CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE LEADERSHIP VISIONING FOR ORGANIZATIONAL EFFICIENCY

BY

TANKO AHMED fwcSenior Fellow (Security & Strategic Studies)

National Institute (NIPSS), Kuru

‘United we Stand, Divided we Fall’– Anonymous

A Lecture Delivered to the NIPSS Policy, Strategy and Leadership Course 19 on Tuesday, 18 August, 2015

Preface

• A smart visionary leadership is able to synthesize different styles in response to organizational exigencies for efficiency.

• Creativity and innovation are twin drivers for

leadership vision focused on organizational efficiency.

• This paper discusses the internal and external challenging realities facing organizational leadership in advancing or improving efficiency.

Key Terms:

Creativity;

Innovation;

Leadership;

Innovative Leadership;

Vision and Visioning; and

Organizational Efficiency.

INTRODUCTION

Background

Leadership visioning is the preoccupation of capable leaders who are able to harness human and material resources for the efficient function any organization.

A leader should be able to identify situational opportunities, resource availability and individual capability of his followers or subordinates for efficient running of the organization.

Vision is therefore crucial as means for focusing attention on what matters most, what you want to accomplish and what kind of leadership is desired.

https://hbr.org/2008/08/title

Background Contd…Organizational efficiency is described as process-centric

collaboration methodology involving deliberate efforts of leadership and subordinates in attaining set goals by prudent resource management (Vijayan, 2014).

It measures and relates to performance, productivity and optimum balancing of resource input with goal attainment.

It also projects the ability of an organization to achieve its set goals in the maxim of ‘united we stand, divided we fall’.

Literature and Theoretical Context

Literature on creativity and innovative leadership orbits around the ability of leaders to identify, harvest and redirect individual efforts into an overall organizational process for efficiency (Vijayan, 2014).

Larger part of literature on organizational efficiency falls under organizational change with emphasis on desired outcome rather than focus on understanding its dynamics (JPC, 2002).

For theoretical context, a blend of earlier works on modelling by Amabile (1998); and latter expansion by Gliddon (2006) tend to accommodate the dynamics of creative and innovative leadership vision for organizational efficiency.

Problem Statement

The idea of tasking a particular style of leadership to galvanize all other approaches require careful alignment of theories, practice and concepts for clear understanding.

This paper contributes to a course programme on ‘leadership, policy and strategy’ for middle and upper cadre of senior executives drawn from Nigeria’s public and private sectors.

The course is instructive, interactive and simulative, modeled for synergy amongst diverse professionals and career public officers in confronting and solving national issues as one single unit or force.

Points of Inquiry

To treat the above issues, this paper seeks to understand the following:

Creative and innovative leadership visioning;

Strategies for Organizational Efficiency; and

Challenges of Leadership Visioning in Organizational Efficiency.

Paper Organization

The introduction is followed by conceptual clarification to translate and transmit meanings for clear understanding of leadership vision and organizational efficiency.

Strategies and challenges to organizational efficiency are discussed and linked to leadership, policy and strategy.

A conclusion is followed by an engaging group exercise for course participants to practice what is learnt on real world situation.

Creativity

Creativity is the imaginative ability in producing and using artistic ideas for new things, added value or countering challenges.

It is commonly termed as ingenuity, inventiveness, resourcefulness, inspiration, vision, innovation.

In general application to human ability and transactions, creativity implies new and useful products or processes, something original and worthwhile (Mumford, 2003; Meusburger, 2009; Stenberg, 2011).

In an organizational set up, creative is harnessed collectively

from individuals and developed into a process of innovation (Amabile, 1988).

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Creativity and Innovation Model

• Creativity is the generation of new but useful ideas.

• Amabile (1988) provides a foundation for modelling creativity and innovation in organizations based on reciprocal individual contribution and organizational influence.

• According to Amabile (1988), in as much as an individual is required to be creative, the organization through leadership is needed for innovation to prosper.

• Legrenzi (2006) built on this foundation, seeing “… creativity as an ability of single individuals; and innovation, as collective phenomenon.” (p. 6).

• Leadership therefore galvanizes human and material resources for creativity and innovation.

Innovation

• Innovation denotes the introduction, origination or process of putting new ideas or methods for purpose of advancement or improvement of existing practice, product, system or situation.

• It involves advancement or progress in efficiency, effectiveness, application, or simple breakthrough (Maranville, 1992; Frankelius, 2009).

• Innovation is a driver for change as the ‘new’ comes to replace ‘old’.

Leadership

• Leadership is defined in many ways across time and space, depending on the direction of discourse.

• Leadership is about knowledge, skills, and abilities for transformation, including motivation or inducement to certain kinds of action and behavior (Ncube, 2010).

• This paper opts for a definition signifying collaborative effort in turning ideas into reality.

• Leadership in this regard involves blending of visions, values

and contributions to the effort in turning ideas into reality through others that share the same vision (Burian, et al. 2014).

Innovative Leadership

Innovative leadership combines or blends different styles to mobilize and lead followers or employees in creating ideas, ventures, services or solution to challenges (Gliddon, 2006).

It is a strategic process involving creative thinking and proactive action compatible with ‘leadership, policy and strategy’.

It supports organizational development in achieving mission, vision and visioning in a rapidly changing world.

The need for innovation in an organization therefore shifts focus on the role of leaders in shaping creative efforts of individuals, subordinates, employees or followers (Mumford & Licuanan, 2004).

Vision and Visioning

o Vision is a mental picture, an image or concept in one’s imagination often called a dream or a plan at individual or group levels.

o It is the proficiency to plan, set goals or anticipate future events and developments.

o It implies well thought-out ideas, mental picture, far-sightedness, conceptualization, visualization, foresight, forethought, imagination or prescience for direction.

o In organizational studies, vision is associated with future plan, intention, direction, strategy or strategic plan often expressed as ‘vision statement’ or ‘visioning’.

Vision and Visioning … Contd

o Visioning involves deliberate planning for breakthrough or in anticipation of what lays ahead.

o Nooyen, Hilberts & Dijk (2014) define visioning as the process of coming up with ideas for breakthrough which are usually not the function or product of one mind or single trend.

o This process requires creative thinking to identify and utilize conflicting propositions within same goal-tract.

o A creative and innovative leadership is able to blend and employ different available styles to mobilize for organizational efficiency.

Organizational Efficiency

• An Organization denotes a group identified by shared interest or purpose, like a business, company, agency, ministry, department or any functional entity consisted of arranged components directed at achieving set goals.

• In technical terms, an organization may refer to the process of coordination, relationship or effectiveness of ventures.

• It could also be defined as the effectiveness or efficiency of the arrangement of separate components in a coherent whole (Microsoft Encarta, 2009).

• An organization is an entity that needs guiding, directing or

leading for the purpose of its existence or intent.

Organizational Efficiency … Contd

• Efficiency is the ability to do, achieve, attain or deliver well and desirable result without waste of time, energy, efforts or resources in general.

• It stands for competence, resourcefulness, productivity,

effectiveness, efficacy, proficiency and adeptness in management, administration and leadership in planned ventures.

• Efficiency is therefore a driver of ventures in which leaders and subordinates are galvanized in the direction of set goals for organizations.

Organizational Efficiency … Contd

• Organizational efficiency is the ability of an organization to reach its set goals by optimum use of resources.

• It is the measure of relationship between inputs or resources and outputs or desired result

https://sielearning.tafensw.edu.au .

• Organizational efficiency submits to easy understanding but difficult definition, described by Davoren (n.d.), as the ease with which an organization makes use of its resources for optimum attainment of set goals; and suggests five types of efficiencies.

Types of Efficiencies

Resource efficiency, in prudent allocation and minimizing of waste;

Time efficiency, in operating within set time frame or sooner;

Cost-efficient, in inexpensive manner and prudency;

Management efficiency, in coordination and improvement as well as elimination of inefficiency; and

Work force efficiency, concerning employee commitment and performance.

CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE LEADERSHIP

VISIONING

Traits of Innovative Leaders

Visioning is the vehicle which bears creativity and innovation, with leadership in the driver’s seat destined for organizational efficiency.

Leaders who are able and competent to galvanize resources and achieve desired results are considered as innovative.

Zenger & Folkman (2014) offers some major traits identified with innovative leaders as:

Display of excellent strategic vision; Having strong focus on followers, subordinates or employees; Creating a climate of reciprocal thrust; Display of fearless loyalty in doing what is right for the cause or

organization; Putting faith in organizational culture and communication;

Other Traits Include:Persuasiveness;

Excellent at setting clear goals; emphasizing speed and efficiency;

Open in communication; and

Inspiring and motivating through action. https

://hbr.org

Innovative Leadership Model

Gliddon’s (2006) model of innovative leadership is built around organizational development in support of mission and vision statements.

Organizations therefore need innovations in order to survive and be successful in a competitive world as continuously projected in the major works in the field. (Tushman & Reilly, 1996; Dess & Pickens, 2000; Shipton, et al. 2005; Sarros, Cooper & Santaro, 2008; McEntire & Green-Shortridge, 2011).

Innovation is a collaborative affair running from idea, through its development to Implementation, involving many people with various expertise (Baumgartner (2013).

Strategy Making Process

Blending creativity and innovation in leadership with organizational efficiency brings to bear on the essence of the strategy making process.

Strategy making involves defining a strategy and ensuring that it becomes a reality rather than just an abstract wish.

It involves, not only coming up with a strategy but also, planning on how to execute it and adjust to unexpected events (Jarret and Huy, 2012).

STRATEGY FOR

ORGANIZATIONAL EFFICIENCY

Strategy for Organizational Efficiency

a. Selection of mission statement, goals, objectives;

b. Analysis of external environment for opportunities and threats;

c. Analysis of internal environment for strengths and weaknesses;

d. Select line of action based on a, b & c above;

e. Implement decisions; and

f. Evaluate success of the strategy.

Organizational Adaptation

• Organizational adaptation of strategy making process for efficiency may seem difficult at theoretical level due to surface complexity.

• However, the application of strategy making process to clearly spelt-out functions and objectives of real world organizations is practically possible.

• A simulation exercise based on actual current events and process in Nigeria would provide ample opportunities for test the lessons of the Lecture.

• The exercise, involving two of Nigeria’s process-based efficiency agencies, the SERVICOM and IPPIS are is used to simulate issues of leadership and organizational efficiency.

• Some basic challenges are not unexpected in the application of organizational adaptation in the real world situation.

CHALLENGES FOR LEADERSHIP VISIONING IN

ORGANIZATIONAL EFFICIENCY

Challenging Factors

Vision and visioning are easy to understand but hard to define as much as organizational efficiency is hard to define but easy to understand.

Factors responsible for challenges to innovative leadership visioning in organizational efficiency include the dearth of attentive literature, particularly in developing societies where the level of exposure and competitiveness is very low.

The absence of incentive and motivation is worsened by weak reward system and lack of societal acknowledgement and recognition of good deeds.

Also, available and reliable data for internal and external situation analysis, monitoring and evaluation of outcome is hard to obtain.

Remedial Options

• Available remedial options include the educational level, experience, exposure and direct or indirect involvement of senior executives charged with running the affairs of the agencies they come from.

• The ‘NIPSS-PLSC module’ is specifically designed to bring participants of diverse backgrounds, expertise and professionalism who are at the apex of their careers, to learn and exchange ideas.

• This group of frontline career Nigerians know exactly what to

expect from the course at NIPSS.

• It is therefore expected that they are ready to put their heads together to help current challenges facing Nigeria.

CONCLUSION

Summary• This lecture seeks to conceptualize, correlate and discuss

identified key terms constituting the discourse on creative and innovative leadership visioning for organizational efficiency.

• It has established visioning as crucial in harnessing resources for a process-centric organizational efficiency.

• While the dominant literature on the subject focused more on the ability of leaders in organizational change, theoretical context tends to accommodate the dynamics of its functionality.

• The paper therefore dwells on the understanding of creative and innovative leadership visioning, strategies for organizational efficiency, and the challenges as well as remedial options for practical application of lesson learnt.

Conclusion• It is concluded that visioning is the vehicle which bears creativity and

innovation, with leadership in the driver’s seat destined for organizational efficiency.

• It means that, leaders who are able and competent enough to galvanize resources and achieve desired results are considered as creative and innovative, and characterized by strategic qualities.

• The creative and innovative leader plays the role of a cultural officer who identifies norms and values of organizational efficiency and moves the group forward.

• This blending of creativity and innovation in leadership with organizational efficiency also brings to bear on the essence of the current NIPSS-PSLC programme.

Simulation Exercise

To test the assumptions and lessons drawn from the lecture, a group simulation exercise is provided reflecting opening phrase

of ‘united we stand, divided we fall’

Appendix 1

CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE LEADERSHIP VISION FOR ORGANIZATIONAL EFFICIENCY: A SIMULATION EXERCISE NO. 2

Exercise Quotation

“Without the playing with fantasy, no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable."

— Carl Jung

Introduction

• This simulation exercise is specially designed for the NIPSS – Policy Strategy and Leadership Course 19, to bring out the creativity and innovative leadership lessons of the Lecture.

• Individuals and groups ability are tasked on the application of strategy for organizational efficiency.

• Special attention must be given to the course theme which is

‘Internally Generated Revenue’.

• Two of Nigeria’s process-centric efficiency agencies, the SERVICOM and IPPIS are used in simulating issues of organizational efficiency in Nigeria’s public and private sectors’ administration, management and leadership.

The Exercise

• Course participants are divided into two groups as SERVICOM and IPPIS.

• Briefs on the aims and objectives from the websites of these two agencies are downloaded and distributed for reference.

• The task is for the Course Participants to extract and apply the objectives of these two agencies on any revenue-based MDA, like the NNPC, the Nigerian Customs Service, and Nigerian Immigration Service, to bring about organizational efficiency.

• The time for planning and execution of the exercise is one hour.

• Group Representatives will brief the Class on the outcome of their exercise.

THANK YOU

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