Your team is focused on short-term gains. How can you inspire them to invest in long-term innovation?

One thing I found helpful is explain the big picture by communicating the vision and benefits of long term innovation. It is also important to link the long term innovation to individuals career growth and job satisfaction and encourage them to take ownership of the innovative projects. Celebrating and rewarding milestones towards the long term projects will help maintain motivation. Lastly, it is essential to invest in training and development and ensure that the long term projects are adequately funded and staffed so that the team can understand the importance placed in them. I believe these strategies can shift the team’s focus from only achieving short term gains to understanding the value of the long term innovation.

To shift your team’s focus from short-term gains to long-term innovation, start by clearly communicating the vision and benefits of long-term goals. Show how these efforts align with their personal and professional growth. Encourage experimentation and learning, and highlight success stories where long-term investment has paid off. Additionally, set up a structured plan with milestones to track progress and keep the team engaged with the big picture

Short-term gains can be the building blocks of long-term innovation. The team needs to see themselves as part of the vision. Empower the team to align a portion of their short-term initiatives with the bigger picture so that everyone is connected in some way to the long-term thread. Celebrate the value of each piece of the puzzle that leads towards the long-term innovation no matter how seemingly small they might be.

To inspire long-term innovation, stress its intrinsic value to your team. Highlight how innovation enhances products, services, and processes, boosting customer satisfaction and efficiency while opening new markets. Emphasize that while short-term gains are vital, long-term innovation ensures the company’s future and keeps it competitive.

Nothing wrong with short term wins in innovation, only when they aren′t components or building blocks of a larger aspiration or northstar. Constantly review the biggert picture, the alignment between short, medium and long term advances, and be able to orchestrate and communicate the overall journey, is one of the major success factors in innovation and responsibility of the leader. Ambidexterity is a leadership competency, underestimated sometimes, but so necessary in innovation.

Aligning innovation with team goals is essential. Illustrate how their work on long-term projects fosters personal and professional growth and drives the company's success. Help them see how their daily efforts connect to strategic objectives. This understanding motivates them to invest in innovation and feel more engaged in their roles.

Invest in a culture that is aligned with the long term vision & purpose of the company through the following. - Leadership Support: Leaders should back and join in on long-term projects to keep everyone motivated. - Recognition and Rewards: Celebrate and reward efforts, even if they don’t show immediate results. - Collaboration and Innovation: Encourage teamwork and new ideas, making employees feel their contributions matter. - Resilience and Patience: Teach employees to be patient and see setbacks as learning opportunities. - Transparent Communication: Keep everyone updated on the progress and impact of long-term projects.

Creating a culture that supports long-term innovation is vital. Promote continuous learning and curiosity within your team. Encourage creative thinking and calculated risks, rewarding these behaviors and viewing failures as learning opportunities. This approach fosters a safe environment, motivating the team to explore innovative ideas without the pressure of immediate results.

To inspire your team to focus on long-term innovation, start by sharing the bigger picture—how investing in innovation leads to sustained success and future stability. Highlight examples where innovation drove breakthrough results. Encourage a mindset shift by dedicating time and resources to innovation and celebrating small wins along the way. Involve your team in setting long-term goals, and show them how their efforts today can shape a stronger future. By connecting their work to a meaningful vision, you can motivate them to prioritize innovation over short-term gains.

First of all, it is necessary to distinguish between members who are keen on short-term innovation and those who are willing to innovate long-term in the team, and assign different innovation tasks. Short-term innovation is also very important. Meanwhile, to analyze clearly the characteristics and reasons of team members who are keen on short-term innovation. Take appropriate solutions for the discovered root cause. Secondly, create more chances for the two groups to communicate and collaborate, like the primary R&D and secondary R&D within an company. Finally, HR should have the ability to identify the characteristics of employee and determine what kind of training different members should receive to be qualified for what kind of work.