The Source, Meadowhall was the venue for ConsultIWP free business evening on ‘Leading and Inspiring Innovation at Work and in the Community – a Daunting Challenge or Easy-to-Create Habit?’ The event, funded by the ESRC was held on Thursday 3rd November and attended by over 30 delegates from across the private, public and third sector.
This session, led by Dr Ute Stephan and Dr Karoline Strauss from the Institute of Work Psychology, disseminated research highlighting the ‘people side’ of innovation, and in particular the role of leadership, which plays a critical role in stimulating innovation. The event focused on the ‘people side’ of innovation; it aimed to equip attendees with an understanding of how to stimulate innovation. Cutting edge research findings were translated into practical advice for managers who want to enable and enhance innovation in the people, teams, and organisations they lead. Attendees learned how to stimulate creativity in others, deal with uncertainty, become a champion for innovation, and create an environment that supports sustainable innovation. The event also provided opportunities for knowledge exchange and networking across sectors.
See below what our delegates had to say about the event:
“I thought the evening was really interesting and insightful and both me and my colleague (Mick Hood, HR Manager) really enjoyed it. We also really enjoyed having the discussions and liked how the presenters at the end summarised the main points, making it easy to comprehend how the theory can be applied in a practical setting”. Caroline Vis, Human Resources Graduate,Tata Steel Speciality
“I thoroughly enjoyed the Leading for Innovation Event, not only because the two presentations complimented each other from two different perspectives of businesses in general and their ability to innovate, but also from an employment perspective in relation to management style and the freedom for employees to be innovative in their working environment. I was particularly pleased to note also that social enterprise, particularly in the UK is leading in innovation compared to the private/public sector. Being a very passionate supporter of social enterprise, it’s great to receive affirmation that they are able to compete with mainstream businesses!” Ellen Shipley, Doncaster West Development Trust
“A very interesting and thought provoking session”. Pat Bairsto, CIPD