A leader is innovative if he has good reasoning ability and high ambition, and if he develops expertise, ethics and effective goal setting.
A leader’s innovativeness is inhibited by his lack of clarity about what makes him innovative and misconceptions that creativity is “out of the box” thinking, that brainstorming makes you more creative, that creativity does not depend on expertise, etc.
Thus, a leader has the opportunity to significantly increase his innovativeness if he consciously develops skills that allow him to use his talents and opportunities much more and if he does not allow himself to be misled by misconceptions.
Evaluation of the leader’s innovativeness and recommendations
I assess the innovation potential of the leader and the successor and give him recommendations for its maximum implementation.
As a result of the evaluation of innovativeness and recommendations, the leader will be much more successful in innovations in the future, because he knows more precisely his strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities for the best implementation of his potential, as well as which risks he can prevent or mitigate.
This evaluation benefits the driver at any age, but its value is greater the earlier it occurs.
Steps:
- Written and oral evaluation of the leader’s experience and achievements.
- Assessing a leader’s reasoning ability, ambition and ethics in solving and managing complex problems with a structured interview.
- Explaining the evaluation results to the leader in comparison with the most innovative leaders.
- Giving recommendations to the leader for the maximum implementation of his innovative potential.
The evaluated criteria are based on the results of qualitative studies of exceptionally successful leaders and researchers in innovation and the results of meta-analyses of studies of the mental abilities and personality traits with the greatest weight in innovation.
To keep this assessment completely safe for the leader, the assessment results and recommendations are confidential, and it is up to the leader to decide whether and what to share the assessment results and recommendations with their immediate leader, HR or others.
Defining the leader’s prerequisites and competencies
I advise companies and public institutions in defining the prerequisites and competencies of a leader and developing guidelines for their implementation to help them do it more validly and economically.
Structured interviewing training
The validity of the structured interview is enhanced by empathic listening to the candidate, asking specific questions based on the work, evidence-based, non-biased and uniform assessment.
The aim of the training is to acquire structured interviewing skills.
As a result of the training, the participant will be able to:
- Analyze the skills of empathic listening, asking specific questions and giving evidence-based assessments and identify development needs in them.
- Follow research-based recommendations for structured interviewing.
Training topics:
- The nature and validity of the structured interview.
- Opening up the candidate with empathetic listening.
- Asking questions that guide reasoning in the assessment of mental abilities.
- Asking behavioral questions when assessing personality traits.
- Evidence-based, unbiased and uniform assessment.
- Building consensus in assessments.
- Compiling a valid evaluation summary.
- Providing supportive feedback to the selected candidate.
- Conclusions for the informed development of interviewing.
The evaluation criteria and scales used in the training exercises are defined before the training in cooperation with the client, and the research-based structured interview guide is adapted accordingly. This guide is based on the latest recommendations from the American Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) and the structured interviewing skills with the highest impact in meta-analyses.
Before the training, the participants familiarize themselves with the structured interview instructions, so the main time of the training is spent on practice. In the training, I first demonstrate how to apply the skills correctly, and then the participants practice the skills in practical exercises, learning step by step to distinguish between right and wrong and receiving practical feedback on this.
If necessary, I also conduct mock interviews after the training to evaluate two or three real candidates or observe the client during the interview and give him feedback and recommendations for better application of the skills.
Supportive feedback training
The employee develops the inner will and ability to develop himself if she/he receives supportive feedback from her/his leader, in which positivity, empathetic listening and joint consideration of self-development options are central.
The aim of the training is to acquire the skills of supportive feedback.
As a result of the training, the driver will be able to:
- Analyze the skills of positivity, empathic listening, giving recommendations and weighing options and define development needs in them.
- Follow science-based recommendations when providing supportive feedback.
Training topics:
- Overview of supportive feedback.
- Building a positive relationship.
- Opening up the employee with empathic listening.
- Giving self-development recommendations to the employee.
- Weighing the arguments for and against options for employee self-development.
- Conclusions for the development of supportive feedback.
The examples used in the exercises are selected before the training in cooperation with the client, and the science-based feedback guide is adapted accordingly. This guide is based on Barbara L. Fredrickson’s theories of positivity and motivational interviewing by William R. Miller and Gary S. Rose, and the supportive feedback skills found in meta-analyses to have the greatest impact.
Before the training, the participants familiarize themselves with the feedback instructions, which is why the main time of the training is spent on practice. In the training, I first demonstrate how to apply the skills correctly, and then the participants practice the skills in practical exercises, learning step by step to distinguish between right and wrong and receiving practical feedback on this.
Experience
I have assessed the potential of leaders, helped to define leaders’ prerequisites and competencies, and conducted interviewing and feedback training in their implementation in dozens of companies and state institutions since 1995. The latest innovation is the assessment of the leader’s innovativeness prerequisites (mental abilities and personality traits) with a structured interview.