A System's Thinking Approach to Volunteer Innovation Planning

Plenty of leadership models are available to guide the modern business in the pursuit of team engagement, development, and inspiration but these often lack the drivers to build product and service innovations. Inspiration is not enough. Leadership innovation requires the infrastructure necessary to support innovation and a clear understanding of the barriers that limit its success.

The following text supports this discussion beginning with a case example of failed leadership. This business case reviews the downfall of Enron and the 2001 Fiscal Crisis that resulted from the company's misguided leadership. The reader is provided with evidence and suggestions of what led to Enron's downfall but are ultimately supported to identify their own conclusions as they review the remainder of the text.

The understanding of Enron's downfall, and the tools needed to avoid a similar fate, are further supported with the remaining sections. Beginning with "Leadership Considerations" the reader will explore issues and barriers that impact business leadership. The next section discusses "Innovation Considerations" with an emphasis on the core values, competencies, and purposes of business innovation.

The third section provides a review of the "Situational Leadership Business Scorecard" for the reader to apply in their own business setting to support leadership innovation. Several templates are included. The fourth section provides a review of "Data Driven Considerations" and builds upon the previous section by providing additional tools to help plan, implement, and evaluate leadership innovation. The fifth and last section provides a review of "Financial Considerations" that can be taken into consideration when developing the business case for Leadership Innovation and evaluating the financial impact of the business initiatives.

Travis Barker, MPA GCPM