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It has become clear from the research that leaders of the future will be required to develop ambidextrous responses to deal with complexity and rapid change at all levels.
That is, they will need to know how to recognise and effectively navigate competing demands to stay ahead. Despite the critical importance of managing innovation tensions, this research shows that leaders are often ill-prepared for identifying and dealing with them. Leaders are better resourced to respond to paradoxes once the specific tensions have been identified and addressed. Ambidextrous leadership involves identifying tensions that create polarisation, and finding solutions that might help to deal with the tensions simultaneously. The initial finding of the research program was that identifying ambidextrous orientations can provide valuable feedback and help to build a culture for leading innovation.
The accompanying white paper is based on Gaia's research with the Discipline of Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Sydney Business School. She has interviewed around 70 Heads of Innovation globally along with conducting year-long immersion case studies, and she has analysed over 1000 survey responses.
