In previous blogs here on ChoralNet I have addressed the "why" of innovation in general, but for this blog I would like to address the “why” of innovation in terms of my own personal motivation.
If I had to reduce the description of my choral conducting work to a single line, it would be something like “I evoke sounds through a community of singers for the satisfaction of unique human emotional needs.” In other words, I am a choral music director, a role that matters in society because of the fundamental inner life needs of fellow humans.
In 2011, the GE Corporation conducted a survey in which they interviewed a thousand senior business executives in twelve countries on the topic of innovation. The most remarkable findings of this survey were the kinds of innovation these leaders think will be most important in the future. 77 percent agreed that “the greatest innovations of the 21st century will be those that have helped to address human needs more than those that had created the most profit…” The common denominator between my work and the results of this survey comes in the action of satisfying human needs.
It is the opinion of business leaders and that of leaders in many areas that innovation is critically needed in our present and future thinking. Joel Podolny, vice-president of human resources at Apple and dean of Apple University, explains, “Succeeding through creation often requires innovation—figuring out how to put together and add value to things that just weren’t there before.” For me, this is the challenge to our work in the 21st century related to the choral profession.
Innovation is a mindset. However, it is more than simply declaring the desire to be innovative. In order to be innovative, we have to think innovatively.
- Thinking innovatively requires that we have empathy for those we serve, imagining the world through multiple perspectives.
- Thinking innovatively requires integrating parts of a problem toward a breakthrough innovative solution.
- Thinking innovatively requires optimistic thinking, knowing that there is at least one breakthrough idea that will be a solution.
- Thinking innovatively requires experimentation, or a process of trial and error as we think through various solutions.
- Thinking innovatively requires collaborative thinking, drawing from the skills and knowledge of others and not relying solely on oneself.
A dashboard of innovation would look like this: Empathy, Integration, Optimism, Experimentation, Collaboration. As you approach your next challenge, view it through these filters as you work to build a bridge to a solution.
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