A leadership competency profile for innovation leaders in a science-based research and innovation organization in South Africa

Innovation has become critical for nations, organizations and individuals in an increasingly complex and challenging world. Leaders responsible for innovation need to be competent in making innovation happen, yet many acknowledge that they are not sure that their practices would yield success. The competencies for innovation leadership may differ from those used before to craft and achieve business goals. Research on innovation leadership competencies appears to be limited and fragmented with little evidence of a cumulative and coherent body of knowledge emerging on the topic. While contributions to the body of knowledge are increasing, the emphasis appears to be discipline- or element-specific rather than a comprehensive or systemic review of the underpinning competencies required for success. This article proposes a competency profile for innovation leaders derived from research in a South African science-based research and innovation organization. This profile includes competencies identified in a core sample of leaders whose leadership resulted in the creation of new knowledge or inventions, and the adoption of these by intended recipients in commercial and non-commercial or public good applications. The research started with a list of leadership competencies from multiple sources, including best-selling authors, commercially available leadership development programs, researcher observations and respondent inputs. Respondents completed a questionnaire to indicate their perceived significance of the competencies in the performance of successful innovation leaders. The resulting profile proposes a framework which may become a validated model through further research. Stakeholders who may benefit from these insights, include innovation leaders themselves, those who appoint such leaders to drive innovation, and those who provide learning and development to such leaders.