Not all innovation is born from solitary genius. Most of the time, it comes from someone who sees what needs to change — and knows exactly how to change it, within what is possible and relevant to the business. This is the role of the engaged creative leader.
He's not just creative: is engaged with reality, with the company's current situation, with your capabilities, limits and potentials. Its strength lies in connecting new ideas with viable strategies. While many confuse innovation with disruption for the simple desire to disrupt, This leader understands that real innovation needs to make sense. And it needs to give results.
The engaged creative leader is the one who questions “it has always been like this” with solid arguments. He does not propose change to appear, but because you believe — on the basis — that there is a better way. Your creativity is at the service of the collective. And his connection with the context prevents him from proposing far-fetched solutions that never get off the ground..
Companies that need to reinvent themselves, react to market changes, gaining agility or improving the customer experience benefit greatly from this profile. It brings oxygen. Take the team out of automatic replay. It provokes reflection and opens the way to new possibilities. But do it with your feet on the ground, respecting culture and working with people — not against them.
This type of leadership, However, also faces challenges. Can be perceived as “impulsive” by those who are more focused on maintenance. Your ideas may cause discomfort in very normative or risk-averse environments. Therefore, the engaged creative leader also needs to develop his listening skills, its articulation and its ability to build alliances.
When well positioned and well accompanied, This leader is an engine of transformation. He is the one who provokes the first movements towards the new — not as an act of rebellion, but as a strategic reading that what brought the company here will not be enough to take it forward.
More than someone who “thinks outside the box”, he is the one who redesigns the box — with purpose, based and clear on where you want to get to.
Innovation only becomes value when it is appropriated by the business. And that's what an engaged creative leader does: turns idea into path, path in action, and action in result.
Your performance is essential to keep the organization alive, relevant and on the move.