Innovation for the Recovery

If you are open to ideas then you have one of the key characteristics that will enable you to be an innovative manager. This finding comes from a report published by CMI in December entitled Innovation for the Recovery: Enhancing Innovative Working Practices

Fifty-nine per cent of respondents cited “openness to ideas” as the most commonly identified characteristic of innovative people, followed by:

• Problem solving (50%)
• Motivation/personal initiative (43%)
• Strategic thinking (35%)
• Leadership and management skills (33%)
• Self-belief/confidence (29%)
• Willingness to take risks (28 %)
• Emotional intelligence (13%)
• Tolerance of ambiguity (8%)

Almost a third of managers highlighted the need to encourage innovative individuals to focus on the practical applications of their ideas and said that keeping such people motivated was also a significant challenge.

CMI's report was produced in partnership with NESTA, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. It is published in parallel with a NESTA report, Everyday Innovation, which offers a number of detailed employer case studies. Links to both reports can be found at www.managers.org.uk/innovation
An article on innovation, based on the findings of the research, was published in the January issue of Professional Manager. A pdf of the article is available at www.managers.org.uk/professionalmanager

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