Leaders Speak: Innovation on Local Government Teams

At LeaderGov's June 2024 Summit Leadership Workshop, the spotlight was on innovation. Dozens of local government leaders from across the country came together to share their insights, challenges, and strategies for fostering innovation within their teams. Here's a summary of the workshop discussions and feedback from these dedicated leaders.

Barriers to Innovation

Leaders identified several factors that hinder their teams from being more innovative:

• Fear of mistakes and lack of courage.
• Complacency and comfort with the status quo.
• Time constraints and heavy workloads.
• Resistance to change and lack of capacity.
• Poor communication and lack of initiative.
• Rules, regulations, and red tape.
• Budget constraints and lack of consensus.
• Cultural barriers between what's innovative and what's allowable.

Defining a Growth Mindset

When discussing a growth mindset, leaders highlighted the importance of:

• Openness to new ideas and willingness to share and consider them.
• Proactive behavior and seeking out new opportunities.
• Encouraging team input and being receptive to others' perspectives.
• Continuous learning and asking questions to improve processes.
• Embracing mistakes as learning opportunities.

Shifting from a Fixed to a Growth Mindset

To move teams away from a fixed mindset, the leaders suggested:

• Exchanging ideas with other local governments.
• Increasing transparency and fostering flexibility.
• Organizing brainstorming sessions and collaborative work.
• Modeling curiosity and encouraging ongoing education.
• Setting clear goals and open communication.
• Challenging old processes and presenting new opportunities.
• Building relationships and giving credit for new ideas.
• Providing training to learn new skills and approaches.

Practical Ways to Innovate

The workshop participants ranked the following strategies as most valuable for fostering innovation:

1. Hold regular brainstorming meetings.
2. Seek out and fix broken processes.
3. Leverage new technologies.
4. Ask the team what is holding back innovation.
5. Challenge assumptions and ask "why".
6. Engage related departments in innovation efforts.
7. Partner with universities, peers, and vendors.
8. Communicate that strategic failures are acceptable.
9. Build industry expertise through training and newsletters.
10. Understand stakeholder needs.

Balancing Change and Stability

A significant concern raised was change overload. Leaders noted that too much change too quickly, referred to as the "whiplash factor," can overwhelm teams. Allowing employees to become proficient in one change before introducing another is crucial for maintaining morale and productivity.

In conclusion, the workshop underscored the collective commitment of local government leaders to embrace innovation while balancing the need for stability and continuity. By addressing these challenges and implementing practical strategies, our communities can look forward to a future of continuous improvement and creative problem-solving.