Leading Libraries Series: Leading for Innovation

Innovation cycle

 

Setting your compass: creating a strengths-based vision

If our innovation approach is not going to be constrained by a pre-set goal or outcome and we are deliberately avoiding 'defining the problem' at the start, how on earth do we get going on our journey? Most improvement approaches have a set pathway with a focussed 'end in mind' – and, of course, this objective can help to motivate us, guide our actions and describe our efforts to others. However, innovation approaches aim to stay 'open-minded' for as long as possible without defining set objectives or a fixed path for getting there.

So, for our innovation cycle, we need something that will help us keep our eyes on the future and remind us why we are doing this in the first place. An effective 'strengths-based vision' can help us do just that.

A strengths-based vision has two fundamental components:

• a positive, inspiring perspective on what is possible for our innovation
• an 'inventory' of everything we are bringing to the process (all of our strengths and assets).

The idea of a 'strengths-based' approach comes from the field of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) – an approach to organisational (and personal) change that was originated by Suresh Srivastva and David Cooperrider in the 1980s and has grown into a global movement in the areas of organisational and societal change.

'Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a collaborative, strengths-based approach to change in organizations and other human systems. The term ‘Appreciative Inquiry’ is thus used to refer to both: The AI paradigm – in itself, this relates to the principles and theory behind a strengths-based change approach; and AI methodology and initiatives – which are the specific techniques and operational steps that are used to bring about positive change in a system.'

Appreciative Inquiry uses this 'strengths-based' approach in contrast to many other organisational change processes which focus on 'gaps', 'needs' and 'problems'. Instead, AI helps us to initiate change by including what is working (not just what is not working), allowing us to bring all of our personal and collective 'assets' to the table as we work. AI is not an innovation approach in itself but the principles of AI are often used in modern innovation and design processes to guide the overall attitudes and collaborative methods used.

If you would like to learn more about the field of Appreciative Inquiry in its own right, there is a good summary on the Positive Psychology website titled 'What is Appreciative Inquiry? A brief history and real life examples'.

 

The 'vision' part

We can start to develop our vision for change by 'putting ourselves in the shoes' of the people we want to positively affect with our innovation. Later on in our innovation cycle, we will actively engage with those people (users, citizens, stakeholders, colleagues) but at this stage we are simply trying to imagine their perspectives.

You can follow the process below to begin working on your vision for the innovation.

 

In your stakeholder's shoes...

One of the ways to help us get clear about our vision is to consider the perspectives of the people we are trying to benefit. But sometimes it's hard to be imaginative about what might be possible if we were to be able to make our vision a reality. We can often be more creative if we imagine 'standing in the future', a time when our vision has already become a reality. This little exercise invites you to stand in the future and imagine the perspectives of your stakeholders from that place.

Select 3 stakeholder groups that are central to your innovation challenge.

If you are successful in making change happen, what would your stakeholders be:

• Seeing
• Saying ("put phrases in quotes")
• Experiencing

TIP: Use present tense language and the use of “I” as if you are the stakeholder, e.g. “it’s 2022 and we are seeing…/saying…experiencing…”

 

Seeing	Saying	Experiencing
More people that look like me Available seats at computers Notices in my language	"let's go to the library today, I heard there's an event happening..." "did you know you can borrow a podcast? You just download it on your phone."	Friendships with other generations More diverse reading / learning options Safe space to go

 

The 'strengths-based' part

Once we have set our eyes on 'the possible future', we can start to think about what we are bringing (individually and collectively) to our innovation journey.

We can look at our answers to the following questions. Again, it's useful to imagine that we are 'standing in the future' and looking back – this helps us shift our perspective and recognise strengths and assets that we may not see from our day-to-day viewpoint.

If you are successful in achieving this vision, what enabling forces and factors will have got you there?

Identify the resources and enablers you already have present:

• Relationships
• Networks
• Frameworks
• Skills
• Passion
• Budget

 

And a bit of 'reality-checking' before we begin

Although we don't want to set limits on our innovation possibilities before we even begin, it's worth just checking in with ourselves to make sure our vision is likely to engage others – rather than being just a 'castle in the air' that only we are interested in!

We can ask ourselves three types of questions which check in on different aspects of our current organisational reality. These questions can also be used to identify other important assets that we may not have taken into account.

Desirability

Feasibility

Viability

Leading for Libraries Sets