may be others who are downright blockers of innovation. If the leaders within your organisation are not all on the same page when it comes to supporting innovation, the leader-level (part III) chapters in this book are good ones for you to read.

      Item scores of 3 or below

       Items 13 and 14 . Chapter 7 could be helpful in explaining the role of supervisor or manager support when it comes to innovation. This chapter explains the role supervisors need to play when it comes to fostering a culture of innovation, and the behaviours they need to display.

       Items 15 and 16 . The amount of senior leader support given to innovation in your organisation could be problematic. Chapter 8 goes into detail about why this factor is so critical, and explains how you can influence senior leaders to become more supportive of innovation.

       Items 17 and 18. Chances are that innovation is not resourced very effectively where you work. Chapter 9 focuses on how leaders need to resource innovation, specifically looking at the money allocated to innovation and the time people are given to pursue innovation projects.

       Items 19 and 20 . There is room for improvement around the goals being set for innovation. Chapter 10 looks at the importance of setting clear goals and missions for innovation so that employees have a focus and know what is expected of them. This chapter provides practical tips on how leaders can do this.

       Above average

      (scores between 26 and 40)

      Leaders within your organisation are doing a great job at building a culture for innovation. Your score suggests that managers and supervisors across the organisation are very supportive of innovation, and that this continues right up to the top tier of management. In addition, your score suggests that leaders in your organisation resource innovation effectively, in that time and money are given to individuals and teams to pursue innovation projects. Finally, leaders in your company are good at setting clear goals in relation to innovation.

      Your high score means that you could skip part III, although if