The Role of Leadership Competencies in Innovation

Abstract

“A competence is the ability of an individual to activate, use and connect the acquired knowledge in the complex, diverse and unpredictable situations” (Perrenoud, 1997). Changes in organizations are happening at a faster speed. Leaders act as reflectors for those behaviors and value systems. It’s the leadership pipeline which sets examples for others.Strong leadership leads to the delivery of excellent organizational performance. The Leadership Competency Framework outlines seven competencies which have been identified as the key leadership behaviors which every manager needs to model in the organization. These are: leadership, leading Change, organizational & strategic perspective, winning commitment, analysis & decision making, creativity & innovation and delivering results. Disruptive innovation on the other hand, is the new concept attracting attention of the industry. In the book, the Innovator’s DNA, Clayton Christensen list five behaviors that innovative leaders should have: associational thinking, questioning, observing, networking and experimenting. These attributes are being named as “discovery skills” which are helping identifying new opportunities. This article reviews that leaders need to learn new skills in today’s increasingly changing environment. New mindsets and new perceptions are the tools to adapt to new changes. Thus to survive in any dynamic environment, it is very important to re-invent not yourself, but reinvent the whole system and structure.