Leaders as Learners: Back to School Edition

Posted by Polly - September 3rd, 2008

We’ve noted here (and here) many times before that the most successful innovators are relentlessly inventive and energetic when it comes to cultivating fresh eyes—their job (and their joy) is to learn and they make it a personal discipline to get out of their comfort zone, mix it up with all kinds of people, and try all sorts of new things.

Now, I don’t know any leader who would cop to anything less than an enthusiastic embrace of “lifelong learning“, but it’s always refreshing to come across one who makes a real practice of the platitude. That’s why I was delighted to see the WSJ serve up a two-fer yesterday on that front, with profiles of two leaders from vastly different realms—John Maeda, the incoming president of Rhode Island School of Design and Philip A. Newbold, CEO of Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Indiana—whose approaches to learning and leadership are equally inspiring and instructive.

While Newbold is working to create a culture of innovation in an industry notoriously hostile to creativity, Maeda is seeking to expand the impact of one of the most respected arts institutions in the world. Both offer up a set of lessons to any leader hoping to hit the ground running with an innovation agenda this fall. Here are three I found particularly striking (you can read the full profiles here and here):

1. Operate on open channels: These guys get that the more transparent, open, and omnivorous they are when it comes to seeking out new ideas and insights, the better. As part of Memorial Hospital’s “Innovation Everywhere” initiative, Newbold created an “Innovation Cafe“—a former delicatessan refitted as a teaching lab—in which he conducts all kinds of training, brainstorming, and prototyping sessions with folks from inside and outside the organization. Maeda has declared an “open source administration” and has personally opened up multiple channels for communicating with the RISD community (from his blog to text messaging to a network of video bulletin boards around campus).

2. Advocate a strongly-held point of view: Just because Newbold and Maeda are open to ideas from everywhere doesn’t mean they don’t have a strong point of view. Newbold sees himself as “a champion of innovation” at Memorial and in his industry. Maeda is on a mission to “make a justifiable case for creativity in the world”—to turn out a new class of entrepreneurial artists who both contribute to and benefit from the commercial world.

3. Create rituals: One strong indicator of a culture of innovation that we discovered time and again during our research on maverick organizations is a richly developed set of rituals (usually described in a robust, homegrown language) that inspire and energize people at all levels. Newbold has unleashed a set of cruncy practices around innovation: from “good try” rewards for failed ideas (recognition and perks like 4 weeks of free house-cleaning services) to the digital “cryo tank” for ideas that are ahead of their time and may be brought back to life down the road. One of Maeda’s first acts as president of RISD was to send out blank muslin Tibetan prayer flags to students, faculty, and alums with the assignment to return them with any sort of creative expression added. They will be strung about the streets of Providence for an upcoming ceremony.

The larger lesson for leaders looking to inspire innovation? When back-to-work feels like back-to-school, it makes the transition from dog days to working like a dog a lot more energizing—for everybody.

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