David Cleeton-Watkins March 2014 ECC CONFERENCE BLENDING INNOVATION AND TALENT Some thoughts, some observations and many questions.

David Cleeton-Watkins

March 2014

ECC CONFERENCE

BLENDING INNOVATION AND TALENT Some thoughts, some observations and many questions

Labels, Labels, Labels

What is HR’s role in building an innovative organisation??

How does the development of talent align with that aspiration??

Those are the questions we will inquire about today

I don’t promise to answer it

I do promise to stimulate debate about it and other issues

Fiirstly, some definition

Innovation, invention, adaptation, modification, adoption, combination, collaboration, all of these and …… doing things better

I am

An OD Practitioner

I am also a work psychologist

But at heart I am an inquirer:

I am curious about the world

So am I innovative?

That depends.

Agenda for Today

Explore:

Role of HR and HR people in fostering an organisation that can innovate so that it does innovate

A systems view of innovation to thrive – or as W. Edwards

Deming put it: Survival is an option Dialogue about possibility

About Roffey’s Management Agenda

Annual survey of managers, in its 17th year

Barometer of manager views

This year:

− Over 1,800 managers surveyed

− From organisations of a range of sectors and sizes

− Junior managers through to Board Directors

− Wide age range

− More female than male (68% female)

− Follow-up in-depth interviews with 15 managers

Talent challenges on the horizon for HR

Retaining key employees is NOT in HR’s top 3 current people challenges

− Retention of talent is the top anticipated people challenge in five years’ time

Many managers are preparing to move on

− ½ of managers report considering a move in the near future

Lack of responsibility and absence of challenge do not feature strongly

No promotion prospects, lack of appreciation and poor management top the list of reasons

HR may miss the wave?

Meeting the talent challenge

Recreation of head room

An attractive ethical offer? Fairness?

Jobs that have meaning and purpose

Accommodating preferences/valuing difference

− Nature of job and values for baby boomers

− Promotion, rewards and flexibility for early career talent

Ethical climate

Misconduct is widespread

− ½ of managers say that they have observed misconduct in their organisation

Much goes unreported

− ⅓ of managers choose not to report misconduct

− ⅕ of Board Directors choose not to report

People don't trust that leaders will act

− ½ of managers believe action will not be taken

− ¼ fear reprisal

Rather than report, they are more likely to walk

− Managers who observe misconduct are more likely to say they intend to leave

Fairness, trust and engagement

Fairness rated lowest

20% of managers not trusting their organisation to be fair

40% of managers report a dissonance between espoused values and those in use

Rises to more than a half in the public sector

Where fairness is lacking managers are more likely to leave

Trust and ethics: what is going on?

Does what we have said on ethics and trust ring true to you?

What is your experience?

What can be done?

The answer seems to be to blame the managers – more leadership development …..

What other options are there?

Change and culture

A narrow performance focus in attempting culture change means you don’t get performance!

Risk management is still winning out over risk taking

Balance between supporting and challenging people is out of kilter

− Majority of managers are working in a low support culture

− 10%+ experience high support low challenge

Team development has been forsaken: absence of trust and avoidance of accountability diminish performance

Perhaps change means that teams are unstable or cannot develop?

Re-define what we mean by working ‘together’ – a new set of capabilities?

Necessary but not sufficient

My questions. Do I have

Enough breadth to look for and find new ways to do things?

Enough depth to engineer elegant solutions?

As those questions apply to individuals, do they also apply to organisations …?

And are they enough ….

No – we are also affected by external factors – innovation is possible because it works in parallel with technology one begets the other …….

Encouraging Innovation is a main People Challenge

“There are signs that widespread recognition of this challenge is not being matched in terms of action on the ground”

“41% of managers do not agree that the ‘behaviour of senior leaders supports creativity and innovation’ ”

“53% disagreed that their organisation ‘encourages risk-taking and innovation’ ”

“62% disagreed that ‘time and space is made available for thinking creatively’ ”

Roffey Park Institute – Management Agenda March 2014

Innovation is not a competitive sport

Perhaps noticing, collaborating, partnership, and abundant thinking is more relevant: Microsoft or Apple?

Where will the www be in 5 years time?

Two examples of innovationExample 1Intel

Intel Corporation is an American multinational semiconductor chip maker corporation headquartered in Santa Clara, California. Intel is one of the world's largest and highest valued semiconductor chip makers, based on revenue. It is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most personal computers.

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Example 2

ARM

ARM Holdings is the world's leading semiconductor intellectual property (IP) supplier and as such is at the heart of the development of digital electronic products. Headquartered in Cambridge, UK, and employing over 2,000 people, ARM has offices around the world, including design centers in Taiwan, France, India, Sweden, and the US.

The world’s leading semiconductor IP company

Founded in 1990

Over 20 billion ARM based chips shipped to date

800 processor licenses sold to more than 250 companies

Royalties received on all ARM-based chips

Gaining market share in long-term secular growth markets

ARM revenues typically grow faster than overall semiconductor industry revenues

Core competences

What are the key or core competences of these 2 businesses?

How do they differ?

How clear are the key competences in your business?

What is HR’s role in nurturing these?

Drivers for change – Management Agenda 2014

What is meant by performance management?

Is there an need to re-focus on clear job purpose and alignment?

The lived experience for managers

Some potential barriers to change for HR

Middle size organisations do better?

Some more detailed data

Current mechanisms favoured by HR

Barriers to Innovation in Business

????

Barriers to Innovation in Business

Risk anxiety

Fear of failure

Personal preference

Silos

Scale of operation(s)

Scope of challenge

Unrealistic specifications

‘Bounded’ systems and methods

Physical separation

Disturbance

Management behaviour

Lack of acknowledgement

Righteousness

Resources

Poor follow through

Dogma

And ... And ...

Enablers for Innovation in Business

− Right spaces

− Tools/technology

− Time to think/share

− Meaningful exchange

− Dedication/diligence

− Practice

− Expertise

− Widening experience/scope

− Clear aims and desired outcomes

− Noticing

− Hearing and listening

− Open mind

− Resources

− Edge of competence risk taking

− Forgiveness

− Exposure to difference in culture and thought

− Jazz

A systems view of innovation

Context (wider system)

Organisation (porosity of boundaries)

Understanding organisational factors/dynamics

Willingness/ability to respond to boundary conditions:

− externally (stakeholders)

− Internally (management and staff)

A contract of engagement

Ability to recognise and discuss differences

A means to reach decisions and take action from them

A shared desire ………..

Working with Systems

Questions

What? So what? Now what?