This is a Deep Dive page. Select the chapter for the Fast Track
Play 12: Align with Organizational Values that Support Innovation (Strategy & Policy)
Innovative leaders know it takes more than just saying that innovation is the driving force of an organization to make that statement true. Even if innovation has become an official charter or mission for an airport, or one of a handful of goals in its strategic plan, this does not mean innovation is being carried out in real life. Innovative leaders create a path for staff to follow so they can adhere to the underlying values that support innovation, many of which are highlighted in How People Affect Culture in Chapter 2. Knowing these values is a step toward living these values; it is the path to an organization's growth and maturity.
Ensure Values Are Communicated as Part of Regular Training
Innovative leaders
- Show what they value. Make sure values that support innovation come across in the new-hire process so that the airport can attract quality staff who align with these values. Do this by incorporating the organization's values into each of its job postings and relating them to the daily tasks of each new position. Communicate with the HR department to ensure that these values appear in written form in new-hire manuals and appear in new-hire training and onboarding messaging.
- Are what they practice. Ensure that ongoing training and guidance reflect the values that support innovation (detailed in the airport strategic plan and any associated innovation plans). Connect the airport's strategic plan with its values to help staff develop innovative mindsets and demonstrate behaviors that support innovation. This type of regular communication of values is a critical step in creating an innovative culture. It is also a way to ensure that these values are sustained indefinitely, regardless of who is in charge.
Measure Adherence to Values via Staff Performance Reviews
Innovative leaders
- Set expectations. Ensure that performance objectives and evaluation metrics foster the development of an innovative mindset and associated innovative behaviors. Modify existing templates or, if need be, establish new templates to create accountability for employees with respect to these behaviors. These additions provide a great opportunity to drive organizational change by incentivizing staff to live out the values and behaviors that support innovation.
- Develop related behaviors. Aside from innovation and creativity, focus staff behavior on agility, flexibility, and adaptability. These values can help staff focus on overcoming resistance to new realities in the workplace, such as new initiatives or strategic goals. Some examples of possible criteria include encouraging team members to take appropriate risks, collaborating regularly and promoting open discussion with peers and team members, adjusting their priorities to meet team needs, and combining natural curiosity and intuition with analysis to strengthen an organization's forecasting ability.
- Update templates regularly. Update performance appraisal templates for all positions whenever an organization's values, goals, or priorities change. This helps to infuse strategic imperatives into performance. Tying performance to innovative values and behaviors drives these strategic imperatives into the overall culture of the organization by creating personal goals for everyone to reach.
