Tripping on Innovation

I previously wrote about innovation’s achilles heel, the one critical but often overlooked need of innovation that makes new things possible: belief. Specifically, stakeholder buy-in. If you don’t have buy-in, you’re going to trip.

And to bring this point home, let’s talk about what happens when there’s a lack of buy-in for an innovation. Specifically, when the team lacks buy-in for an innovation that’s being demanded by senior leadership.

A couple of years ago I was working with a leading e-commerce company that was standing up a new organization. The new organization was being stood up amidst the rapid disruption of COVID19 and leadership’s decision to go fully and permanently remote for the entire global company. This wasn’t just typical company changes. This was disruption bordering on chaos.

As this new organization was being constructed, the senior leadership team was adamant that they knew what the ICs (individual contributors) would want, would immediately understand the value of this initiative, and be able to get to work standing up the new organization, it’s new product line and new processes. They believed in this vision of the organization, certainly everyone else would get it?

But that was not the case. ICs at every level, from product managers to senior engineers were struggling. They didn’t believe the new organization was necessary. They saw it as a waste of time, a distraction from the real work, and a poor attempt at copying the strategy playbooks of other companies. From the employee insights to the pulse survey results, there was a deep sense of rejection of the new organization and what it was trying to accomplish. There was no belief in the innovation.

The lack of employee buy-in was aggravated when senior leadership claimed they knew what was best, demanding that the teams figure it out even if they didn’t believe in what they were building. I found myself acting as a therapist, trying to bridge divides and help all the stakeholders understand each other’s perspectives. It was hard seeing the disconnect between all the stakeholders, their divides growing with every exchange. Change is hard. Change without understanding the why is even harder.

But then we came to a turning point. The lack of team buy-in wasn’t being improved by team stand ups or virtual town halls. We needed to bring all the stakeholders together and craft a vision of the future of this new organization. We needed a North Star Narrative.

A North Star Narrative uses compelling and inspiring prose to reshape the organization’s vision, mission and value into a clear purpose and unwavering intent. It’s co-created by all stakeholders, ensuring that everyone knows their role to play in this new story of the future. And it provides guidance when things are uncertain, such as doing something new and innovative like launching a new organization during a global pandemic.

Over the course of several workshops, we brought together stakeholders from across functions and decision making capabilities. From first in line ICs to the president of the company, we put into words what we wanted to accomplish, how we we’re going to do it, and why. Everyone was finally on the same page.

Once the North Star Narrative was crafted, it was time to evangelize it. By stewarding the Narrative through thoughtful communications and using it to guide asset creations (everything from SOPs to product design), the belief in this new organization started to take tangible form. It was no longer a static strategic demand, but a active co-creation from all stakeholders. They found their belief through storytelling, using the North Star Narrative transform their intent into action and progress.

Innovation demands much: time, talent, resources, and rigorous processes. Yet, the cornerstone of successful innovation is belief — specifically, the buy-in of every stakeholder. Instead of stumbling over innovation, we can secure our footing with a shared, compelling belief. When everyone is aligned, we can build remarkable things.

Ari Mostov is a narrative strategist. She works with innovators to craft irresistible futures. Learn more www.wellplay.world