COURSE OVERVIEW:

Every idea needs a champion. But what makes someone an innovation champion? What are the traits, behaviour and skills of the best champions? In today’s rapidly changing markets, technologies, and lifestyles, organisations are forced to innovate in pursuit of long-term growth.

Broadly speaking, innovation champions are recognised as key individuals who promote innovations across a business.

Even the most established company, with a long successful history of financial performance and market leading products, needs to invest in routine and disruptive innovation lest it become obsolete. Meanwhile, to stoke the fire of innovation and creativity, innovation champions are critical.

Without its own champion, an idea would never come to light; it wouldn’t get the attention and resource needed for further exploration; it would drown in processes designed to kill anything we are not familiar with or present a certain degree of risk; it would not get funded; it would never find its way on any senior management agenda.

Many of the most innovative companies in the world understand that a critical lever to keep the innovation fire burning is having a great team of Innovation Champions. A typical Innovation Champion is an employee who is passionate about playing an active role to make innovation thrive within their organisation. Quite often, champion duties are not even a formal part of their role but they wish to amplify the innovation of others. Therefore, champions may not necessarily be the creative geniuses or top idea generators, rather they are the connectors, inspirers, and facilitators.

Supporting innovation champions with more than words and back slaps is important. In order for innovation to flourish in an organisation, innovation champions must be supported through properly structured responsibilities, goals and resources. Otherwise, they will leave to pursue other opportunities, taking their energy and ideas with them.

This course will help you develop innovation champion skills, it explores the concept of spotting good ideas, linking them to the business context and making them work. In doing so you will be reaching, achieving and even exceeding your goals.

The first part of this course looks at the role of objectives and targets in helping you as an individual and as a leader, to communicate, negotiate with and influence the people you work with to achieve your goals.

The second part examines the dynamics of organisations and the role of innovation in supporting growth. It also examines the central issue of making innovations work in practice and how to promote and support creativity.

The third part examines what makes an innovator and your role in championing opportunities for innovation. Also, examines how quality improvement processes can lay the foundation for innovation and a culture that embraces change. Then looks at how you can capture learning for continuous improvement.

The fourth part examines a variety of ways to generate creative solutions and make decisions. Then discusses the risks and benefits, feasibility and viability of new ideas. Finally, looks at contingency planning.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• use objectives and targets to help set direction for you and your team
• set team and individual objectives
• negotiate objectives to meet organisational needs
• understand the SMART objectives and the Balanced Scorecard
• understand how delegation will help you and your team achieve objectives
• explore the stages in the negotiation process
• understand the foundations for successful delegation
• monitor the outcomes
• understand why innovation succeeds or fails
• understand the evolutionary theory continuum
• review the organisational context for innovation
• understand how innovation and operations need to work together to improve quality
• understand the influence of quality improvement, improvement teams and the new influence of collaborative or partnership working
• identify the conditions needed to encourage creativity
• identify the characteristics of successful innovators
• understand your role in championing opportunities for innovation
• review the quality improvements processes that support innovation
• understand the processes needed to capture and distribute learning for continuous improvement and change
• understand the continuous improvement cycle
• use a variety of ways to generate creative solutions and make decisions
• understand the creative and analytical tools and techniques
• evaluate innovations
• use criteria to assess the feasibility and viability of new ideas
• understand the force field analysis
• understand and evaluate the risks and benefits
• build in contingency plans

COURSE DURATION:

The typical duration of this course is approximately 3-4 hours to complete. Your enrolment is Valid for 12 Months. Start anytime and study at your own pace.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

You must have access to a computer or any mobile device with Adobe Acrobat Reader (free PDF Viewer) installed, to complete this course.

COURSE DELIVERY:

Purchase and download course content.

ASSESSMENT:

A simple 10-question true or false quiz with Unlimited Submission Attempts.

CERTIFICATION:

Upon course completion, you will receive a customised digital “Certificate of Completion”.