Working on WTW’s Innovation & Acceleration team for the past several years, I’ve helped prepare innovators across our company to present business and financial cases for investment in products, services and partnerships. Despite the differences across these projects and concepts, one thing is clear: They all require a strong, dedicated innovation project leader at the helm to succeed. We’ve also found that successful leaders share several traits that help them achieve project goals.
What are the responsibilities of an innovation project leader?
An innovation project leader is like the captain of a ship, responsible for making sure the project stays afloat and navigating challenges to reach its destination. They set the course for the project, defining goals, critical challenges and questions that must be answered or validated to determine whether the problem is worth solving. And they determine whether the proposed solution would effectively solve it.
As new information is available, the innovation project leader reevaluates and adjusts the course of the project and ensures other team members understand any changes. Innovation project leaders consider their innovation coaches’ challenges to their thinking and advice on different tools and methods to help test their critical challenges and answer their questions. They also engage key stakeholders for input and keep project sponsors updated on progress.
Innovation coaches advise on problem and solution-concept testing, research methodologies and WTW’s innovation process. They work closely with project leads, connecting them with subject matter experts and key stakeholders and advising on business case development.
What are the characteristics of an effective innovation project leader?
Project leaders must demonstrate a remarkable blend of vision, adaptability and entrepreneurial risk taking when testing their core problem and building the case for a desirable, viable and feasible solution.
Project leaders with the following qualities and capabilities provide the greatest likelihood of an innovation project’s success:
Getting started
The role of innovation project leader can be a great experience. You can learn more about yourself, meet with important experts and leaders, and see an idea become a product or even a whole new business. Recognizing and cultivating the characteristics above will help aspiring individuals prepare for an exceptional journey in leadership and innovation. The time to get started is now — not when inspiration strikes sometime in the unforeseeable future.
Anyone interested in building innovation leadership characteristics can start in their current role. When you encounter a question to which you do not have an immediate answer, practice consciously testing the problem with others before striking out to find the answer yourself. You might be surprised to hear how differently they perceive the problem or potential solution, which will hopefully lead you to a more accurate answer by considering multiple perspective. And just like that, you’ve tested your problem and gained new insights! You’re on your way to becoming an expert innovation project leader.
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