Maria has been loyal to the topic of innovation for many years. After spending time in various management positions, she headed the Innovation Department of ÖBB-Holding AG before moving to the leadership team of weXelerate. She is now in demand home and abroad as a self-employed coach and consultant. Here are her answers to our questions about innovation:
What does innovation mean to you?
The ability to constantly question oneself as a person or organisation, to recognise opportunities and to successfully adapt to changing conditions.
What is innovation NOT?
Exclusively digital and technology-driven. It’s all about people: For me, innovation is based on people and their needs.
Why should a company be innovative?
Quite simply, because customers have ever higher expectations of companies, which can only be met through continuous improvement. And because people like to work in attractive, future-oriented – i.e. innovative – companies.
What are the prerequisites for innovation?
Firstly: the ability to listen in order to fully understand the problem and the underlying motives or needs. And to do so correctly. In the sense of “fall in love with the problem, not the solution”. Only then can the search for a suitable solution begin.
Secondly: iterative work, i.e. a step-by-step, flexible approach to a solution. In fast-moving times, five-year plans are very quickly obsolete. Instead of stubbornly working off strategies set in stone, it is important for an organisation to remain capable of acting and reacting. This can be achieved by breaking down major challenges into smaller, measurable tasks and regularly checking along the way whether the overall goal still fits and the direction is right. In this way, you can get to work much more quickly and not get stuck like a snake in front of a rabbit.
Thirdly: innovation is driven by people, and people need an environment in which, on the one hand, creativity and novelty are allowed and, on the other hand, sufficient security is provided to allow for failure. Accordingly, a company’s ability to innovate depends strongly on the prevailing corporate culture in the broader sense and the leadership culture in the narrower sense. How innovation-promoting is the organisation’s management? How much freedom do employees have? How do you deal with failed projects or mistakes that happen? When these challenges are solved, innovation can emerge.
Dear Maria, thank you for your valuable insights into the subject of innovation. It is precisely because innovation is so diverse that we are delighted to hear important voices and opinions on the subject – all in keeping with our motto “keep on innovating”.
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