The Vital Role of an Innovation Ambassador

For an organization to be competitive and thrive, it must continuously change its way of creating value through innovation: new products, services, markets, and processes. Nevertheless, many organizations tend to overlook or under-represent innovation at executive levels. This is the gap that the Innovation Ambassador fills.

This article will discuss why it is important to have Innovation Ambassadors, what they do, how they relate with other innovation roles within organizations and ways of effectively communicating their value within the business setting.

Who is an Innovation Ambassador?

An Innovation Ambassador is any top individual in an organization be it at the board or management team who champions innovation irrespective of whether the company has an Innovation Director or Innovation Manager in place. As an integral members of their respective executive teams, these individuals play crucial roles in innovation strategy formulation, driving company growth and making innovation a culture within their organizations.

This becomes even more significant given that about fifty percent of businesses lack any dedicated innovators on their top decision-making bodies’. Without active proponents of change within organizations, they risk remaining static when radical opportunities come up. Other than making sure that innovation is always among top priorities for a business, this person bridges different teams and aligns innovation projects with company goals while assisting to attest these efforts value internally and externally.

Key Responsibilities of the Innovation Ambassador:

• Presenting Innovation Progress: Giving updates on the progress of various innovation initiatives to the board and management.
• Innovation Dashboard Oversight: Displaying an innovation dashboard showing metrics, KPIs as well as business outcomes from ongoing projects.
• Creating Business Value: Outlining real business benefits that come from innovative activities.
• Recognizing Opportunities: Identifying new areas where growth could be driven through innovation or improved business processes.
• Engaging Stakeholders: Employee engagement, client feedback loops within a business unit/department/client organization/ etc., it’s not merely satisfaction but a willingness to recommend us / Servicing users well – meeting their needs in a professional way that includes treating them with respect and individuality.

Being an Innovation Ambassador is more than just supporting innovation; it is about embedding it in the company’s strategy and culture.

For more insights on where innovation fits within an organization, check out our previous article: Where Should Innovation Be Placed Within an Organization?

Innovation Roles in the Organization

The Innovation Ambassador is one of the critical members of the executive team responsible for leadership; however, they are not the only innovators who should be driving an organization forward. Innovation is usually an effort by various roles with unique functions that contribute to overall breakthrough strategies. Let’s look at some of the major types of innovation roles that can be found within a company:

• Innovation Expert
• Innovation Scout
• Innovation Project Leader
• Innovation Manager
• Innovation Director
• Innovation Ambassador

Read the FULL article: The Vital Role of an Innovation Ambassador: Why Every Business Needs One