What is the most effective way to reduce resistance to innovation management?

Culture and peer-pressure to collectively resist is one major factor in my view and experience. One way to get their buy-in is to create a social-belonging or event where they can also take part of as a group.

There are cultures that are open to creativity, innovation and experimenting, and there are more conservative cultures. The more conservative ones will act with more resistance. Cultures "resist" if people do. You need to identify “ambassadors of change”: senior management and mid-level management and put yourself in their shoes – through conversations and observation. Are they afraid of being made redundant? Are they afraid that they will make mistakes and look foolish? Is there a larger group with “in-group” resistance that you might need to break through (in which case working with an individual will not prove successful). Once the sources of resistance are clear, that is what you need to work with, there is no one-size-fits-all here.

Change need to be sponsored by Senior Management. Have the right person or group of person who can convinced Senior Management on the benefits of this innovation and strategy to realize it. After careful planning and some focus group discussions with key stakeholders, we can step further with pilot projects, provide quick wins, make some fine tunes then moving to bigger steps. A periodic management review is needed to provide update, secure support and make timely decisions. Seize the momentum!

The question is a funny juxtaposition of terms - "innovation" and "management" - moreover resistance is poor term (debunked by scholars and practitioners) - so LinkedIn - you should consult experts when framing questions. Bad questions = bad answers. Garbage in, garbage out.

Fear of the Unknown: The fear of the unknown is deeply ingrained in human nature, triggering discomfort when faced with uncertainty. In the context of organizational innovation, employees often resist what they don't understand or find unfamiliar. To address this, organizations must adopt a strategic approach that combines education, communication, and the provision of a clear vision for the innovation.

Don’t only involve champions of change. Involve those who have seen the worst of the worst, which likely shaped their current resistance. Those insights may help not repeat mistakes made in the past along with potentially opening up new minds to innovation.

Agree with some of the perspectives given. The ideal team to manage change includes people who favour the change as well as more sceptical people. Be careful to truly involve the latter and not just drag them along for the sake of the process. Listen and learn why things failed in the past or why there is resistance/fear. Once convinced this group will be your best allies. “The most convinced non-smokers, are ex-smokers”

Making meaningful change happens when it looks, feels and genuinely is collaborative and necessary. Projects developed in silos without cross functional expertise will face significant integration issues and whilst collaboration should start with the top, consulting with staff at all levels brings a diverse breadth of expertise. Acknowledging the expertise in your employees and seeking their input is vital to morale, company culture and creates meaningful impact.

People don't fear change, they fear chaos. Where concerns are welcomed and addressed core to the project rather than seen as resistance from 'outside', you can make that 'resistance' one of the biggest sources of strength in ensuring a good implementation.

Innovation can come from anywhere and anyone! Ideas are often sparked through conversations, information sharing and collaboration; where bringing diverse views, perspectives and knowledge can amplify the power of ideas exponentially. Invite everyone to be an innovator and prepare to be amazed!

One thing that certainly kills change enthusiasm is, when people have questions, to see/hear these replied to with politically correct, wordsmithed, design answers. In change processes there will always be moments of discomfort as we challenge the status quo and venture out for the unknown. People will not be surprised to hear you acknowledge that. They will for sure be surprised (disappointed even) if the answer is water-off-a-duck smooth, but beside their question. True and simple answers have in my view always helped most (even though it can be uncomfortable having to admit that things haven’t been the smooth sailing everyone hoped for…). The commitment created by an honest answer will help overcome those challenges faster, though.

Resistance thrives when there is a lack of knowledge or clarity about the reasons, implications, or benefits of the change. Creating a safe and supportive environment where individuals feel valued and heard is crucial. I’ve learned that active listening, empathy, communication, and open/direct dialogue ease resistance to innovation while also minimizing any anxiety.

In my experience transparency from the beginning helps to develop trust. Trust will help your voice to be heard. This is done through clear and open communication. This is done throughout the processes. Milestones communicated as well as any setbacks. When communicating it is important to ask for feedback and if there are any questions that you can provide clarity to.

People contribute more to innovation where there are opportunities to explain the innovation, the problem, how the new initiative solves it, the benefits in short and long terms and the role that they play. Contribution and ownership increases where there’s open communication and the entire team feels their contribution is part of the success story.

I would like to underscore the ethical imperative for us leaders to reduce resistance by maintaining transparency and honesty all the way! In the realm of innovation management, trust is a cornerstone, and deceitful tactics can erode that foundation quickly. Telling the team 'how it really is' reflects a commitment to authenticity. By rejecting the use of lies and fake news, you build trust through open and honest communication. This not only fosters a positive and ethical work culture but also contributes to the team's resilience and adaptability during periods of change. Ultimately, this approach aligns with the principles of effective leadership and sustainable change management – a servant leadership approach if you ask me!

- Reconocer a las personas que se atrevieron a implementar un cambio y difundir su experiencia con otras personas de la organización - Cambiar el enfoque de enfocarse en el "error" por el de "recomendaciones"

All staff need to be given the power to innovate first and then rewarded if there are demonstrable benefits for the business.

Celebrate milestones and successes, as well as discuss (celebrate, for that matter) together how small blocking points were conquered or overcome. That also creates a feeling of being on track, of being victorious. Done well (don’t exaggerate) it creates a nice balance between celebrating success and remaining humble that the next mini-crisis might be around the corner. Yet, you will create belief that one, too, will be won.

Resistance to Innovation, which we know from change management on innovation topics is more complex since "maximizing innovation" needs to get the maximizing participation of all teams, one missing and you lose a piece of the puzzle. incentives can be training (people are thirsty for new areas of learning), coaching, or mentoring (to make leaders of change not followers). Rewards are not my preference but recognition and giving full accountability. supporting with celebrating small achievements and making a positive loop toward growth. There is a block, don't measure the size, just support the team to share the issue and solve it, note that you must create a balance between celebrations and being ready for next crisis which is on the corner

When climbing out of a Resistance Hole, do not attempt to buy cooperation and contribution. Focus rewards on personalized recognition for behaviors first and last and results in-between.

As innovation facilitator of 100+ projects I like to share how you can MITIGATE INNOVATION RISKS in 10 WAYS 1. Market Research: Understand your target audience and their needs. 2. Prototyping: Build and test prototypes to identify flaws. 3. Cross-functional Teams: Bring together experts from various disciplines. 4. Iterative Development: Break the process into phases. 5. User Feedback: Involve users to gather insights and validate. 6. Risk Analysis: Identify potential risks and their impact. 7. Minimum Viable Product (MVP): Launch an MVP. 8. Agile Method: Embrace agile practices to adapt. 9. Quality Assurance: Implement robust testing procedures to catch bugs. 10. Communication: Maintain clear communication within your team.

Once again this is all about the culture in the business. People must not be afraid to make innovatory suggestions and a business should accept that some things will not work. All businesses neeed risk takers alongside the people who are good at evaluating risk and outcomes. This should be an integarted process.

If you ignore potential risks and don’t address them properly in discussions with those affected by the change, they will start to mistrust you. All risks should be considered and the best ways to mitigate them should be developed in collaboration with those who will be affected. There should be joint ownership of these outputs to demonstrate that there’s no abdication taking place.

Employees need clear expectations about the kind of innovation the business is needing at that moment. Which are the most pressing challenges at the moment, what do our customers need? Are we looking for incremental, or disruptive innovation? How much budget do we have? Are there enough resources (people, time, etc) to implement the ideas? How are we going to test, validate and iterate our ideas? What I′ve seen very often is that too many ideas are designed, which are not executed. The reasons are the ones I mentioned.

Cultivate a learning culture Encourage a mindset that embraces learning and continuous improvement. Frame innovation as an opportunity for personal and professional growth. Establish platforms for knowledge sharing and collaborative problem-solving. This fosters a culture where mistakes are viewed as valuable learning experiences, reducing fear of failure and encouraging individuals to actively contribute to innovation without the burden of excessive expectations.

There will always be the stories on Nokia and Kodak from the “Innovate or Die” section to tell, however, it is important to remember that at the end of the day, organizations are being run by humans. Therefore: Being the kid who shouts “But he hasn't got anything on!” does not work in the corporate world. Instead, make sure to build a change coalition. Identify and empower change agents, and form cross-functional teams. Involve employees in the change process to foster ownership and reduce resistance. Solicit their feedback and ideas. Provide support mechanisms such as counseling, mentoring, and peer support to help employees cope with the transition.

If I have to pick the 1 essential capability to have in place for people to adopt change I am calling out effective change sponsorship. Without effective change sponsorship you lack ability to support people undergoing change. Back to the article, I agree we need the other attributes as well to be in place but effective change sponsorship across an organization underpins successful change adoption.

Tell the “whole hearted” story of your innovation why is it important? why is it relevant, to customers and to the business? If you are unable to do this maybe internal stakeholders are right to question and resist!! Also, use appropriate language that will engage, be empathetic, tell the story with passion, facts and figures, consumer insight, what it means to the recipient etc.. Finally, use methods to deliver the message that are appropriate to the recipient. Remember you’ve been thinking about this a lot and are already bought in, listen to the concerns, consider them and address them.

Begin with purpose. It is essential that the purposeful outcome of the innovation/change is clearly evaluated and communicated. This evaluation is best done with the inclusion of key stakeholders that will assist or resist in the implementation. Then communicate that purpose to everyone who needs to know.

Communication is the key here. Being proactive with communication enables your workforce to feel involved and listened to. Change is much easier to embrace when you feel you have a voice. That being said, what is communicated and when is also key, but fundamentally early engagement = early adaptation to change and ultimately a successful outcome.