Managing innovation projects - Organisational coaching

Purpose of the coaching programme

This coaching programme aims to support the management of innovation projects, helping to transform innovative thinking from individual characteristic to organizational competence.

This programme requires not less than six months and includes group sessions of different duration and individual sessions.

The programme unfolds along the following lines:

• remove the myth of creativity as an inborn characteristic;
• strengthening “creative confidence” and individual ability to provide solutions to complex situations (problem-solving and/or innovation);
• the management of innovation projects, which involves large or small teams and different functions;
• creation of new knowledge;
• make innovation an organisational competence.

Contents

The development of skills for solving complex situations will be based on the contents presented in the following training courses (click on the link to view the content):

• Tools and methods for developing critical thinking
• Techniques and tools to prevent cognitive errors (bias)
• Learn and use cognitive flexibility
• Learn and use creative thinking
• Managing a change project

Besides, the skills-building process will take advantage of e-learning courses aimed at developing communication and management skills: solutions will, therefore, include both classroom and e-learning training sessions, to promote efficiency and effectiveness.

As far as the innovation management project is concerned, the coaching programme will be mainly based on the following contents.

The structure of an innovation project

• Ordinary projects and innovation projects: differences and peculiarities
• Status quo and innovation: why the ambidextrous organisation is successful
• Defining objectives, responsibilities and resources

Generating organisational knowledge, essential for innovation

• The Nonaka and Takeuchi spiral
• Teamwork as a driver for innovation
• Creativity as an individual moment
• Tools that promote cooperation
• The role of Social Business Collaboration

Tools to manage an innovation project

• Tools that encourage creativity in groups
• Brainstorming and similar techniques
• The mind-mapping
• Searching for information: identifying sources to discover what you don’t know

The capitalisation of tools and knowledge

• Why knowledge sharing is vital
• The repositories of corporate knowledge and new knowledge!
• The standardisation of tools
• Effective thinking training as a business strategy

Duration and delivery methods

The coaching programme will have a duration in line with the requirements of the specific innovation project and will be based on a variety of tools: classroom training sessions, e-learning training courses, blended training, individual coaching sessions, specifically designed tools.