How do you use stakeholder input to innovate your leadership?

You could also carry out a market research to see who your competitors are reaching. Knowing who is buying from them gives you an idea about who will be buying from you. Do not be stubbornly independent in this matter. If someone is already doing what you want to do, check and see who they are reaching.

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." - Henry Ford To innovate leadership using stakeholder input, actively seek diverse perspectives and insights. Engage stakeholders in collaborative discussions, surveys, and feedback sessions. Analyze input to identify trends, challenges, and opportunities. Use this information to refine leadership strategies, prioritize initiatives, and foster a culture of inclusivity and shared purpose. Incorporating stakeholder input ensures decisions are informed by varied viewpoints, enhancing leadership effectiveness and organizational innovation

So, using stakeholder input for leadership innovation is like making the perfect avocado toast - you need the right ingredients and a dash of everyone's personal touch. Think of stakeholders as the avocados, tomatoes, or whatever adds the flair to your toast. To collect their input without putting them to sleep, set up a hipster-style brainstorming session – a sort of avocado toast pop-up. Use surveys, focus groups, and interviews, just like picking the best avocados at the farmer's market. Blend all those millennial-approved inputs, and voila, you've got a leadership style as trendy as avo toast on Instagram!

When analyzing this input, be honest! Sometimes we want to stretch the data because it gives us a feel good factor if it is more positive! It is tempting to analyze the data for what it would be rather then what it is! An honest assessment will give you a good picture to build from

Using stakeholder input to revamp your leadership style is like throwing a lit jam session, but instead of instruments, you're vibing with ideas. Imagine you're the DJ dropping beats, and stakeholders are the hype crowd suggesting tracks. Create a space where everyone's ideas get a chance in the spotlight, just like a banging jam where every sound matters. Your leadership playlist should be as eclectic as a millennial's Spotify – a mix of everyone's input creating a chart-topping innovation.

An often missed one and one of the most impactful actions you could take - closing the loop. This is just as applicable when dealing with input/feedback on a one to one basis as it is applicable when taking input/feedback at an organizational level. Always close the loop. Distill the inputs and share with your stakeholders and your org your learnings. Articulate what actions or improvements will be taken and what their priority will be. Be clear about timelines where possible and where you are seeking support from the stakeholders and the org. People want to be heard and they want to know that they can influence and make an impact. And if you are already actioning on the inputs, then close the loop and let them know that they are heard.

In "drivers license," Olivia Rodrigo reflects on the emotional journey of getting a driver's license, which can be likened to the journey of innovation fueled by stakeholder input. Stakeholder input often brings diverse perspectives and experiences to the forefront, similar to the emotions explored in the song. The key learning is that acknowledging and understanding the emotional aspects of the innovation process, just like the emotions conveyed in the song, is crucial for effective leadership transformation.