Building a Culture of Innovation: What Leaders Get Wrong
About this episode
Mervyn Dinnen and Cris Beswick discuss the importance of fostering a culture of innovation within organizations.
Building a Culture of Innovation: What Leaders Get Wrong Hosts: Mervyn Dinnen Guest: Cris Beswick - Leadership, culture, and innovation expert Summary On this episode of HR Means Business , Mervyn is joined by leadership, culture, and innovation expert Chris Beswick to challenge one of business's most misunderstood concepts: innovation. Together, they explore why innovation shouldn't be treated as a department, initiative, or brainstorming exercise, but as the outcome of a culture intentionally designed to encourage curiosity, collaboration, and calculated risk. Chris explains why so many innovation programs fail—not because organizations lack ideas, but because they focus on tools and processes without changing the leadership behaviors and cultural conditions that allow innovation to thrive. The conversation also examines the critical role of middle managers, psychological safety, and why leadership must move beyond simply sponsoring innovation to truly owning it. The discussion also tackles one of today's biggest leadership questions: where AI fits into innovation. Rather than replacing human creativity, Chris argues that organizations will see…
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