The past, present and future of maternity leave

By Andrew Fenlon

As a society it’s really important for us to have a steady stream of ‘the next generation’ coming through. The alternative is a society which is steadily aging – and as a result contracting. Governments understand this and have given various incentives to assist in the cost of having children over time.

Currently, the largest financial burden relating to child birth and child caring is carried by women. It is estimated that women having children earn 20% less than the average. Conversely men having children, with their partner undertaking the primary caring for the children get a premium of 15% (not really sure why!) compared to the average.

There are some programs which aim to help women through maternity – such as paid maternity leave and the option for 10 ‘keeping in touch’ days. Unfortunately, these are often not enough – or lack promotion, awareness and consistency.

The position is made worse by some terrible employment practices such as:

  • Making pregnant women redundant either before or during maternity
  • Making the ‘keeping in touch’ days either unknown, difficult or impossible to use
  • Not holding the person’s role open for them so that they cannot return to their previous job
  • Not providing any return to work program for returning mothers
  • Not supporting flexible work – often by requiring a role to be filled 100% by one person working nine-to-five.
  • Upon returning to work should the woman request to do the role part time, often no one is hired to fill the other days, thus the woman does the entire role, in fewer days and is paid a pro-rata salary

Hopefully your organisation is better than this – but we see many instances of the above!

It is no surprise, then, that many women, once having children, do not return to their previous employer. They either look for part time work which might support their caring responsibilities, or they decide to set out on their own.

Caring doesn’t finish when the maternity period stops. Children need support and assistance for many years after being born (in fact many parents still have children living with them into their 20s!) This support includes regular care – but also the unexpected demands when a child is either sick or had an accident. In many instances (personal and professional) the assumption is that the mother will continue to cover the bulk of these duties.

The negative impacts on women because of this approach are significant:

  • They can lack confidence (because they have been out of the work environment for an extended period)
  • They can get caught in a ‘poverty trap’ – the net earnings are less than the cost of child care – so they stay at home or are in a ‘break-even’ scenario
  • They earn less – and this continues throughout the rest of their career
  • They are more likely to work in part time jobs that are below their capability
  • They are often overlooked for promotion into management roles
  • They accumulate less superannuation
  • There is an increased chance of homelessness in older age

Society suffers too. It is estimated that if women could be fully engaged in the workforce, then there would be a 20% increase in GDP. This is larger than any other single sector – it’s three times the size of mining!

As Australians, we need to reconsider where the burden of birth and child-caring lies. The main economic beneficiary is society (children grow up, consume and pay taxes!) – so society should bear more of the cost.

If we want to continue to have a vibrant country where the creation of the next generation of Australians is supported – we need to change things. Fortunately, there are examples from overseas and some forward-thinking organisations that we can use to help us.

A start could include:

  • Recognising that the financial burden of bringing up a child should not all fall on the shoulders of the mother. The father and society need to bear more of the effort and cost
  • Having more open-minded workplaces that allow men to look after their child. Removing the stigma around a man asking to be home with their child
  • Working to the point where child care is substantially funded by the public purse – just like childhood education
  • Providing realistic and enforceable (on the manager) options for the ‘10 keeping in touch days’ (which might well be part days to assist the mother with her caring duties)
  • Ensuring that men are supported by their organisations to be more available for their children – two weeks of paternity leave doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface
  • Ensuring women cannot be retrenched just because they become pregnant
  • Ensuring mothers have the right to a reasonable return to work plan (which might need to be over a period of years) to their previous job
  • Ensuring flexible working options are available to everyone as a default
  • Ensuring organisations offer management positions either as flexible roles or as job shares

I’m not saying that these changes will totally address the current maternity chasm, but if we can start to make these changes, we’ll all be better off!

Andrew Fenlon is the director and co-creator of Women into Leadership. He has over 20 years of international experience in public and private sector organisations. After doing some analyses on what was impacting women and their ability to become leaders, he saw a need to help women – organizationally and individually – thus Women into Leadership was born. As a brand of Fast Track Leadership, Women into Leadership has a range of programs that implement systemic and lasting change at an organizational level so more women can achieve leadership roles. It also provides leadership development programs for individuals.

My Brain made me do it – Exploring unconscious gender bias in the workplace

By Clare Edwards FIML

Let’s start with a brain teaser.

Two judo experts take a bow and the match begins. One is wearing a brown belt the other a black belt. After a long tussle, the black belter player has the most points and is declared the winner, even though during the entire contest no man threw the other to the ground.

How can this be?

Before you read on to the answer, if you haven’t figured it out yet, take a moment to think and reflect.

 

The answer – both judo experts were women.

When you first started reading this riddle what images came to mind? What was your brain making you think?

Let’s explore this a little further. Read the following roles to yourself and be conscious of the images that come to mind:

  • Surgeon
  • Nanny
  • Engineer
  • Midwife
  • Builder
  • Secretary

Despite all the above roles being equally open to both sexes, there’s a good chance your brain assigned a gender to them and you have just demonstrated unconscious gender bias. Why is this?

Before you start castigating yourself for reverting to ‘the obvious’, it’s OK, it just means that you’re human.

Our brains make shortcuts and associations to simplify our complex world where we are inundated with billions of bits of information. When it comes to gender, we have schemas, generalisations and stereotypes borne out of associations we made when growing up.

The reality is, if we have a brain, we are biased. Gender bias is only one of the 150+ biases we have, and it plays out extensively in the workplace both explicitly and implicitly.

Let’s explore some of our unconscious biases with implications in the workplace.

  • Similarity bias. The unconscious belief is “people like me are better than others”. Similarity bias, like many biases, has its roots in evolution where ‘same’ or ‘similar’ equalled safe and ‘different’ equalled possible danger. Our brains default to ‘foe before friend’ (Baumeister 2001) and so our decisions can be unconsciously influenced as we select people for employment, promotion or sidelining based on aspects of similarity such as education, location of upbringing, interests and of course gender.
  • Gender stereotype. Conditioning still exists at an unconscious level and this is further influenced by media portrayals of women as nurturing cooperative home-makers, and men as competitive, competent providers. So, when it comes to making a decision about a certain candidate for a senior role, for example, might this conditioning influence our choice? In one study (Moss-Racusin et al), a science faculty from a university rated the applications of a student who was randomly assigned a male or female name for the position of laboratory manager. Faculty participants rated the male applicant as significantly more competent and hireable than the female, despite identical resumes. They also selected a higher starting salary and offered more career mentoring to the male applicant.Symphony orchestras have traditionally been male-dominated until the introduction of blind auditions where a screen was placed between the audition candidate and the selection panel (women were also asked to remove heels that made a noise).  As a direct result, women are now 50% more likely to be selected for a final interview and membership of the orchestra.

What’s the lesson?

Awareness isn’t enough. Why? Because it is neurologically impossible for our brain to decide and, at the same time, be aware if that decision is biased or not.

However, we can implement systems and processes to mitigate gender bias in the workplace.

Reflection and disclosure. Be aware of our own biases when we reflect on decisions made and whether bias came into the process. This helps us to become more aware of our biases. If we courageously disclose them to others, we can achieve greater objectivity.

Transparency and challenge. Whilst it’s hard to see bias in ourselves, we can spot it in others. Once you are familiar with the key biases that impact work performance, aim to be more open in your meetings and create an environment of ‘permission to challenge’ on possible biases.

In BrainSmart’s ‘Getting to Grips with Unconscious Bias’ workshops, we use a model from the Neuroleadership Institute that simplifies and condenses our 150+ biases into five categories using an easy to remember acronym.

Diversity. When making decisions involving gender, it is important to have them reviewed and challenged by a diverse group of people ensuring the greatest degree of objectivity possible.

If you use selection panels consider a diversity of thinking, culture, personality and even people from a different part of the business.

Ask yourself, “If this person were of another gender, what, if any, difference would it make and why?”

Anonymity and neutrality. Because our biases are primarily unconscious, we may not be aware of how our words in job adverts and other communication influence readers. Applications like Textio can help highlight and neutralise our language. In addition, consider removing names from resumes before presenting it to decision-makers.

I work with medium to large organisations and whilst the overall gender balance of the employee base is fairly even, the executive leadership team or the board is another kettle of fish. It’s time to redress the balance don’t you think?

 

Make known the unconscious

Our unconscious biases directly affect not only who gets hired, developed and promoted, but also the ability of teams to perform at a high level, the effectiveness of decision-making and change, the health of an organisation’s culture and the relationship it has with its clients.

By taking steps to mitigate gender bias in the workplace we can move closer to an equal and diverse work environment that has proven to be more productive, engaging and enjoyable.

Let’s make the unconscious conscious.

Clare Edwards is the Principal of BrainSmart Consulting. She is also a speaker, facilitator and author. Clare worked in a team serving Europe, Africa and the Middle East, between them speaking 13 languages – highlighting for her the value of diversity in business. After moving on from her corporate career, she studied the Neuroscience of Leadership – how knowledge of our brains can help us to be more emotionally intelligent and effective leaders and managers.  Clare now consults with organisations from a variety of industry sectors internationally. She helps people effectively manage and lead themselves and others in complex and uncertain business environments.  

Respect your elders and give them a job

By Jane Caro

I am 61 years old. That probably means that I am more or less unemployable in terms of a traditional full-time job. Should my (so far very profitable) sole trader business fail and I put feelers out for employment, I doubt I’d get a nibble.

There’s no real logic behind this fact because I am at the absolute top of my game and I am not finished yet. I have the time, the experience and the maturity to really add value but, in a way, I suspect that is part of the problem. It would take a very confident manager to hire a person like me to work for them.

 

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT

Like many skilled and experienced older workers, I am too easily perceived as a threat. There can still be a real awkwardness experienced by a younger manager about dealing with an older subordinate, almost as if it goes against nature.
It can work the other way too. Older workers, who have been there and done that, can be impatient with what younger colleagues see as a brilliant new idea but that they have seen done before, maybe many times before. I doubt there are any really new ideas, just new thinkers.

 

BLEAK OUTLOOK

For older workers who are not seeking management or senior positions, the outlook is just as bleak. The average age of ‘retirement’ for older women is 52 and 58 for men, yet the pension won’t kick in for people who are that age today until they are 67.

Given that the average woman retires with half the super of men (and most male super is also not enough to see them through old age) and a third retire with none at all, what on earth are they living on?

That is one reason I put ‘retirement’ in inverted commas. I suspect most of the people who leave the paid workforce forever in their 50s are not retiring to a life of luxury, cruising the world’s oceans, exotic cocktail in hand. I suspect they are being forced out of their jobs and are taking early ‘retirement’ reluctantly. No wonder the fastest growing group among the homeless are women over 55.

Some older workers are taking their redundancy payments and – if they have it – cash in lieu of long service leave and buying themselves a business. The number of older people I see running small franchises like lawn mowing companies, domestic cleaning services, ironing services and courier companies is revealing.

While many may enjoy their time in small business, I doubt it was their lifelong dream to do such work. For older workers who were employed in jobs that are demanding physically – plumbers, brickies, nurses, even childcare workers – their ageing bodies may simply not allow them to stay in their chosen profession.

 

TWO HINTS

Yet surely this is easily fixed? We have an ageing population – so we need to keep as many people in the workforce as we possibly can – and it doesn’t take much adjustment to do just that.

Hint 1: stop making older employees the first on the chopping block every time there’s a round of redundancies.

Hint 2: take the best qualified person for the job, even (maybe especially) if they are older.

We have young parents – both male and female – desperate to work less hours, and experienced, older workers often desperate to work more. How hard can it be to put those two together?

 

GREAT MANAGERS HIRE GREAT PEOPLE

Yes, managers must become more confident about hiring people with skills and experience that may exceed their own – but surely that is what defines the best managers? That they have the ability and confidence to hire great people and then get out of their way and let them do what they do best. And, yes, we might have to give physical workers occupations that are more sedentary.

But most of all we need to get over our prejudices about ageing and that older people are somehow lesser people – not as smart, agile or able to master new skills the way they once could. There is simply no actual evidence for that.

Business is very outspoken about diversity these days, particularly when it comes to making sure they have teams that include women, people from different ethnic and religious backgrounds or with different sexual orientation and gender identity, but the one group we still mostly shy away from are those who are older.

And, if you think about it, while all discrimination against a group of human beings is stupid, discrimination against someone simply because they have lived a little longer than you have is the dumbest form there is. After all, if you discriminate against older people, one day you may find you have been discriminating against your future self.

Jane Caro runs her own communications consultancy. She worked in the advertising industry for 30 years and is now an author, journalist, lecturer and media commentator.

This article appeared in December 2018’s Leadership Matters. Exclusive to IML ANZ Members, Leadership Matters is the region’s only specialist management and leadership magazine.

Each edition includes sharp commentary, insightful features and best-practice resources – inspiring readers to become better managers and leaders.

Will ‘women in leadership’ ever be just ‘leadership’?

Female leadership enjoyed significant progress over the past decade. Surprisingly, despite more women currently occupying places on the boards of Australia’s largest companies, they remain woefully underrepresented. More than 100 ASX 300 companies still lack female board representation. Overall, less than 30% of board directors for ASX 200 companies are female.

At the C-suite level, the story is much the same. Consider: only 16% of CEOs in Australian companies are female and 70% of organisations have exclusively male senior management teams.

While the needle has moved, a lot must change before we see a 50-50 gender split at the top levels of leadership.

 

The cost of falling behind

Although the case for female leadership is so compelling, change is slow. One possible reason is that many women in leadership roles don’t hold roles that allow them to progress directly to the CEO position. Even though females are moving up the ladder, they climb a professional path that merely leads to higher ranking support roles.

The disadvantage of slow progress? Businesses miss out on the benefits of female leadership. For instance, Gallup research found that female managers outperform their male counterparts in engaging their employees. Additionally, companies with leadership teams in the top quartile of gender diversity had a 21% likelihood of enjoying above-average profitability.

Plus, a gender diverse leadership team can deliver results beyond revenue:

  • Be an employer of choice. In WGEA’s Business Case for Gender Equality, they reported that employers with policies and practices that support gender equality are better at attracting top talent. It also found employees are more likely to remain with employers who are proactive when it comes to diversity.
  • Create a stronger brand. Promoting gender diversity in leadership creates an inclusive, positive and engaging workplace. Without being weighed down by internal issues that ultimately affect productivity and performance, brands become strong.
  • Foster an innovation culture. Women representation in senior management also improves a company’s innovation efforts.

It begs the question, when will organisations realise the real cost of falling behind? More importantly, what can we do to create a business environment where female leadership is the norm?

 

Programs with purpose

If the solution rests on better development programs, then these must set high-potential women on a clear path towards top-level positions. Women will fare better amid gender-bias by developing their expertise and skills to make a practical difference in the workplace. They also need confidence in their development program of choice.

As the only professional development program of its kind in the region, Chartered Manager (CMgr) provides a pathway to leadership excellence. It gives aspiring female leaders the skills to stand out. It also helps current leaders to become better managers – equipped to respond to the changing business landscape.

 

Time for a perspective change

To shift the gender bias in leadership takes more than development. It requires a perspective change. To what extent? And does it rest solely on the cooperation of male leaders? That’s up for debate on March 8th at IML’s annual International Women’s Day event. We’ll explore if ‘her aspiration needs his cooperation’.

Purchase tickets now at managersandleaders.com.au/iwd or contact events@managersandleaders.com.au.

Sources:

AICD: Board diversity statistics

Gallup: ‘Female Bosses Are More Engaging Than Male Bosses’

WGEA: The Business Case for Gender Equality

The hidden value in developing older workers

There’s an increase in the rate of employment for older workers in developed nations. With workers staying employed for longer and workplace technology, thinking and practices ever-changing, is it time to invest in the professional development of your older workforce?

A recent study of OECD countries found that the employment rate for workers aged between 55-64 increased by 6% in Australia and 4% in New Zealand in less than a decade. Across the board, OECD countries are seeing more older workers remaining employed well past their 50s and 60s.

Given the shift we are experiencing in Australia and New Zealand, what are the benefits of addressing the development gap experienced by older workers?

 

Increased employee retention

When technology giant AT&T decided to upgrade company systems to keep up with the digital age, they took an inclusive approach. Instead of hiring new people who were familiar with new technologies, they provided training for all 280,000 employees. The result? They retained their loyal employees whose average tenure lasts up to 12 years.

Despite the common belief, older workers can and are willing to learn new skills. The key is to provide targeted training.

When you help your workforce to adapt to new technologies, you give them a good incentive to stay on the job. Not only does this mean retaining them, but also the knowledge, skills and understanding older employees have about your organisation.

 

Enriched work roles

In the context of our ageing society, older workers make significant contributions. Their active participation in the workplace means they share valuable benefits including:

  • Loyalty to the business
  • Commitment to organisational purpose
  • Well-established network of contacts

Supporting the development of older workers opens other avenues for them within the workforce. If they are enabled to move, not just upwards but also laterally, it creates employees with richer experiences.

Leaders should also explore whether developing older workers enables them to hold multi-faceted roles. It’s important not to restrict them to tasks that they have already mastered but not shock them into a completely different job.

 

Decreased economic pressure

The Australian Human Rights Commission reports that just a 3% increase in workforce participation for workers aged over 55 would boost GDP by up to $33 billion. The reduced pressure on the government to support our ageing population is vital for economic stability.

At an organisational level, developing older workers with the aim of keeping them active in the workforce, also adds up financially. Higher retention means less hiring costs and maintaining highly productive, and committed employees all positively impact the bottom line.

Workplace wellbeing influences personal development

Even Maslow realised that beyond self-actualisation was a higher need. One of self-transcendence or going beyond ourselves. This implies that personal development never truly completes its course until it affects those around us. However, is the reverse also true? What is the effect of a positive workplace on one’s ability to develop themselves?

 

Employees seek purpose

In designing an AI app for personalised career development, NextPlay.ai noted the desire of the current generation of workers. They don’t just want to turn up to work and get paid. They see their role, organisation and overall career as a source of purpose.

An essential but often overlooked component of workplace wellbeing is a positive work environment — one where employees feel emotionally and mentally safe, and colleagues engage in upbuilding interactions.

These same uplifting surroundings keep younger generations of employees connected with the purpose of their role. If they’re not distracted by stressors within the work environment, they are free to explore the deeper meaning behind their jobs.

 

Wellbeing equals high engagement

From physical, mental to emotional factors, there’s no denying that workplace wellbeing yields strong business results. Whether that’s through increased productivity, cost savings and lower staff turnover, it benefits organisations.

The most relevant aspect of workplace wellbeing to the development of an individual is that it impacts employee engagement. This engagement is a critical factor for those seeking to develop themselves.

In a study of outstanding performers in various fields (academics, sports, arts), one of the common development elements involved the interaction between personal and environmental factors. An individual developing talent needs not just to have the ability, but also persistence to continue even in the face of failure. Additionally, all of the efforts the individual puts in are for nothing without social and emotional support. That’s where the two factors of a positive environment and engagement meet to motivate individuals to develop their skills, knowledge and talent further.

 

Highly-engaged employees want development

A survey by the Institute for Corporate Productivity found 54% of participants stated that the quality and availability of development affects their engagement. Therefore, fewer development options, less engagement. However, it is also those employees who have formed a significant connection with their role, organisation and purpose (highly-engaged) who seek further development opportunities.

 

Why leaders need to develop mindfulness

A less obvious threat within organisations is the that of a psychologically unhealthy workplace. When colleagues, or worse managers, add mental and emotional fatigue to an employee’s work day, it’s enough to drive down productivity if not drive out workers.

It’s not an isolated case either. In Australia alone, the government pays approximately $543 million in workers’ compensation for work-related mental health conditions.

While it’s true that managing processes matters in leadership, managing people is even more crucial. Likewise, creating a mentally-safe workplace starts with having strong policies and processes in place, but ultimately it is defined by the behaviours of the people within.

That’s where mindfulness can play a crucial role.

Mindful leadership

Mindful leadership based on being attentive to the present moment and recognising personal feelings and emotions while keeping them under control, particularly during stressful times. It requires an individual’s awareness and understanding its impact on others.

Researchers identified the benefits of mindful leadership and summed it up into three meta-capacities:

  • Metacognition. This is the ability to observe what you are thinking, feeling, and sensing during critical times. It is like removing yourself from an intense situation to actually see what’s going on. It’s an effective means of escaping the dangers of operating on autopilot.
  • Allowing. This refers to the ability to let situations be. It isn’t about weakness or passiveness. Rather, it’s about dealing with experiences with openness and kindness to yourself and others. It links firmly with not letting our criticism of ourselves and others crush our ability to observe what is really happening.
  • Curiosity. This means taking an interest in what occurs within our inner and outer environments. It drives a strong impetus for bringing our awareness into the present moment and staying with it.

Emotional intelligence and mindfulness

There are three parts to emotional intelligence according to the man who coined the term back in 1995, Daniel Goleman. The first involves self-awareness, and this is where mindfulness fits in. By monitoring what’s happening within your mind, you can handle it better. This leads to the second part of emotional intelligence, self-management which in turn allows you to manage stressful situations and display a positive attitude despite upsets. The third part is the presence of others and how the other two components combine to determine the quality of our relationships with those around us.

Developing mindfulness

A note of caution: this is not a quick fix. Attending one mindfulness session doesn’t make a mindful leader. The key to developing this ability is practice. Take just a few minutes each day to focus on your thoughts and gradually integrate it into your daily tasks.

Are you interested in further developing your emotional intelligence in the workplace? Consider enrolling in our Emotional Intelligence short course to master your self-awareness and empathy skills and foster a more mentally healthy workplace.

Essential elements of successful leadership development

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, it’s essential for leaders to keep the pace. There’s now a need for new skills and knowledge to assist leaders in navigating the ever-changing landscape. So, are leadership development programs the key to staying relevant?

The obvious answer might be ‘yes’. However, according to Deloitte’s latest Global Human Capital Trends survey, current learning and development programs are struggling when it comes to equipping today’s professionals with skills for the future.

It’s vital then that forward-thinking managers and leaders carefully inspect the components of a program before investing their time and efforts. After all, the modern business environment is all about agility – wasting time on the wrong program can be costly.

If you’re looking for the right development program, here are three essential ingredients:

Development to lead yourself

Before any progress can happen, leaders must first be prepared to accept that they need it. In an environment of fast-paced change, leaders can’t afford to get trapped in what is called ‘functional stupidity’ or the compliance with the established norms without questioning if it is still the right thing to do.

Good leadership development programs must challenge a leader to shift their thinking, venture out of their comfort zone and learn to improve themselves before they can help others.

Development to lead others

Part of the shift leaders experience in today’s business environment is the focus on soft-skills. As workers in this digital age become accustomed to receiving information instantly and dynamically, they start to form the same expectation when it comes to workplace communications.

Leading others is now much more than merely handing out instructions, it’s about inspiring action. Gaining the skills to inspire, motivate communicate and collaborate is critical for a good leadership development program.

Development to lead the organisation

Finally, development must address an organisational goal to be effective. The downfall of many programs is that they rest heavily on theories and lack practical application.

The best leadership development programs are ones that equip participants to respond to situations already in progress in the workplace. This helps the learnings really stick, as the results will also build trust in the development received.

Furthermore, programs customised to organisational needs, lead to a good pay off in your leadership development investment. That’s because it builds loyalty and reduces the risk that you have developed a leader who leaves the company straight away.

Are we too busy to innovate?

Managers and Leaders can make or break an organisation’s efforts to generate fresh ideas and evolve.

Innovation and creative thinking are common management buzz words that managers and leaders hear every day. To some, these words are frightening – the fear of the unknown – and yet to others these same words are embraced as opportunity. Innovation is defined as the ‘successful exploitation of ideas’ as opposed to creative thinking which is usually required at the front end of the innovation process.

Research from organisations around the world has shown that the single most important factor in the success of innovation and developing creative initiatives is having a leader and a team with the ability and passion to turn ideas into business reality.  Additionally, a leader must provide focus and ensure their people have a clear understanding of exactly what kind of innovation the business requires.

All too often innovation is viewed as ground breaking technological advances such as robots being responsible for putting half the Australian workforce out of a job – and of course these types of statements dominate media headlines. This kind of innovation scares people – as many commentators identified during the 2016 federal election campaign when former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull kept reminding the voters about innovation and economic change (to his detriment).

Rather, innovation should be focused on small, incremental changes to products, processes, services and customer experiences that assist organisations to become more efficient, productive and competitive. Creative thinking is helpful during this process to identify new ideas.

Surprisingly, among today’s managers and leaders the most common competency area of weakness resides in the development of creative and innovative thinking.  This ‘blind spot’ area has been identified by the IML 360 assessment
tool and is diagnosed in hundreds of
IML Corporate Member organisations around Australia.

Managers play a crucial role in sparking and encouraging innovation and creative thinking and their support and openness to ideas is vitally important. Research from NESTA in the UK found that 40 per cent of organisational innovation comes from the role of leaders in ‘modelling behaviours that encourage innovation’. Another 30 per cent is delivered by setting up the right team and having a talent pool motivated by innovation and incentivised to improve business operations.

It’s a well-known fact that the development of the iPod was a team effort; inspired and spearheaded by Apple CEO Steve Jobs and created and assembled by a team of engineers and designers – through hundreds of iterations and modifications. All good ideas are born flawed.

Barriers to innovation can usually be characterised into three distinct categories – risk aversion and fear of failure by leaders, hierarchical structure across staff levels, and lack of time to reflect on business processes. Notably, public sector managers highlight the first two categories as their biggest barriers to overcome (62%) while private sector managers suggest the third category is the biggest factor for reducing innovative outcomes (52%).

Of course, there’s always a lot of talk from government, CEOs and executive teams about the need for creative thinking and the requirement to cultivate a culture of innovation – but more often than not it simply doesn’t translate into action on the ground. Creating a culture where people feel safe to experiment with new concepts, are willing to share opinions and are empowered to frame new ideas is wonderful to preach from the ivory tower, but it must be followed up with action to eliminate barriers.

Further assessment results from IML’s small-to-medium sized Corporate Members suggest that insufficient or ‘distracted’ talent remains a major challenge to cultivate such cultures. This was confirmed by an interesting observation made from one organisation. A senior leader noted that employees in her organisation no longer have or make the time to reflect on improving business processes. Constant distractions such as social media, a 24-hour news cycle, access to everything on our phones and PCs and other ‘lifestyle’ commitments mean that all too often we no longer have the time to reflect and truly think about how processes can be improved. In other words, life is simply too busy to think creatively and innovate.

So, what are we to do as managers and leaders? For a team to innovate, a manager needs to ensure they have a number of team members who are innovators.

To identify the innovators inside a team, managers and leaders should look to identify people with three key characteristics:

  1. People who are open to ideas;
  2. Those who show problem-solving skills; and
  3. Employees who are highly motivated and use initiative.

Some of these skills can be taught through training, professional development and experience. Much of it is also achieved by the organisation’s leadership capacity and culture.

Research suggests leaders should adopt a transformational leadership style that is more inspiring and collaborative to generate a shared vision among employees. In a practical sense, many of the barriers to innovation and creative thinking are expressed through the limitations of a hierarchical organisation structure.

By Sam Bell FIML

IML’s general manager – corporate services and research