What advice do you have for other leaders looking to foster a more innovative environment?

The first piece of advice I would give is to remind leaders that having the freedom to innovate is the ultimate exercise in creativity for any employee. But giving folks that freedom also brings with it the need to mitigate and manage associated risk and cost without the benefit of firm KPI.( e.g.,no idea is a bad idea when first suggested)

To balance risk, cost and creativity, take a page from a digital venture playbook.

Set up an anonymized assessors panel with representatives from across the organization. Let them determine key criteria for idea consideration (idea viability, key benefits and contribution to value creation). Take the top 3 from each assessor. Ideas submitted are then reviewed against those criteria. Those that are successful make it to the next round of more detailed assessment.

Provide employees with templates to submit more detailed or refined criteria to be included in their submissions, and a timeline in which to prove value, with milestones that hone in on cost risk and scalability. Assess again.

Provide a sandbox, appropriate tools, and limited or capped resources for those that make it through the second round.

Since this innovative idea pipeline could include partnering with tech startups or tech vendors you might further limit cost and risk through a collaboration or a vendor funded PoC.

What is important is that the innovators are recognized through the process, and the innovation pipeline becomes institutionalized.

Whether people succeed or fail they have a safe space in which to try, along with the support and encouragement of the organization. The benefits abound and range from employee retention to successful new lines of business or cost savings that benefit the entire organization.

C-level mandate: Unless it is truly unique, special, differentiated, proprietary, and brilliant, the rule is to buy SaaS or commercial software.  ONLY innovate when it sets you and your company apart.  Reinventing wheels is a costly distraction that draws cycles away from true innovation.

I have personally focused on 5 different ways to help enable this. It starts with inspiring the team, giving them all the ownership and autonomy to help with creating a vision. Then it’s about making time for innovation, committing to it and enabling it across the organization. From there, track the performance, this could be through some KPIs (customer satisfaction w/ new products, speed to market or # of new ideas proposed & implemented). Next, rewarding the team for success, no matter how big or small the win. Finally, rewarding failure/allowing the team to fail. 

Let your team participate with you as a horizontal organization, in which they might have ideas that you don’t. Have innovation sessions that foster in all the team. Watch videos that are related to, read docs/articles from innovative sources and do A/B testing of those ideas/proposals your team has.

Communicate strategies to employees; Set clear goals; listen to employees' feedback; support innovative project initiatives; foster open and constructive environment.