Innovative Leadership in the 21st Century
1. In order to innovate we first need integrity. Integrity is the bedrock of successful and sustainable leadership. When corrupt leaders attempt to lead change corrosion takes place in leadership. Intent without integrity will never create a positive impact. We must address character flaws, defects and inadequacies if we want to create strong leaders. Power without integrity corrodes a ministry, organization, community and ultimately nations. Strong leadership produces strong communities and a strong nation.
Innovative Leadership in the 21st Century
2. Innovative Leadership in the 21st Century Innovative leadership will require a paradigm shift. The concepts of yesterday cannot create the change of tomorrow. If we want to see radical change we need new concepts. In order to receive new concepts we must embrace a new mindset. We cannot lead with old models. We need big thinkers with real solutions. It takes cutting-edge insights to propel change. We are not out of ideas. We simply have outdated ideas. Innovation is the introduction of new concepts to change the course of our lives. It takes intellectual capital to improve the quality of our lives. We must create organizations that encourage and reward big thinkers in the 21st century.
3. Innovative leadership will require unity. Unity is the force that unleashes change in the world. As long as we are fighting, we are restricting revolution in the world. We must get on the same page if we want to make a positive impact. We must lay aside differences, biases and ignorance in order to make progress. We can accomplish much more united than we ever will divided. The reward of unity is radical change. Collaboration will be the force that ignites new innovations in the 21st century.
4. Innovative leadership will require creativity. Creativity is the catalyst for change. The problem is that leaders have lost their creative edge. We must encourage and engineer environments that foster creativity. We must redesign our leadership models to include creativity. We must give leaders the autonomy necessary to envision and engineer new innovations. When leaders lose their creativity they are crippled. Our organizations will only be as strong as our creative teams. Initiatives that do not encourage innovation will only produce organizations that are ineffective. When was the last time your team did something different? When was the last time your team had a retreat? Or when did your team last engage in a teambuilding activity? You will be amazed at how new environments awaken your creative genius!
