Coaching for Innovation by Palgrave Macmillan Professional Business

© Cristina Bianchi and Maureen Steele 2014 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The authors have asserted their rights to be identiﬁed as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978–1–137–35325–2 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India.

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Contents

List of Figures

viii

List of Tables

Key to Symbols Mind Maps Preface

x xii

xiii

Acknowledgements Introduction

Practical Coaching Tools for Innovation

1 Making Innovation More Accessible

The Innovation Myths 3 Make it Your Mission to Drive Innovation 12 Coaching Conversations That Drive Innovation

2 Coaching Demystiﬁed

Stepping into a Coaching Role 20 The Beneﬁts of a Coaching Mindset for Innovation 26 Good Habits and Practices When Coaching for Innovation

3 Starting to Coach for Innovation

Feedback as a Door Opener to Innovative Solutions The 6-Step Model for Coaching During Feedback Coaching for Multiple Options – Step 1 39

4 A Guide to Powerful Questions Close-up on Questions 51 The Question IS the Answer

32 37

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Part I

xiv

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Contents

Powerful Questions for Bigger Thinking Coaching for Multiple Options – Step 2

56 58

Mindful Listening as a Force for Innovation

The Rewards of Mindful Listening for Innovation 69 The 7-Day Programme for Mindful Listening 75 Day 1: Raising Your Awareness 75 Day 2: Paraphrasing and Listening Triggers 79 Day 3: The Hook – Knowing Which Question to Ask Next 85 Day 4: The Importance of Non-Verbal Signals 88 Day 5: The Value of Silence 93 Day 6: Summarising – Showing You are Listening 97 Day 7: Overcoming the Barriers to Mindful Listening 102

Sparking the Relationship Level

108

The Beneﬁts for Innovation of Establishing Trust 108 Kick-Start the Process of Building Trust 110 Stepping Outside of the Harmonious Circle 113

Putting the Toolkit to Work

120

Coach yourself to Drive Innovation 120 Coaching for the Investigation Process 123 The Ideas Bank: Keeping Track of Ideas 130 Navigating the Transition: The 5 Communication Components for Change 131

Part II 8

Bigger Thinking for Teams

Creating a Culture Where 1+1=3

139

Bigger Thinking and the Culture of Idea Generation How Teams Work at Their Best 147 Troubleshooting the Team Dynamic 149 A Model for Managing Conﬂict in Teams 154

Building Blocks for the Innovative Team Preparing the Ground for Your Creative Team Session Build Your Conﬁdence as Process Leader 162 Building Block 1 – Basics of Facilitation 164 Building Block 2 – Facilitation Tools and Techniques Building Block 3 – Treasure Chest 167 Building Block 4 – Establishing a Code of Conduct

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140

160 160

165 168

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Contents

Trust and Openness for a Culture of Idea Generation 170 Building Block 5 – Building the Team’s Value-Driven Code of Conduct 170 Building Block 6 –The Mindset for Building a Culture of Idea Generation 173 Building Block 7 – Building a Climate of Trust and Openness 175 Flex the Creative Muscles 176 Building Block 8 – Strengthening the Creative Potential of the Team 177 Prepare to Run a Creative Team Session 182 Building Block 9 – Introducing the Crea8.s Model to the Team 182 Building Block 10 – Setting Aspirations 183 Building Block 11 – Mindful Listening for the Whole Team 187 Make the Approach Sustainable 188 Building Block 12 – Be My Guest, it’s Your Turn 188 Building Block 13 – Developing the Questioning Skills of the Team 189

10 The Creative Session for Innovation in Teams The Creative Team Session as a Bridge 194 Crea8.s – A Model for a Creative Team Session The Model in Quick Fix Mode 197 The Model in Aspiration Mode 206

194

195

Final Words: Challenges and Opportunities

211

Appendixes Appendix I – Questions For Great Conversations Around Innovation Appendix II – Mindful Listening: Suggested Texts

223

Appendix III – Mindful Listening Self-Awareness Questionnaire Appendix IV – S:I:F:T Planning Forms

227

Appendix V – Philip and the S:I:F:T Model Appendix VI – Test Pilots: Selected Case Studies Bibliography Index

219

228 235

239

244

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224

Pa rt

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Practical Coaching Tools for Innovation

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ch ap te r

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Making Innovation More Accessible

Chapter Highlights This chapter is about making innovation more accessible, demystifying some of the myths about innovation and highlighting some of the essentials you need to begin driving innovation. You will discover that: There are some commonly held assumptions about innovation that make it seem inaccessible and something that sits apart from what most of us do every day. Adopting the right attitude and behaviours, and developing certain skills that are conducive to being innovative, will support you in your mission to drive innovation. Coaching has a fundamental role to play in having the kind of conversations that need to take place at every step along the way of the innovation process.

The Innovation Myths

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Based on what our clients tell us, on what we observe when we work with them and on what we read, innovation is deﬁnitely a big topic for business today and is likely to remain so in the future. The message coming across is very clear; without innovation there is only stagnation. Innovation is deﬁnitely not a topic to be taken lightly and it certainly requires time, energy, commitment and even a healthy dose of passion to make it happen.

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Coaching for Innovation

Innovation is also the subject of much research and a great deal has already been said and written about it. There is little doubt in our minds that when you are involved with innovation in any way at all then you would do well to read up on the whole topic and take advantage of the existing knowledge. Becoming more informed about innovation and how it works will certainly prepare you to embrace it more effectively. Top

Innovations

the

Last

Years

In 2009, NBR, the Nightly Business Report (the Emmy Award-winning PBS business programme), and Knowledge@Wharton (the online business journal of the Wharton School), asked viewers and readers in more than 250 markets to suggest innovations they think have shaped the world in the last three decades. They arrived at a list of the “Top 30 Innovations of the Last 30 Years”. The top ten were: Internet, broadband, www (browser and html), PC / laptop computers, mobile phones, email, DNA testing and sequencing / human genome mapping, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), microprocessors, ﬁbre optics, office software (spreadsheets, word processors), non-invasive laser / robotic surgery (laparoscopy). The panel of judges deﬁned innovation as “something new that creates new opportunities for growth and development” (Forbes, 2009). They did not limit themselves to product design but also used criteria such as problem-solving value – innovations that solved existing challenges. They did not think of innovations purely as ‘inventions’ that then needed to search for a user, application or market. One of the judges, Karl Ulrich, Chair, Operations and Information Management department at Wharton, cited the anti-retroviral treatments for HIV (number 30 on the list) as one such example saying, “We don’t think of that as a product design but we would think of it as an innovation.” (Forbes, 2009).

Be prepared though; while the current literature on innovation is extremely valuable and comprehensive, there is also a risk that it could make innovation appear more challenging and complex than it needs to be. Our own research has led us to believe that there are several assumptions about innovation

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Making Innovation More Accessible

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that make it seem inaccessible and something that sits apart from what most of us do in our everyday lives. Far too many people perceive far too many barriers to being innovative, based on what we have identified as sometimes contradictory myths. Therefore we would like to tackle some of the myths about innovation that, in our view, make the very concept of innovation daunting to most people. Myth: Innovation only happens as the result of the work of a lone genius When asked about innovation, many people imagine a laboratory, or a makeshift workshop where a single, dedicated inventor is inspired to work tirelessly in isolation for years to achieve a breakthrough. Genius of course has had a role to play in many of the major innovations of the past and no doubt it will always play some sort of role. Interestingly though, the evidence now suggests that this sort of innovation scenario is far less common than you think. Increasingly, innovation happens as the result of teamwork. In his book Where Good Ideas Come From, Steven Johnson comes to the conclusion that from the beginning of the nineteenth century there has been a significant shift from individual breakthroughs to innovation emerging in collaborative environments where people come together and join forces, expertise and knowledge, and exchange views of the world to create something new (Johnson, 2010, p. 228). According to Jim McNerney, CEO at Boeing, ‘Innovation is a team sport, not a solo sport...It takes people working together across different groups, disciplines, and organizational lines to make it happen’ (McNerney, 2007, p. 9). In fact, by coming together and joining forces, the creative potential of each individual is amplified because the whole equals more than the sum of the parts. What this implies is that you do not need to work alone, nor do you necessarily need to be a genius to come up with something innovative. Myth: Innovation is only about major discoveries and big breakthroughs Most people think that innovation has to be radical but in fact innovation can also be incremental. Radical innovation makes news because it is about major discoveries, breakthroughs and inventions that bring about something totally new and is considered a leap forward from what has gone before. Experts talk about this as discontinuous and even

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Coaching for Innovation

disruptive innovation (Christensen, 1997). Incremental innovation on the other hand is about taking what is already there and improving it or making things different in smaller steps. It can happen around products, processes, business models and services to improve customer experience. Economists Ralf Meisenzahl and Joel Mokyr call this “tweaking” – reﬁning and perfecting things that already exist or have been developed by others (Meisenzahl et al., 2011). The fact that you are adapting or improving does not make incremental innovation any less signiﬁcant or any less innovative when the result is still something new and useful. What this implies is that innovation is not necessarily the same as the invention of something totally new or different. Innovation can be incremental, happen in smaller steps and can be based on what already exists.

Inventors:

Innovators

Tweakers?

Ask people to come up with a list of the great inventors of all time and the names will be familiar. From the past it is likely that you would see Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, Louis Pasteur, the Wright brothers... From more present times, names such as Steve Jobs, Tim Berners Lee and Mark Zuckerberg would probably feature heavily. A closer examination of many names on the list would demonstrate that whilst many were indeed original thinkers often those we acknowledge as ‘inventors’ actually borrowed heavily from what went before, synthesising earlier inventions en route to being recognised as game changers. Nonetheless they possessed determination and vision and were successful as innovators, so this by no means diminishes the respect we have for them, their output and their aspirations. Whether you are inventing, innovating or ruthlessly tweaking, without aspirations and big thinking then you are unlikely to get far. As Karen Blumenthal says in her biography of Steve Jobs, who tweaked as well as coming up with totally new approaches, “He wasn’t the creator of the personal computer, but he was the voice and the face of the revolution.” (Blumenthal, 2012, p. 265).

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Making Innovation More Accessible

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Myth: Innovation only happens by chance and if you are lucky There is no doubt that serendipity, or in other words a happy set of circumstances coming together as if by accident, has played a role in many major breakthroughs. Serendipity alone though is not enough to guarantee that innovation will actually happen. If this were the only way in which the good ideas that lead to innovation come about, the process would be left totally up to chance and would be unmanageable. As long ago as 1985, Peter Drucker considered that most innovative ideas happen as a result of a conscious and purposeful search for opportunities to solve problems or please customers (Drucker, 1985). Organisations that want to innovate have realised that they have to encourage people to come together with a common purpose and follow a disciplined process aimed at generating ideas, alternative ways of doing things and putting these ideas and alternatives into practice. At the same time, organisations have also recognised the need to establish the right environment, one that breeds creativity and innovation. Managers have a big part to play in achieving all of this, as does every single individual within an organisation. You cannot just sit back and wait for inspiration; you have to work at it. What this implies is that you have to take responsibility for having innovation as a specific purpose, with defined objectives and a dedicated process. To make innovation happen, you have to be fully engaged, proactive and make it your mission. Myth: Innovation only happens as a result of a totally freeflowing and unrestricted process Evidence shows that whilst creativity frequently benefits from freedom and space to thrive, it can also be well served by boundaries. Restricted resources and limitations often spur inventive thinking and push the envelope with the specific objective of doing more with less. Boundaries can also be applied as a deliberate and intentional part of stimulating the thinking process and not just be in place out of necessity. Working within clearly defined parameters with a very specific goal in mind gives clarity of purpose. Imposing hypothetical limitations (that is, what would we do if we did not have / could not do…) stretches thinking and inventiveness. Brent Rosso, an organisational psychology professor at Montana State University, who studies the balance between freedom and constraint in the product development process, is quoted as saying, “Paradoxically, creativity thrives on the tension between freedom and constraint. They’re the yin and yang of creativity.” (Goodman, 2013).

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Coaching for Innovation

When it comes to being innovative, it is important to know at which points in the process to let the imagination run free and when to impose some boundaries. What this implies is that working within well-defined limits can be as productive for creativity and innovation as a free-flowing process. Myth: Innovation only happens in dedicated research centres, think tanks or innovation cells Many people labour under the misconception that innovative thinking can only happen in R&D, separate and dedicated research centres or innovation cells that sit apart from the rest of the company. In these innovation hothouses everyone devotes their time and energy to looking for the next best thing to launch onto the market. On the one hand, this approach to innovating does have an invaluable role to play. On the other hand, there is also a great deal to be said for integrating the search for innovative ideas into the daily business routine of everyone in the organisation, no matter which department or function they work in. One corporate innovative thinker who is often cited as having revitalised the way in which daily business is carried out is Proctor and Gamble’s A. G. Lafley. In an article co-written with Ram Charan (co-author with Lafley of The Game Changer), the authors make this point: “We see innovation as a social process. To succeed, leaders need to see innovation not as something special that only special people do, but as something that can become routine and methodical, taking advantage of the capabilities of ordinary people…” (Charan et al., 2008, p. 5). What this implies is that no matter what level of the organisation you are operating in, your function or your area of expertise, you have a part to play in innovation. In fact, innovation is for everyone. Myth: Innovation costs too much money Naturally, some innovation requires substantial capital investment to see the light of day and reach the market. Considerable financial resources are needed in many businesses to develop new technology, production processes and prototypes. This does not always have to be the case though and innovation is not always driven by expensive technology. As we have seen above, innovation is not only about major product discoveries and big breakthroughs. It can also be about smaller, more incremental changes and be related to services and processes. There also seems to be no guarantee that high spending in R&D will automatically

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Making Innovation More Accessible

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result in innovation that brings better ﬁnancial performance. Research shows that in 2012 the top ten R&D spenders underperformed compared to their competitors who spent less (Bluestein, 2013). Additionally a number of emerging trends are combining to drive down the overall cost and investment associated with some types of innovation. For example, many businesses are now focussing on the concept of bringing products to the market quickly and cheaply, letting the end user test them and giving feedback to allow for adaptation. Silicon Valley’s Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, calls this the ‘minimally viable product’ (Ries, 2011). What this implies is that you can and should look at innovation differently and work out how it can be adapted to make it leaner, faster and cheaper. Myth: Innovation is not sustainable – the world has enough new products Contrary to what you might think, sustainability is increasingly seen as a strong driver of innovation. Being seen to be sustainable is a key market and shareholder expectation that initially leads many companies to invest more in their corporate social responsibilities and to jump on board the drive for more environmentally friendly ways of operating. Having started to do things differently, many organisations then realise that being more sustainable is also good for business and the bottom line. Smart companies are recognising that being innovative AND environmentally friendly can go hand in hand. “The initial aim is usually to create a better image but most corporations end up reducing costs or creating new businesses as well.” (Nidumolu et al., 2009, p. 59). What this implies is that innovation driven by sustainability can be good for business and deserves to be embraced wholeheartedly. Sustainability

Drives

Innovation

FedEx

Since the early 2000s, one of the main goals of FedEx has been to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. Pursuing this goal, the company has strived to ﬁnd innovative solutions in all aspects of their business: they have been replacing their old aircraft with Boeing 757 as part of their Fuel Sense programme, achieving a reduction of 36 per cent in fuel consumption, at the same time increasing freight capacity by 20 per cent; they have developed software

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Coaching for Innovation

programmes that improve ﬂight schedules and routes, making operations more efficient (Nidumolu et al., 2009); they have redesigned their distribution models to maximise the density of ground and air shipments, thus reducing the amount of fuel it takes to ship each package (http://www.about.van.fedex); they have installed solar energy systems at their distribution centres in Germany and California, and at several other locations, producing and using renewable energy, and considerably reducing their annual CO2 emissions. In 2004, FedEx worked with the Environmental Defence Fund to launch the ﬁrst commercial hybrid truck. The FedEx hybrid-electric truck is 42 per cent more efficient than diesel-powered delivery trucks and its emissions are 90 per cent less (Memphis Daily News, 2009). FedEx continue to work in partnership with educational and research institutions to improve electric and alternative-energy vehicle technologies. According to Mitch Jackson, FedEx Vice President of Environmental Affairs and Sustainability, FedEx has been applying their global approach, “reduce, replace, revolutionize”, to all their operations, maximising efficiency, improving customer experience and reducing environmental impact (Coughlin, 2011). The FedEx Annual Report (2012) states: “Sustainability and innovation go hand in hand at FedEx”. This has had a positive impact on the bottom line. In 2012, FedEx earnings per share increased 40 per cent, and annual revenues exceeded $42 billion – a 9 per cent increase (FedEx Annual Report, 2012).

Myth: Innovation is all about having great ideas Creativity and idea generation are cornerstones of any innovation process but equating innovation purely with ideas is no guarantee of a successful innovation initiative. Innovation calls for more than creativity. Having more ideas and more options to choose from increases the chances of coming up with a gem from among the rough diamonds, but it can be a long haul from that moment of recognition to fruition. It is only when the idea has been developed and put to the test that you can truly say whether it was good in the ﬁrst place. According to Govindarajan and

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Making Innovation More Accessible

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Trimble, a number of factors must all form an important part of the innovation equation: the motivation to produce the ideas; having a good plan and the right processes to manage implementation and execution; and – not to be underestimated – having the best people on the team and leading the team (Govindarajan et al., 2010). What this implies is that all ideas are valuable but it is what you do with them that makes the difference. For innovation to happen, ideas must be executed well and turned into action. Myth: Innovation only comes from specially gifted individuals with an innovative personality There is a widespread assumption that successful innovators must share some sort of unique personality and that you either have it, or you don’t. The thinking is, innovators are born and not made. Without this personality (so goes the myth) you will never be an innovator. Recent research indicates something very different; being innovative is more linked to behaviour than personality. In their book, The Innovator’s DNA, Dyer, Gregersen and Christensen identify the common behaviours shared by successful innovators and pinpoint key skills that can be worked on and developed to improve creative impact. In their research they established that “Innovators were simply much more likely to question, observe, network, and experiment compared to typical executives.” (Dyer et al., 2011, p. 4). What this implies is that you can develop the skills and behaviours that lie at the heart of being innovative, practise them, gain conﬁdence and then apply them to play your own part in driving innovation. Innovation is not something you need to shy away from or be intimidated by. Discount the myths and start making innovation more accessible for you as a concept. Remember, innovation is about coming up with things (or ways of doing things) that are new and useful and which add value for the customer, whoever this customer may be. No matter how big or small, no matter how complex or simple, no matter how formal or informal, being innovative in a way that adds value for the customer in anything that you do or how you do it IS already innovation. Keeping this in mind will make it much easier for you to play your part in making it happen.

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Coaching for Innovation

Make it Your Mission to Drive Innovation You do not need to personally be the innovator to make innovation happen, nor do you need to be doing this on your own. In an organisational context you will undoubtedly be working with and need support from other people. What you can be is the catalyst for innovation and do whatever it takes to drive innovation. Driving the innovation process and making innovation happen means playing your part in creating a culture in which idea generation can ﬂourish, deciding what to do with the ideas that are produced and then following through with the implementation. When you want to become a catalyst for idea generation, and to drive innovation, the place to start is close to home, with yourself – and making it nothing short of a mission to drive innovation.

My mission is to drive innovation. If there’s time after that, I can rescue the universe.

First step: have the right attitude Being convinced about the beneﬁts that innovation brings will get you off to a good start; because of this conviction, you will be constantly driving yourself to push and look for new ways of doing things not just for their own sake, but also with the ultimate purpose of adding value in some way. Above all, you will have to be prepared to cultivate your curiosity and your willingness to learn. Without this approach and attitude you will ﬁnd it very difficult to be effective.

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Second step: behave like an innovator All behaviour is an external expression of an inner attitude and approach. There are certain behaviours that will support you in your drive for innovation and reﬂect the right attitude. The external behaviours and internal attitude of an innovator work together in a mutually reinforcing way. Although none of the innovator behaviours, either individually or taken together, guarantee that you will automatically be successful at innovation, without them it is extremely unlikely that you will even get started. Observe and be curious about everything. Ask questions of yourself and others. Listen with great attention. Look for opportunities at every twist and turn of the road. Connect with other people and be interested in what they have to contribute. Learn from others outside of your own niche and area of expertise. Dare to be creative and do things differently. Value your own ideas and those of other people. Take a risk and experiment. Be willing to fail but always learn from the failure.

The

Habits

Innovative

People

In their book, The Innovator’s DNA, Dyer, Gregersen and Christensen state that “...innovative thinkers connect fields, problems, or ideas that others find unrelated’. The authors have identified four discovery skills that ‘trigger associational thinking by helping innovators increase their stock of building block ideas from which innovative ideas spring” (Dyer et al., 2011, p. 23). The four key skills are: • Questioning: innovative people always ask “why” and they love to challenge the status quo. • Observing: innovative people pick up on the smallest of details in how people behave and the ways in which things are done, giving them food for thought.

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Coaching for Innovation

• Networking: innovative people invest time in linking up with people from different backgrounds and with different expertise and they learn from them. • Experimenting: innovative people constantly explore new ways of doing things and new experiences. These four key skills together have a mutually reinforcing impact on the ﬁfth skill: associative thinking. They stretch and develop the ability to be creative and to make connections that may not be obvious to others, thus strengthening the process of associative thinking.

Third step: identify the skills needed for each stage of the innovation process The innovation process is made up of a number of different stages and requires a variety of skill sets along the way. For example, the skills needed to come up with ideas and encourage others to do the same are different from those you need to manage the execution and implementation that follows. Devote time and reflection to considering the specific skills needed. Assess what you already have in place and then polish up your own skills and surround yourself with the right people. When you work as part of a team, you have the opportunity to draw upon the skills of the team members and match the skill set to the task in hand. If you have an influence upon the composition of the team, make sure that it is made up of people with diverse skills that complement each other in the best possible way, and so equip the team to handle the innovation process effectively at each different stage. It is also important to know when and how to solicit support and resources from outside the team whenever they are needed.

Fourth step: use coaching to drive innovation Coaching has a valuable role to play in accompanying the various stages of the innovation process. Innovation is as much about people as it is about processes and data. No one could argue against the value of quantitative information in any innovation initiative and there will inevitably be test results to collate, market research to evaluate and spreadsheets of all kinds related to things like projections and costs. However, quantitative

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Making Innovation More Accessible

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information is only as effective as you make it. What counts is the qualitative nature of the conversations that you have with the people who are actively involved with the innovation initiative. This impacts how you decide which spreadsheets you will have, what goes into setting up the spreadsheets, the way in which the data is collected, as well as how you evaluate the information produced. In other words, “Have better conversations, not better spreadsheets.” (Govindarajan et al., 2010, p. 125). Better conversations in an innovation context are about having constructive dialogue at every step along the way. There is no better way to have better conversations than to have coaching conversations. Once you have become comfortable and conﬁdent at having coaching conversations, you will not think twice before using coaching skills quite naturally as you interact with others to drive innovation.

Coaching Conversations That Drive Innovation Having a coaching conversation is based on several elements. Two of the most important are powerful questions and a high degree of attention in listening to the answers to these questions. When you have innovation in mind, the questions that you ask during a coaching conversation elicit information, help you to make connections, and allow you to push yourself and others towards bigger thinking and idea generation. Moreover, knowing which question to ask when helps you to manage the innovation process from the ﬁrst early steps through idea generation, selection, testing, decision making and execution. The right questions help you to learn from both your successes and your failures. In sum, a coaching conversation enables you to ask powerful questions of yourself and others and to really pay attention to the answer. When it comes to innovation, coaching conversations are the missing link. As a tool for your coaching conversations, we would like to provide you with a list of questions for accompanying the innovation process. In Table 1, Questions for Great Coaching Conversations Around Innovation, the questions relate to the various stages of the innovation process, from developing the right attitude through to learning from both your successes and failures. These questions can be incorporated into your future coaching conversations, no matter what kind of organisational or business framework you are operating in. As you journey through this book, you will learn how

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16 table 1

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Questions for Great Coaching Conversations Around Innovation

Having conversations about…

Means asking questions like…

How you or the team approach innovation

“What is the best culture for innovation?” “How does our culture measure up against this?”

Who the innovation initiative is targeted at

“Who is the customer (internal / external)?” “What does the customer need / value the most?”

How to analyse the current situation

“What is currently working and what is not?” “What will happen if we do nothing?”

How to pin down what you want to achieve

“What do I / we want to achieve and how will I / we know we have achieved it?” “What are the critical assumptions related to reaching the goal?”

Where you can ﬁnd good ideas

“Where can I / we look to get inspiration / ideas?” “Whom should we be talking to?”

How you can stimulate good ideas

“What do we have that could work in a different context / for a different customer?” “If we were starting afresh with…, what would we do differently?”

What could go wrong and how to prepare for this eventuality

“If all plans are some right, some wrong, how does my / our plan shape up?” “What can go wrong in the plan and how will I / we deal with things when it does?”

The composition of the team that will be working on the innovation initiative

“What skills do we need to do what we need to do?” “What skills do we already have internally / in our team and what is missing?”

How you and the team will organise yourselves

“How can we create a team organisational structure that is aligned with our needs and responsibilities?” “What should our processes look like to best suit our goals and aims?”

How a team dedicated to an innovation initiative can be assessed

“Are we rewarding effort in the right way even if things do not always turn out the way we want?” “Which actions do we need to be accountable for and are we being accountable for our actions?”

How to secure the right support

“How can I / we access the resources we need?” “How can I / we persuade people (outside of our dedicated team) to support us?”

The assumptions (internal / external) that form the basis of the innovation initiative

“What exactly are the assumptions and why?” “What are the critical factors / implications associated with each assumption?”

The need to test the assumptions and investigate them

“Is try and learn enough or do we need to formalise the investigation?” “How does the plan for the investigation need to be set up?” (continued)

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table 1

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Continued

Having conversations about…

Means asking questions like…

The cost implications of the investigation

“How can we spend little on the investigation and learn a lot?” “What are we spending money on and why?”

How to evaluate the progress of an innovation initiative

“How can we build our performance measurement criteria in a way that is meaningful for this initiative (and not just core business)?” “What do the performance measurement criteria need to be?”

Being totally honest about what you have done

“Have we succeeded or have we failed?” “What has gone well? What has not worked? What could be done differently?”

Learning from how you work

“Are we being honest with ourselves and following a rigorous learning process?” “Are we asking the right questions?”

Source: Bianchi and Steele.

to ask these questions and pay great attention to the answers. You will be able to use them and adapt them to fit into and expand the coaching models we provide. Even if you are working on your own, you can ask many of these questions of yourself and add value to your own thinking and innovation initiative. Reading through this list of questions has two benefits. Firstly, you will see the connections between questions and innovation. You will begin to appreciate how these questions drive the focus of the conversations that need to happen around innovation. Secondly, when you think about how you could apply these questions, you will be sharpening your focus on the process itself and taking the first steps towards cultivating the curiosity and willingness to learn that are such an important part of having the right attitude to innovation. In Appendix I, you will find a more comprehensive list of Questions for Great Coaching Conversations Around Innovation. This list has been compiled to give you inspiration for the kind of questions that can be helpful along the way. You can use them as a starting point, and adapt them to suit your own context and circumstances, selecting the ones that serve your purpose. The most important thing is that you start to use them. Like all good innovators, you need to ask powerful questions to drive innovation. The sooner you start, the better.

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Coaching for Innovation

Summing up 1. Innovation is deﬁnitely not a topic to be taken lightly; it requires time, energy and commitment. Becoming more informed about innovation and how it works prepares you to embrace it more effectively. 2. Far too many people perceive too many barriers to being innovative, based on sometimes contradictory myths. Debunking some of the common assumptions about innovation makes it more accessible and not something that sits apart from what most of us do in our everyday lives. 3. When you make it your mission to drive innovation, you are curious and willing to learn. You adopt an attitude that enables you to make the best contribution to the innovation process by looking for new ways of doing things as an integral part of everything you do. 4. Adopting certain behaviours as an external expression of your internal attitude will support you in your drive for innovation. These behaviours can be learned and acquired, developed and reinforced. 5. When you want to drive innovation you require a variety of skill sets that will allow you to be effective at each of the different stages of the innovation process. Make sure that you surround yourself with people whose skills complement your own. 6. Innovation needs constructive dialogue and better conversations at every step along the way. There is no better way to have better conversations than to have coaching conversations based on powerful questions and a high degree of attention in listening. 7. In your coaching conversations, you ask questions that elicit information, help you to make connections, and allow you to push yourself and others towards bigger thinking and idea generation in your drive for innovation. Everyone can be innovative and drive innovation. Having great coaching conversations around innovation and adopting coaching as your preferred approach supports you in this mission.

Reﬂections and Practical Exercises How do you rate yourself currently on the behaviours that will support you in your drive for innovation? Take our short questionnaire and “Check Your Innovator Behaviour”.

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Making Innovation More Accessible

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In your Learning Log rate yourself on the following statements using a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is “very high” and 1 is “very low”: I have good observational skills and I am curious about everything. I regularly ask questions of myself and others. I usually listen with great attention. I tend to look for opportunities at every twist and turn of the road. I like connecting with other people and I am interested in what they have to contribute. I enjoy learning from others outside of my own area of expertise. I like doing things differently. I value my ideas and those of other people. I am happy to take a risk and experiment. I do not mind failing but I always aim to learn from my failure. Based on your responses, ask yourself the following reﬂection questions: What are your strengths and which are the areas where you could make improvements? In those areas where you need improvement, what can you start to do differently that will make a difference? In those areas where you are already good, what can you do to become even better?

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Index

Action Check (CMO Model – Step 2), 59, 62–63, 65, 66 Ask don’t tell, 27, 35, 40–41, 47, 48, 66, 121, 131 Associative thinking, 14, 121

Behaviour for mindful listening, 79, 94, 96 in feedback, 33–37 of everyday coach, 29 of innovators, 11, 13, 217 questionnaire for, 18–19 Beliefs changing, 145–146 for a culture of idea generation, 143–144 of the innovative team, 217 Bell, Alexander Graham, 6 Berners Lee, Tim, 6 Best options choose (CMO Model – Step 2), 59–60, 62, 66 Bigger thinking, xiii–xviii, 15, 22, 27, 29, 39, 114, 153–154, 195, 198, 211, 213–214, 216–217 as a value, 144, 171–172 business case for, 213 creativity and, 162 deﬁnition of, 140 need for, 141, 213–214

powerful questions for, 56–58, 190 team dynamic and, 149 Brick Test, 178 Building Block(s) for building conﬁdence as process leader, 162–168 establishing a code of conduct, 168–173 ﬂexing the creative muscles, 176–182 making the approach sustainable, 188–192 mindful listening, 187 mindset for idea generation, 173–175 preparing to run a creative team session, 182–187 questioning skills, 189–192 setting aspirations, 183–187 trust and openness for a culture of idea generation, 175–176 Calibration (S:I:F:T Model), 124, 127, 229 Catalyst for innovation and idea generation, 12, 27, 100, 110, 114, 121, 133 Causes (CMO Model – Step 1), 41, 42, 44, 48 Change, xvi, 140–141, 144–146, 217 agent of/for, 142 catalyst for, 27, 114

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5 Communication Components for, 131–134 overcoming resistance to, 147 process, 216 Clarify (CMO Model – Step 2), 59, 61–64 CMO Model, 40 Action Check, 59, 62, 63, 65, 66 adapted for managing conflict in teams, 154–158 Choose best options, 59, 62, 65, 66 focus, 41–42 Pause and Regroup, 59, 64, 157 read signals, 41, 156 Review and Clarify, 59, 64 sample dialogue Step 1, 44–46 sample dialogue Step 2, 60–63 Step 1, 41–48 Step 2, 58–65 Stop! Ask don’t tell, 41 CMO Model adapted for managing conflict in teams, 154–158 Coach CMO, 64–65, 68 everyday, 24, 29–30 formal vs informal, 25 informal (definition of), 40 professional, xv, xvi, 22, 23, 26, 33 purpose, 25 vested interest vs no vested interest, 25 Coaching as a management style, 24, 25, 212, 213, 216 business case for, 33 case studies, 228–230, 235–238 culture, 212, 214 conversations, 15–17, 34 definition of, 23, 26 during feedback, 37–39 for multiple options, 39 for the investigation process (S:I:F:T Model), 123–129 good habits and practices, 28–30

Index

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history of, 22 mindset, 26–28 role (stepping into a), 20–23, 218 self-coaching, 120–122 to drive innovation, xv, xvi, xx, 14–15 Code of conduct, 144–145, 147, 152, 153, 156, 164, 168–170, 170–173 Collective intelligence, 150 Communication 5 Communication Components for Change, 131–134 plan, 146 style, 132, 216 Conflict, 154–158 agree to disagree, 112–113 CMO Model adapted for managing conflict in teams, 154–158 Crea8.s Model, 195–197 action planning, 205–206, 209 agree operating guidelines, 199, 207 Bridgestones, 196–197 closing the process and feedback, 206, 209 decide what you want to achieve, 200–201, 208 define the issue or aspiration, 199–200, 207 filter, 202–203, 208 feasibility assessment, 203–205, 208 generate ideas with divergent thinking, 201–202, 208 in Quick Fix Mode, 197–206 in Aspiration Mode, 206–209, 216 preparing to run a creative team session using the, 182–187 planning your creative team session (checklist), 196 sustainability of, 188–192 Creativity, 7, 8, 10, 11, 114, 176, 177, 211, 214, 216, 230 bigger thinking and, 140–142, 214 definition of, xvi, 161 physical environment for, 177–178

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Index

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Creativity – continued process for, 161 strengthening the creative potential of the team, 177–182 workout for the creative brain, 176–177 Creative team session (Crea8.s Model), 195–197 Culture as an iceberg, 144 coaching, 212, 214 deﬁnition of, 143 differences, 145–146 of idea generation, 73, 102, 140–147, 170–176, 188, 216 Divergent thinking, 153, 161, 166, 178, 196, 201, 208 Diversity, 109, 114, 144, 148, 150, 216 Drucker, Peter, 7 Edison, Thomas, 6 Einstein, Albert, 142 Emotions recognising, 103–104 Three steps to managing your, 104–105, 115 Eye-Phone, 142–143 Facilitation basics of, 164–165 tools and techniques, 165–167, 179 Treasure Chest for, 167–168 Failure learning from, 13, 15, 19, 34, 110, 121, 217 Feedback, 218 as a door opener, 32–37 in application of Crea8.s Model, 196, 198, 199, 206, 209 6-Step Model for Coaching during, 37–39, 117 Star Model and, 35–37

FedEx, 9 -10 Fishbone Diagram (see also: Ishikawa Diagram), 185 Force Field Analysis, 184 Ford, Henry, 6 Gallwey, Timothy, 22 Goals and ﬁxes (CMO Model Step 1), 41–42, 45–46, 48 Goleman, Daniel, 161 Google Glass, 140–141 Group thinking, 153 Harmonious circle resistance scenarios, 116 stepping outside of the, 113–118 Hook, 85–88, 93, 97, 100–102, 121 identifying the, 86–88 IBM, 211–215 Iceberg Model, 144–145 Idea generation, xv, xx, 10, 211, 215, 216 behaviours for, 29 building blocks for trust and openness for, 170–176 catalyst for, 12, 27, 100, 110, 114, 121, 132 coaching mindset and, 28 coaching style for, 149 climate for, 118, 132 code of conduct for, 144 culture of, 12, 140, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 150 innovation myth and, 10 in coaching conversations, 15, 34 mindful listening and, 73, 102 paraphrasing and, 80, 82, 84 silence and, 93–94 team dynamic for, 153 Ideas Bank, 130–131, 182, 202, 233 Information gathering (CMO Model Step 1), 41, 42–46, 48, 59, 190, 191, 236

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Innovation, xiii, xv, xvi, 211 attitude for, 12 bad habits and practices, 28–29 behaviour for, 11, 13, 121–122 coaching conversations that drive, 15–17 coaching questions for, 16, 219–223 creative team session for, 195–197 deﬁnition of, xvi discontinuous, 5 disruptive, 6 Ideas Bank for, 130–131, 182, 202, 229 importance of trust for, 108–110, 110–113 incremental, 6 initiative / process, 14–15, 34, 123, 128, 142 mission, 12–15, 211 radical, 5 rewards of mindful listening for, 69–73 skills for, 14 stories, list of, x sustainable, 9–10 Innovator(s), 6, 122, 217, 218 attitude, 12 behaviours / habits, 13, 18–19, 121–122, 217 personality, 11 Questionnaire Check your Innovator Behaviour, 18–19 International Coach Federation (ICF), 22, 23, 26 Institute of Leadership and Management, 33 Investigation process (S:I:F:T Model), 123–129 calibration, 124, 127, 229 case study (Philip), 228–230 forms, 227, 231–234 spin off, 123, 124, 127, 229 Ishikawa Diagram (see also: Fishbone Diagram), 185

Index

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Jobs, Steve, 6 Learning Log, xix, 73 Management style(s), 25, 148, 149, 212–213 coaching as a, 24, 25 Mindful listening barriers to, 102–103 Building Block 11, mindful listening for the whole team, 187 hearing vs listening, 70 Hook, 85–88, 85–86, 93, 100–101, 121 importance of non-verbals in, 88–93 paraphrasing, 80–84 rewards of, for innovation, 69–73 Self-Awareness Questionnaire, 75, 224–226 silence, 93–97 Silence Framework, 95 summarising, 97–102 the 7-Day Programme for Mindful Listening, 75–106 three key triggers for listening, 82–84 three levels of listening, 70 Three steps to managing your emotions, 104–105, 115 Models Three steps to managing your emotions, 104–105, 115 CMO Model – Step 1: Coaching for Multiple Options, 40–48, 41, 42, 58 CMO Model – Step 2: Coaching for Multiple Options, 58–65, 59 CMO Model Adapted for Dealing with Conﬂict in Teams, 154–158 Crea8.s Model for running a creative team session, 162, 182–187, 188–189, 195–209, 216, 235–236

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Index

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Models – continued culture of idea generation as an iceberg, 143–145 5 Communication Components for Change, 131–134 S:I:F:T Model: Coaching for the Investigation Process, 123–129, 228–234 Silence Framework, 95 6–Step Model for Coaching during Feedback, 37–39, 117, 133, 152, 175 Star Model, 35–37 Sun Model: seven ways to boost rapport, 112–113 Multiple options (see also: CMO Model), 37, 38, 40, 47, 114, 121, 140, 142 Networking, 14, 121 Non-verbal signals, 71, 77, 85, 88–93, 94, 111, 113, 115, 165, 191 Norms, 143–144, 145 Observing, 14, 70, 89, 93, 121 1+1=3 (the whole is more than the sum of the parts), 5, 139, 140, 146, 150, 159 Paraphrasing, 80–84, 223 Pasteur, Louis, 6 Pause and Regroup (CMO Model), 59, 64, 66, 155, 157 Pixar, 109–110 Plato, 54 Process leader, 162 Building Blocks to build conﬁdence as, 162–170 Questionnaire Check your Innovator Behaviour, 18–19 Mindful Listening Self-Awareness, 75, 224–226

Questioning, 53 as a basic coaching skill, 32, 47, 58, 85, 115–117 as an innovator behaviour, 13, 121 developing skills of the team, 189–192 Questions, xvi, xvii, 21, 22 as a new behaviour, 117, 131–134 as a tool for bigger thinking, xvii, 29, 56–58 asking, as a basic coaching skill, xvi, 23, 24, 39, 40, 85 as part of Sun Model, 112 categories / types of, 52–53 challenging, 114–115 powerful, characteristics of, 56–58 for coaching conversations, 15–17, 219–223 Hook, for, 85–88 intent and purpose of, 54–56 purpose of, 52 you ask yourself (in self-coaching), 122 validating, 90 (see also: sample coaching questions) Sample coaching questions in 6–Step Model for Coaching during Feedback, 37–38 CMO Model – Step 1, 42 CMO Model – Step 2, 64–65 CMO Model Adapted for Dealing with Conﬂict in Teams, 156–158 Crea8.s Model in Quick Fix Mode, 199–206 Crea8.s Model in Aspiration Mode, 207–209 S:I:F:T Model, 125–128 stakeholder analysis, 147

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Rapport, 111–114, 121, 153 Review and build a bridge (CMO Model Adapted for Dealing with Conflict in Teams), 155, 157–158 and Clarify (CMO Model), 59, 61–62, 64–65 selected options (S:I:F:T Model), 126 Ritter, Simone Dr, 176 Self-coaching, 120–122 S:I:F:T Model, 123–129, 124, 227, 228–234 breakdown selected options, 126, 231, 235 calibration, 124, 127, 229 option form, 128, 227, 233–234 overview for, 128, 227, 231–232 review options and impact, 124, 126 revisit goal, 124, 126 spin off, 123, 124, 127, 229 time implications, 125 tracking and monitoring, 126 Silence, 93–97 non-verbal language of, 94 Silence Framework, 95 6-Step Model for Coaching during Feedback, 37–39, 117, 133, 152, 175 ask questions, 37–38 define outcome, 37 explore and evaluate options, 38 generate multiple options, 38 select and decide, 38 state the facts, 37 Socrates, 53, 54 Socratic method, 53 Social sensitivity, 150, 152, 153 Space to reflect, 57, 80, 162

Index

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Spin off (the S:I:F:T Model), 123, 124, 127, 229 Stakeholder(s), 106, 126, 146, 168, 198, 200, 201–204, 208 analysis, 147 Star Model, 35–37 sample dialogue, 36 Summarising, 70, 71, 97–102, 105, 205, 223 Sun Model, 112–113 Sustainability, 9–10, 188–195, 216 SWOT Analysis, 184 Team, 11, 109, 216, 217 as part of the change, 133–134 as part of the innovation process, 14 code of conduct, 144, 145, 147 core beliefs of, 144–145, 217 dynamic, troubleshooting the, 149–158 encouraging creativity in, 162, 177–182 harnessing the power of, 5, 142 Ideas Bank and, 130–131 mindful listening for, 187 questioning skills for, 189–192 setting aspirations for, 183–187 Teamwork ingredients for excellent, 147–148 Test pilots case studies, 235–238 tips from, 28, 43, 47, 59, 63, 65, 67, 73, 78, 80, 83, 86, 92, 94, 97, 103, 105, 106, 125, 127, 210 The 7-Day Programme for Mindful Listening, 75–106 Three steps to managing your emotions, 104–105, 115

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Index

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Transparency, 110, 113, 132, 144, 148, 172, 173, 216 Treasure Chest, 167–168 Troubleshooting the team dynamic, 149–158 Trust, 114, 117, 121, 132, 140, 144, 148, 153, 162, 170, 216 and openness, 175–176

beneﬁts for innovation, 108–110 building, 110–113 Values, 110, 113, 143–146, 148, 170–173, 220 Wright brothers, 6 Zuckerberg, Mark, 6