Purpose-driven Innovation Leadership for Sustainable Development by Gaia Grant

Purpose-driven Innovation Leadership for Sustainable Development by Gaia Grant

Purpose-driven Innovation Leadership for Sustainable Development presents invaluable insights into how leaders can balance competing innovation demands. The book reports on research from an in-depth case study, which reveals the importance of developing highly adaptative and innovative responses through periods of rapid growth - while simultaneously ensuring organisational stability grounded in a clear core purpose. 'Paradox' theory is introduced as a constructive theoretical lens for exploring these complexities of leadership sensemaking in innovation contexts. The findings demonstrate how to incorporate both perspectives to establish a robust innovation culture.

This book aims to equip readers with evidence-based principles that can be readily applied in practice. The qualitative methodology, which includes case studies and interviews conducted with global innovation leaders, uncovers powerful strategies from relevant real-world experiences. Targeted 'Reflection and Action' questions are also included to guide implementation.

Purpose-driven Innovation Leadership for Sustainable Development will support researchers, educators, and students in the higher education sector who would like to investigate contemporary innovation leadership principles and practices. The book will also interest business leaders hoping to access rigorous research studies on the topic presented in an effective actionable format.

“There is a critical need for leadership to enable organizations to harmonize financial, social, and environmental requirementsPurpose-driven Innovation Leadership for Sustainable Development offers fascinating insights into a senior leadership team's efforts to find balance among divergent requirements and logics in the context of a rapidly growing ‘for-purpose enterprise’. Through a detailed, ethnographic case study the readers are presented with general principles that can be applied in many contemporary organisations to help with navigating the unavoidable tensions that derive from the pursuit of innovation and the attempt to reconcile multiple objectives. The result is an evidence-based informative and practical guide for anyone interested in exploring how to better lead for impact.” Dr Marco Berti, Associate Professor of Management and Organizations, Nova School of Business & Economics, Lisbon

“Purpose-driven Innovation Leadership for Sustainable Development takes a bold approach to a relatively new field of study. The research explores how the dynamics of competing strategic purpose-driven growth demands can manifest in a senior leadership team. Paradoxical tensions identified included those between the need to pursue both breakthrough innovation and incremental innovation, along with the need to pursue both purpose and profit. By taking the reader through a rich case study methodology, the book bridges the common gap between in-depth qualitative research and practical actionable insights and applications.” Professor Eric Knight, Professor of Strategic Management at Macquarie Business School, New South Wales, Australia

Gaia Grant is a researcher and lecturer at the University of Sydney Business School and the Executive Director of Tirian International Consultancy. In her research, Gaia has focused on how leaders can create a culture that supports sustainable and responsible innovation – along with exploring creative thinking and innovative problem-solving strategies to deal with wicked problems. Gaia has facilitated practical innovation solutions for a range of organisations globally, from Fortune 500 companies to not-for-profits, utilising the unique ‘Innovative Change Leader Inventory’ (iCLi) and ‘Dynamic Polar Positioning’ (DPoP) tools she has developed from her research.