Innovate Today! - Transforming Your STEM Career Through Leadership and Innovation - page 128

How to Become an Innovator: Moving You Forward!
Various models of career development with respect to innovation exist, but they
are usually focused on how an organization rather than an individual can inno-
vate. Innovation is about thinking differently, having the confidence to do what
others won't, and taking risks. The focus of this discussion on innovation is
how to move you forward in your thinking, actions, and confidence to become
an innovator. I have adapted a six-step program proposed by Helene Lerner in
Smart Women Take Risks [6] and modified it such that it can be used as a tool
for women to develop as innovators. These six steps for Smart Innovation Risk
Taking include:

Step 1: Commit to becoming an innovator and select an idea l

Step 2: Calculate the risk

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Step 3: Build and consult with your team (and make sure they're winners!)

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Step 4: Take the leap into the innovation

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Step 5: Claim victory: anticipate, expect, and celebrate your courage l

Step 6: Don't stop! Success breeds success so become a serial innovator! l

Step 1: Commit to Becoming an Innovator and Select an Idea
Sheryl Sandberg has achieved extraordinary success at 41 years of age, hold-
ing the position of Chief Operations Officer at Facebook, and prior to this
appointment served as Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations
at Google. Sandberg points out the importance of women demonstrating self
confidence and a willingness to take on new responsibilities [7] . Sandberg
goes on to state:

A lot of getting ahead in the workplace has to do with being willing to raise your hand

In terms of becoming an innovator, this “hand raising” is an outward mani-
festation of our commitment, confidence, and recognition that we are capable
of leading an opportunity. Raise your hand to yourself, your colleagues, and
your boss to say that you are an innovator and you want the opportunity. This
is a serious point and we must understand the overall impact it can have on our
careers. A study by Catalyst [8] stated that 40% of women in corporate leader-
ship positions stated that seeking difficult or highly visible assignments was a
very important strategy for advancement. So in order to move forward we must
be willing to do this throughout our careers. So let's start today. Some critical
ingredients for making the commitment to raise your hand and lead an innova-
tion include: [6]

Know your value! You bring talents, strengths, and bottom line value to your
organization.

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Being confident and recalling your strengths, as well as the success we've had,
in taking on new challenges within or outside of your organization.

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