Innovation is more about psychology than technology

1. Authority Bias

Innovation management requires both innovation capability and innovation capacity: Capability in terms of governance, innovation process, tools and mechanisms, and capacity in terms of available resources.

Innovation is also about providing employees with an environment where they can make a meaningful impact and embrace the change and this is where companies face a lot of struggle and resistance.

In fact, a change management framework requires a psychological understanding of employees, managers, and leaders.

As an example: when implementing an innovation process, an external entity is important because it can play a role of a catalyst, especially when the innovation manager sometimes lacks the necessary assertiveness in the company which is a very common issue.

Employees are irrational because humans are irrational, they sometimes require an external expert to digest the change and process it.

This is because of a known cognitive bias called: Authority Cognitive Bias.

Authority Bias is the tendency to attribute greater weight and accuracy to the opinion of an authority figure. This happens whether we believe what they are doing or telling us is wrong. In short, we put our own person opinion on hold in lieu of theirs (1)

External companies do not only help on addressing the authority bias but also provide immense support to the innovation manager by exposing the company to new ways, methods, and new ideas from other industries, triggering a lateral thinking effect..

2. Lateral Thinking

Lateral thinking is the ability to use our imagination to look at a problem from a new perspective and a fresh way and come up with a new solution. Without lateral thinking, companies can’t innovate and create new products.

Why is Lateral thinking a difficult Matter?

The purpose of the brain is to build, develop and use routine patterns. Creativity is not a natural process in the brain, it goes against the natural process of following patterns. Unless leaders and managers recognize that our brain is naturally lazy and requires new dynamics to see beyond the frame we are in, employees will reproduce routinic solutions inspired from company's local knowledge.

Check the below video on Lateral Thinking.

If you haven't heard of Edward de Bono or of Lateral Thinking, perhaps you have been too busy thinking in conventional ways. -Forbes Magazine

One way of pushing ourselves to practice lateral thinking is to think about what everyone will typically do, then do the opposite and explore, also don't rush up into the understanding of the problem: Ask questions to understand the user's perception of the problem.

Using what-if scenarios: Example: What if there are no budget constraints and no resource limit, the objective here is to liberate the brain, to create a space where company rules don't apply, diverge first and converge later.

3- Team Dynamic and Group Think

Groupthink is one of the most dangerous biases in the workplace, it is not only impacting innovation management but many aspects of business management.

The bandwagon effect (Groupthink) (2) refers to the tendency people have to adopt a certain behavior, style, or attitude simply because everyone else is doing it.

How many times did you attend a meeting where a question is asked about an initiative or a solution, as soon as the first and second attendees approve it, most of the other attendees follow the same answer even when they think differently..

The pressure of groupthink starts setting and overrides rational thinking because Group cohesiveness is viewed as more important than individual freedom of expression.

Here are a few ways to disrupt this pattern:

1- If you are the group leader, don't give your view first

2- Require everyone in the group to evaluate ideas critically and feel free to express them

3 - You can ask the group to provide their feedback through an App in realtime

(1)https://smallbusinessforum.co/the-authority-bias-cognitive-bias-review-part-vii-5266ef075800

(2) Schmitt‐Beck R. Bandwagon effect. The International Encyclopedia of Political Communication. 2015:1-5. doi:10.1002/9781118541555.wbiepc015