Leaders cultivate an innovative environment
Good leaders do not have all the answers, but are adept at asking good questions. They do not come up with all (or perhaps any) of the great ideas, but they create an environment in which great thinking by their team can flourish. It is the team they lead that is then able to pool their collective intelligence in a safe, fertile context for finding answers and generating ideas.
The role of a leader is not to come up with all the great ideas. The role of a leader is to create an environment in which great ideas can happen. It is the people inside the company, those on the front lines, who are best qualified to find new ways of doing things.[1]
See also:
- Leading like a gardener creates shared consciousness
- Ideas are like leaves floating on collective thinking
- Leadership is maintaining full engagement from your group
- Liquid Networks foster innovation
Start with Why – Sinek (2009), ch. 6. ↩︎