Strategies for Leading Change and Inspiring Innovation

You can lead innovation from wherever you are. But you need to know how to setup an innovation capability. This is the innovation model I coached that produced 957% return on the initial investment of $2.47M. I envisioned and coached the process, model, and approach for a global and scalable innovation capability from what I learned leading innovation at Microsoft. Part of what makes innovation so tough is the lack of shared mental models. Here are some of the key components of leading innovation: INNOVATION BOARD An Innovation Board is people working together to manage innovation as a capability. An internal Innovation Board can help you prioritize, get funding, channel resources, and escalate as necessary. It's also a way to integrate innovation back to the core. INNOVATION HUBs An Innovation Hub is a center of gravity for innovation efforts. I like the "Hub" model because it's the idea of Hubs and Spokes. You can have a Hub of Hubs, and it's a way to embed and spread innovation around the world. It's a federated model for innovation. INNOVATION PORTFOLIO Creating a shared view of your innovation projects helps leaders see the dashboard. It gets people thinking in "portfolios" vs. "one offs". An Innovation Portfolio gives you the balcony view to invest better. BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION This is where you create new value. I learned a lot as head coach for Microsoft Satya Nadella's innovation team, but one of the most important things is to focus on business model innovation. As Satya put it to me: "Bring me new business models!" Just this one shift in focus can completely transform the success of innovation efforts. CULTURE OF INNOVATION You can inspire innovation at multiple levels. Satya asked me to share with him directly stories of innovation and trends & insights. When you share stories of success, smart people want to play, too. And, they have a fear of missing out. Every leader wants growth.  And innovation is the lever. EMPOWERING EMPLOYEES Innovation happens at the edge. It's the intersection of customer pains, needs, and desired outcomes and your solution. Innovation takes empathy. Swarming on customer challenges is where breakthroughs happen. Everyone can innovate, but they need the mindsets, skill sets, and toolsets. DREAM BIG, START SMALL Too many people play small, out of fear and risk. But that sets the stage for failure. Small things don't accrue to any big things unless there's a guiding vision. The vision is the scaffolding for success. And the vision is what will inspire the team and get support. When you dream big, you figure out better solutions. And these constrain your strategies, and that's a good thing. The right answer is Dream Big, Start Small. This way you can work forwards and work backwards. Dream big, start small.

Most leaders fail during major transitions. Here’s how to avoid it. I once watched a leadership team crumble during a major restructuring. Top players quit. Execution stalled. The CEO froze. Most leaders fail in moments of transition: → New ownership → Restructures and pivots → Big hires and team shake-ups When uncertainty hits, people freeze, protect their turf, or quit. The best leaders? They speed up trust, remove friction, and keep execution on track. Bill Campbell, the legendary coach behind Apple and Google, taught top CEOs how to lead through uncertainty. His 1:1 leadership principles built some of the greatest teams in the world. But his true measure of leadership? "The Yardstick. Measure your own success by the success of others." The best leaders don’t focus on proving themselves. They focus on elevating the people around them. So what if we applied Bill Campbell’s 1:1 leadership principles to change management? Here’s how👇 How to Lead Through Change Using Bill Campbell’s 1:1 Principles: 1️⃣ Speed up trust or lose your best people In times of change, silence breeds fear. Meet 1:1 with key players immediately, ask: “What’s working?” “What’s broken?” If they don’t feel heard, they’ll start looking elsewhere. 2️⃣ Shift from proving to empowering Most new leaders overcontrol. And lose their best people. Instead of dictating, ask: “What’s one thing to double down on?” Give ownership, not orders. 3️⃣ Kill friction before it kills execution Change creates silos and bottlenecks. Fix it by forcing peer accountability: “What’s the biggest blocker from another team?” “How can we solve it together?” Great leaders don’t just run departments. They align execution. 4️⃣ Re-sell the vision every 2 weeks During transitions, people forget fast. Repeating the vision isn't redundant. It's leadership. Every 2 weeks, reinforce: “Where we’re going.” “Why this change matters.” “How each person contributes.” 5️⃣ Make innovation a daily habit Uncertainty breeds fear. And fear kills creativity. To keep teams proactive, ask: “What experiment should we run this month?” “If you had full control, what’s the first change?” Execution-first teams outlast uncertainty. ↓↓↓ Do this, and your team will execute through any change. What’s the hardest part of leading a transition? Drop your experience in the comments. ♻️ Repost so your team sees this. ➕ Follow for more leadership strategies.

According to a Bain survey, 65% of initiatives fail because they require significant behavioral change. Making business changes stick long-term is one of the greatest challenges leaders face. Here’s how to overcome this hurdle: 1. Clarify Objectives: Without crystal-clear objectives, your team will struggle to understand the "why" behind the change. Define the goals in simple, actionable terms that resonate with every level of the organization. 2. Reinforce Behavioral Change: Behavioral change isn't a one-time effort. It requires consistent reinforcement. Regularly communicate the importance of new behaviors, and celebrate small wins that align with the change. 3. Support Commitment to the Goal: Leaders must visibly commit to the change. This commitment builds trust and signals to the team that the initiative is not just another passing trend but a core part of the company's future. 4. Ensure Accountability: Accountability is critical. Assign clear ownership for each part of the initiative. Use metrics to track progress, and hold individuals and teams responsible for meeting their targets. 5. Combat the Swirl of the Day Job: One of the biggest obstacles to lasting change is the day-to-day swirl of existing responsibilities. Prioritize the change by integrating it into daily routines and making it part of the fabric of the organization. During a recent corporate carveout, we faced the challenge of transitioning from a legacy culture to a more agile, entrepreneurial mindset. The real hurdle wasn't just setting new strategies but ensuring everyone aligned with the new way of thinking. By focusing on these key areas—especially reinforcing new behaviors and combating the daily distractions—we successfully embedded the changes into the company’s DNA, turning a potential roadblock into a stepping stone for growth. Remember, the real problem often isn't the change itself but our collective unawareness of what truly needs to be done to make it stick. Focus on these key areas to ensure that your business changes become lasting improvements rather than temporary adjustments. #Leadership #ChangeManagement #BusinessTransformation #Carveout

Most change initiatives fail. And I learned it the hard way. I thought a good idea, purpose, and persistence  were enough to transform mental healthcare in Montana. I was wrong. When launching Montana's first psychiatry  residency program and first EmPATH unit,  I discovered what true change requires. This framework would have saved me years of struggle: 1. Establish urgency ↳ The status quo is more dangerous than change ↳ 75% of managers must feel this truth 2. Build a powerful coalition ↳ Assemble people with shared commitment ↳ Work outside normal hierarchy 3. Create a clear vision ↳ Simple enough to explain in five minutes ↳ Strategies that make the vision tangible 4. Communicate relentlessly ↳ Use every possible channel ↳ Model the behaviors you seek 5. Empower others ↳ Remove structural barriers ↳ Reward risk-taking and new ideas 6. Generate short-term wins ↳ Plan visible improvements ↳ Recognize those who contribute 7. Consolidate and build momentum ↳ Change the systems undermining progress ↳ Develop people who embody the vision 8. Anchor new approaches ↳ Connect changes to organizational success ↳ Ensure leadership embodies the transformation The hard truth about leading change? It's not about your brilliant idea. It's about how you systematically  dismantle resistance to that idea. Change happens in stages, not events. And skipping steps only creates  the illusion of progress. ==================== ⁉️ Which step do leaders most often skip? ♻️ Share if you're leading change in healthcare. 👉 Follow me (Eric Arzubi, MD) for more like this. ♥️ Post inspired by John P. Kotter's teachings.