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NVBF forårskonference i Island 7-8 juni 2004. Introducing innovative thinking Dr. Sigrún Klara Hannesdóttir, National librarian National and University Library of Iceland. Where does innovation come from?.
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NVBF forårskonference i Island7-8 juni 2004 Introducing innovative thinking Dr. Sigrún Klara Hannesdóttir, National librarian National and University Library of Iceland
Where does innovation come from? • Creativity and innovation not only stem from overall firm strategy and access to resources but, more fundamentally, from the minds of the individual employees who, alone or with others, carry out the work of the organisation every day. (Amabile et al., p.2 )
Demands of the work market • The world we live in makes demands that new professionals demonstrate creativity and innovative thinking on their jobs.
Success depends on creativity • Successful business leaders look for staff members that are creative and can translate new ideas into products that can help a company to get advantage on the market.
What about libraries? • Changes in work environment in libraries are enormous and make the same kind of demands on staff as the private sector. The demands are on efficient and cost effective working methods
What about libraries? Cataloguing: * Outside support for cataloguing has increased drastically and this field offers a lot of opportunity for creativity and innovative thinking * Outsourcing is an alternative
What about libraries? Information and reference services: * Methods of information services offer changes with new tools, and with shared information sources, in particular massive increase in digital resources. * Private companies are offering comparable services for a price.
The librarians • Highly intelligent people • Good education for their time .. BUT • Outdated education for the electronic age? • Shortage of continuing education? • Lack of support from their institution?
The role of the leader • A leader of a large library must look for creative thinking in new employees; • Keep an eye on innovations • Encourage staff in developing new and more effective processes
Lessons learned from business Four keys to innovations: • Intellectual stimulation • Involvement • Support • Freedom
Intellectual stimulation * Request a creative or innovative solution • Define the task in terms of a broader problem rather than specific outcome • Encourage group members to consider a variety of factual information related to the issue
Intellectual stimulation (cont.) • Encourage group members to share information • Extend discussion to allow for the generation of multiple ideas since creative ideas emerge rather slowly • Use disagreement to form integrative solutions
Involvement * Use interactional tactics intended to encourage idea generation • Actively participate in the idea generation effort • Direct motivation and curiosity to the problem at hand • Find way of encouraging involvement
Idea support • Leaders must: • time evaluation and feedback carefully • serve as advocates for new ideas • explicitly recognize and reward people for new ideas
Work support (cont.) • Work support means: • Access to the resources needed • The leader must be able to provide the required sources to solve the problem at hand • Show tangible manifestation of support
Social support (cont.) • Social support: • Validation of the individual’s sense of self-worth • Recognize the value of the individual’s contributions • Build feelings of self-efficacy
Freedom • Freedom motivates creative work and allows individuals to pursue their unique insights • BUT Overly loose or overly tight control tends to inhibit innovation. Moderate levels of control are most likely to motivate innovation.
Good and bad • Trust, mutual linking and respect are likely to encourage innovative thinking • Micromanagement is likely to stifle creativity
Some references • Amabile, T.M., Schatzel, E.A., Moneta, G.B., Kramer, S.J. Leader behaviors and the work environment for creativity: Perceived leader support.The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 15:1, 2004. • Mumford, M.D., Scott, G.M., Gaddis, B., Strange, J.M. Leading creative people: Orchestrating expertice and relationships. The Leadership Quarterly, Vol 13:6, 2002.