Leading innovation: To be a leader, one must have more than just ambition and confidence. One must be able to inspire and encourage others, and know when to step down from one’s role and let others take the spotlight. People described the types of R&D managers they would walk to the ends of the Earth for and here is what was found
Being a successful leader means winning the support and respect of one’s followers; this is accomplished only when one is on the same level and avoids the use of superiority when dealing with employees. Managers must be authentic – sincere, humble, and unafraid to be themselves and admit their mistakes. This type of attitude allows more freedom in the workspace, and encourages workers to be honest with their superiors.
Leaders must be self-motivated and should always have a goal in mind. In order to inspire their employees, they must first be inspired themselves, and spread this motivation among their employees. They must have the ability to guide their staff through tasks with suggestive guidelines, but also allow their staff to ultimately decide how to carry out the work.
Successful leaders often encourage humor and a light-hearted atmosphere in the workplace and allow their employees to express their creative sides without risk of admonishment. Because these employees spend more than half their days working in the office, it must be a place for open-minded and creative people who can generate laughs and smiles and not be afraid of disapproval.
Leaders must also encourage risk-taking and venturesome actions in the workplace and be willing to take the blame if certain ideas do not work out as well as they would have expected. If an employee has a new idea that they’re willing to try out, it should be approached with enthusiasm from both the employee and the employer.
Last but not least, leaders must be their employee’s biggest fans – they must cheer them on and encourage success, give them credit and congratulate them on a job well done, and always be a source of assistance and comfort when needed. These managers are always concerned for their employees’ careers and general well-being, and they appreciate the contributions from every single worker. Good leadership is the key to winning in the global R&D sandbox.
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• Identification, qualification and selection of R&D suppliers
• Structuring execution plans with such outsource suppliers
• Providing monitoring and corrective action guidance for supplier milestones and deliverables
• Ongoing performance improvement and long term planning expertise
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