EDITOR’S PICK

Good Culture Truly the Key to Achieving Innovation

Have you ever been at a job where you were afraid to speak up, and the culture grated on you so badly you could not bring yourself to do more than the minimum to get through the day? Additionally, it was not only you who felt this way—your co-workers had the same opinions. 

You’re probably not at the same workplace now, but cast back your memory to that time. I bet all of the ideas came from the top down, failure was never an option, things were done in the same way they had always been done, and trying to make changes was discouraged. 

If you looked up your old company, is it still in business? The likelihood is, it probably is not—unless there was a serious change in corporate culture and an embrace of innovation. 

This issue of MCE Quarterly looks at the links between building a strong corporate culture and how it can encourage innovation, particularly in light of a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. 

AMA/MCE’s featured research looks at how fostering innovation will yield the ideas that will sustain organizations in the future. “We can’t possibly imagine and prepare for every potential calamity ahead, but we can enhance our readiness to react to new challenges with new ideas and a willingness and determination to implement them,” writes Mark Marone, AMA’s director of research. 

Nick Holmes looks at the concept of psychological safety and how it supports innovation. “Businesses that create a favorable climate for innovation, support innovation at every opportunity, and welcome ideas from all employees do much better at innovation than those who do not prioritize it,” he writes. 

What is a common thread for successful managers? Often it’s having a relationship with a mentor and becoming a mentor. Ruth Gotian and Morag Barrett argue that in order to be truly successful, you can’t just have one mentor—you need a team of mentors. 

Even if you don’t consider yourself to be innovative, you as a leader can develop the skills to think with more flexibility and agility. AMA/MCE has the courses you can count on.