Build a culture of innovation with Innovation Hotspots

Professor Lynda Gratton created Innovation Hotspots to encourage people to innovate when the conditions are right. There are four areas in which encouragement is needed:

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1) Cooperative mindset

In order for a company to maintain a cooperative mindset, it must adopt practices, processes, behaviors, and norms - and the behavior of its top management is crucial. In order to share tacit and explicit knowledge, people must want to do so. There are several important elements to consider:

• When choosing staff, consider relationships

• Relationships should be emphasized in inductions

• Mentoring is essential

• Reward collectively rather than individually

• Ensure peer-to-peer collaboration is facilitated

• Become socially responsible

2) Boundary spanning

In order to do this, you need to look beyond your immediate boundaries - see the bigger picture. This involves:

• The inability to be deterred by distance

• Embracing a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and ideas

• Exploring issues together and being willing to do so

• Creating bridges between people and building networks

• Different levels of cooperation (e.g., building trust quickly with strong ties; generating ideas through weak ties)

• Instead of just pushing a point of view, listen and reflect in conversations

3) Developing a sense of purpose

Make sure your questions are challenging (or 'igniting'). There is no 'right' answer to these; they invite exploration of possibilities. They inspire and engage people and lead to a new vision that provides purpose and energy.

4) Productive capacity

Building productive capacity is essential for ensuring that a hotspot fulfills its maximum potential.

• Recognizing and respecting others' abilities

• Capturing the creative energy generated by problem-solving and decision-making

• Synchronizing time, especially when several time zones must be handled or varied attitudes to time exist

• Ensuring the pressure is not too high, causing people to burn out, or too low, causing them to lose interest

• Acquiring participants' practical, public, and explicit commitment

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