The Leadership Japan Series By Dale Carnegie Training Japan

Innovation may look obvious from the leader's chair, but it often looks like extra work from the team's chair. Leaders may say, "We need to keep innovating," but employees hear, "Here comes another initiative on top of everything else we are already doing." In Japan, this resistance can be even stronger because change often feels risky, disruptive and uncomfortable. People have routines. They know how to do their current work. They are competent, comfortable and busy. The leadership challenge is not merely to announce innovation. The real challenge is to sell the need for innovation so clearly that the team understands why standing still is more dangerous than moving forward. Why do leaders need to sell the need for innovation? Leaders need to sell innovation because most employees do not automatically see change as attractive, urgent or safe. They may already feel overloaded, sceptical or tired from previous initiatives that disappeared without results. Innovation sounds exciting in strategy meetings, but it