A Self-Reflection: The Ten Faces of Innovation by Ronald Maniglia

The Learning Personas

rm953 — 2015-05-04 23:11:22 UTC

Despite the success of the team, these individuals avoid complacency by reminding the group not to become internally focused or overly confident of their knowledge. By humbly questioning their own worldview, these people remain open to new insights.

Anthropologist

rm953 — 2015-05-04 23:32:01 UTC

This person enters the environment with a truly open mind to observe the emotional and physical interaction of individuals engaged in the creative process of working with products, services, and their own experiences. The Anthropologist demystifies the scientific method by reframing the problem within the context of daily life. Empathetic by nature, these individuals intuitively grasp what often goes unnoticed by others, drawing inferences, and finding inspiration in unusual places. The Anthropologist maintains active lists of innovative concepts of value and problems in need of solutions.

Experimenter

rm953 — 2015-05-04 23:53:16 UTC

Focusing on the process over the methodology, this person possesses the self-confidence to continuously prototype, willing to risk small initial failures for the sake of efficiently deriving a tangible solution to a problem. Experimenters are curious, inspired, hard-working individuals, who garner the respect and allegiance of others working collaboratively together as a team. By building momentum and optimism among the members of a group, the Experimenter gains the support needed to consider multiple, novel combinations of approaches that will yield the required improvement.

Cross-Pollinator

rm953 — 2015-05-04 23:55:19 UTC

Having diverse interests, an avid curiosity, and an aptitude for learning and teaching, the Cross-Pollinator forms associations and connections between apparently unrelated ideas or concepts. This person ushers in new beginnings by introducing a broader world-view of ideas into the organization. These indivdiuals share qualities of open-mindedness, diligent note-taking, a tendency to think in metaphors, and an ability to reap inspiration from constraints. More than the other learning personas, Cross-Pollinators inherently understand the importance of serendipity and chance.

Self-Reflection

rm953 — 2015-05-05 00:06:28 UTC

The Organizing Personas

rm953 — 2015-05-05 00:07:21 UTC

These individuals grasp the often counter-intuitive and complex process whereby organizations move forward the best ideas simultaneously competing for time, attention, and limited resources.

Hurdler

rm953 — 2015-05-05 00:25:26 UTC

A tireless problem-solver stimulated by the challenges presented by a novel problem, the Hurdler develops practical strategies to outmaneuver or outsmart obstacles, such as organizational bureaucracy, while maintaining a quiet, positive determination. Often working outside the system, the optimism, resiliency, and perseverance of these savvy risk-takers allows big ideas to take hold, turning setbacks into successes despite negative forecasts by shortsighted experts.

Collaborator

rm953 — 2015-05-05 00:42:42 UTC

That rare person who values the team over the individual, the Collaborator displaces people from their work silos to form multidisciplinary, collaborative groups by breaking down established boundaries within organizations and creating opportunities for members to assume new roles. Acting primarily as a facilitator rather than as a manager, this individual inspires confidence within the team and exploits the skills of its members needed to successfully complete their shared journey.

Director

rm953 — 2015-05-05 00:50:41 UTC

With an understanding of the larger picture and with a firm grasp on the pulse of the organization, the Director gathers together talented and creative individuals, working behind the scenes to target opportunities which will exploit the talents of the players to achieve the task-at-hand. Through empowerment, inspiration, and the occasional restructuring of a project, the Director motivates others to embrace the unexpected through the effective use of a toolbox of improvisational and brainstorming techniques.

Self-Reflection

rm953 — 2015-05-05 01:03:09 UTC

The Building Personas

rm953 — 2015-05-05 01:04:05 UTC

These highly visible individuals apply the insights from the learning roles and channel the empowerment from the organizing roles to spark innovation and in the process leave their distinctive mark on the organization.

Experience Architect

rm953 — 2015-05-05 01:09:00 UTC

This person relentlessly focuses on designing compelling personal experiences that transcend functionality by promoting positive interactions among individuals within the organization on a deeper emotional level through products, services, digital connections, spaces, or events. The Experience Architect designs the context that coverts the mundane to the extraordinary by capturing the imagination of the target audience.

Set Designer

rm953 — 2015-05-05 01:10:04 UTC

These individuals promote energetic, inspired cultures by creating work environments that celebrate the individual and stimulate creativity. To stay abreast of shifting needs and foster continuous innovation, the Set Designer makes adjustments to a physical space to balance private and collaborative work opportunities. The workspace becomes the most versatile and powerful tool of the organization to encourage innovative thinking.

Storyteller

rm953 — 2015-05-05 01:10:27 UTC

This individual uses compelling, authentic narratives of initiative, hard work, and innovation, framed in whatever medium best suits the message, to empower emotion and action, communicate human values and objectives, reinforce specific cultural traits, foster collaboration, create heroes, and lead people and organizations into the future. Storytelling builds creativity, sanctions the exploration of controversial or uncomfortable topics, provides a vocabulary for change, and eliminates the clutter of everyday life.

Caregiver

rm953 — 2015-05-05 01:10:43 UTC

The foundation of human-powered innovation, the Caregiver understands that by establishing an empathetic relationship with others, one can provide a level of expert and transparent assistance beyond mere service. These individuals possess the confidence and competence to assuage most fears of the unknown that accompany any creative risk-taking.

Self-Reflection

rm953 — 2015-05-05 01:11:06 UTC

The Ten Faces of Innovation by Tom Kelley

rm953 — 2015-05-05 01:51:07 UTC

rm953 — 2015-05-10 18:33:35 UTC

My leadership style usually exhibits a combination of elements from these three faces. From the onset, I tend to approach most problems as an anthropologist by trying to view the circumstances within the context of the environment. My experimenter side seeks out equally hard-working team members who rather serve others and are not afraid of failure or admitting mistakes. Finally, as a cross-pollinator, I am a mental note-taker and list-keeper who is well-known for his organizational skills. My style differs from these faces insofar as I have a tendency to become overly focused on a problem ignoring potentially valuable information from other disciplines. Although I do earn the respect of colleagues as a member of a team, some will find my attention on the product over the process to take away from detailed discussions of a problem. In a word, I deplore committee meetings for the sake of simply talking about the same solutions to unresolved problems.

rm953 — 2015-05-10 19:09:01 UTC

Having been placed in the role of a caregiver in my personal and professional life, my natural instinct is to be empathetic to the frustrations and concerns of the individuals around me. Why are they resistant to change? What is preventing them from using their creativity to explore alternative solutions? Paramount to my leadership style is service to others, for without assisting others to reach their goals, one should not expect these same individuals to come together as team to assist you, as the leader, in achieving the organization's goals. In this regard, as an experience architect and set designer, I make every attempt to provide the tools and resources needed to complete specific tasks. Often this involves affording individuals time to brainstorm ideas in a risk-free environment before taking any action. Although I am not known as an inspirational storyteller, I have found that humorous anecdotes taken from everyday experiences can put co-workers at ease knowing that we are often "all in the same boat and rowing the wrong way."

rm953 — 2015-05-10 19:25:46 UTC

Of these three faces, the director role is most closely aligned with my character as I tend to work "in the shadows" without taking credit. Rarely is my name attached to a project despite often being the primary or sole contributor. Not surprisingly, I am not a collaborator by nature, preferring to work alone, taking input from others at the start and constructive feedback at the end of a task. As a hurdler, I am a single-minded problem-solver, who enjoys the challenge of more than the solution to a puzzle. My tendency at times to work outside the established organizational bureaucracy has resulted in some unexpected consequences. Few appreciate individuals, especially those in leadership positions, who bypass the customary power structure and bend the rules despite the positive results in the end.