John Adair's 100 Greatest Ideas for Amazing Creativity

Eight Greatest Ideas for Building Innovative Organizations

Idea 86: Real commitment from the top

Without real commitment from the top, real innovation will be defeated again and again by the policies, procedures and rituals of almost any large organization.

Unattributed

The attitudes, personal qualities and skills of leaders in organizations stand out as a group of vital ingredients in innovation. Be they team leaders or first-line managers, operational leaders or leaders at the strategic level, the managers of an enterprise can do a great deal to encourage creativity.

Without exception, all the most effective leaders I have ever known create a sense of esprit de corps, a team spirit that makes even the most arduous or the most humdrum work exciting. ...