INNOVATION
The clues as to what binds leadership and innovation are there, but institutions aren’t always able to follow through on the actions needed to address a lack of public trust. University Canada West associate professor Eli Sopow presents research into factors of organisational culture and performance that breed successful workplace innovation N ew research shows that if workplace innovation is to succeed, then approaches to organisational culture and leadership must also evolve. A more humanistic attitude is needed, rather than the traditional mechanistic methods. A key challenge is that rapid changes to the external environment, in relation to technology, societal expectations and economic conditions, are outpacing developments in the internal environment with regards to workplace culture, structures and systems. This impacts on critical aspects of workplace climate including job satisfaction, morale and employee engagement. Yet, too often the answer is to apply yesterday’s solutions to today’s problems. The result, as the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer shows, is falling levels of public trust in many institutions and businesses, as well as in the honesty of government leaders. There is also widespread public scepticism about innovations occurring in technology, healthcare and the food and beverage industry. The Edelman report provides a comprehensive and
fresh thinking about our human condition. Over the past three centuries, such leaps forward have included the first mechanisation-driven industrial revolution of the 18th century, moving into the late 19th and early 20th century with the innovative use of gas, oil, electricity, electronic communication and advancement in travel (air and motor vehicles). A third industrial revolution appeared in the mid‑20th century, when innovations included atomic energy, telecommunications, early computers and the internet. Developments in the 21st century are often referred to as the fourth industrial revolution, representing the exponential and often overwhelming advancements in technology, artificial intelligence and attitudes about work, together with questions about social values, leadership and corporate responsibilities. This is evidenced in the growing prominence of accountability measures, such as corporate social responsibility and more recently, environmental, social and governance standards. However, serial entrepreneur and investor Madhu Chamarty argues that we are now experiencing a fifth industrial revolution. In an article for Forbes , he observes that “unlike the past four revolutions… this one has the possibility to be the first where the optimisation of work will be managed not only around profitability and productivity, but also around humanity.” The notion of ‘humanity’ noted by Chamarty – specifically, how human emotions, attitudes and behaviours correlate with successful workplace innovation – is the focus of leadership and change management classes at University Canada West. Our MBA students research what binds innovation, leadership and change. This work combines with my ongoing multi-university research projects into how organisational culture, structures and systems are intertwined with workplace innovation, change management, employee morale and leadership. Our latest data sources include the Government of Canada’s 2022 Public Service Employee Survey, which asked 189,582 federal public servants from 90 different government departments about their workplace. In addition, we carried out employee surveys at an emergency services call centre and a police department serving a mid-sized city. Here is what we found. Top factors fuelling innovation When asked to rate the statement, “I am encouraged to be innovative or take initiative in my work”, 72 per cent of the government survey respondents
global profile of what industries must do to address public trust. The argument can also be made that the necessary actions must start at ground level, in the daily practices of workplaces. For this, we need to further our understanding of which human factors are connected to the kind of successful innovation that ultimately rises to trusted global levels. The emergence of humanity at work In considering where we need to go – and how – it helps to see where we’ve been. Industrial revolutions all involve innovation, through the creation of new technologies, ways of doing things, systems and processes, as well as
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Business Impact • ISSUE 2 • 2024
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