Maybe your organization has to pivot in areas since the COVID19 pandemic. One way to increase the speed of pivoting is to unleash your internal intrapreneurs. As they drive change, offer fresh opportunities and improvements, they will run into barriers. Here are some ways senior leaders can support intrapreneurs.
1. Increase the discomfort in keeping the status quo
As a senior leader, it is your job to remove barriers. You are in control of how quickly change can take hold in your organization. Send a simple message that you will not live with the status quo any longer. That should make the job of your intrapreneurs easier.
That message needs to include the importance of taking care of the customer and generating new customers in new industry segments. The message needs to force new thinking. Doing the same thing in a different market won’t drive the innovation required.
Making a statement about changing the status quo shouldn’t only include financial improvements. This allows for short-term decision making and can lead to drastic cost-cutting. You can’t cost-cut your way to innovation.
2. Ask for help
If you state that the company needs to pivot so it can keep returning 10% dividend to shareholders, employees will not leap from bed every morning with a burning desire to help. Provide a stretch vision and ask for their help.
Be humble in your request. Let them know you don’t know everything and have all the answers. Ask for their help to get creative with their solutions and new opportunities. Let them know that you will focus on …
3. Remove roadblocks
When you realize there are roadblocks, whether processes or people, remove them. Find out who is blocking the innovation and place them in other areas if possible. Pivoting your company during these times is too important to let things stay the same.
Remind middle managers that you expect their full support in helping intrapreneurs succeed. Remind them several times if you have the time to wait, but if after one or two times, it’s clear they don’t support the effort.
4. Seek and reward sponsors
Project sponsors have an important role in supporting intrapreneurs. They provide people resources to be on the teams. They provide financial resources for exploratory data analysis, studies, etc. Sponsors will make or break your efforts.
It is important to seek the best sponsors you can in the company if you want to pivot quickly. Make sure they are open-minded, visionaries who don’t automatically say no when approached with new ideas.
These aren’t necessarily the best project managers. Developing new ideas and bringing new products quickly to market is not a linear path. The best sponsors will act for the good of the company, not for political reward.
These are just four ways that senior leaders can support intrapreneurs.
As always, it is an honor to serve you, and I hope that you and your company are getting better every day!
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