The Mindset & Skills Set that Empower Innovators
By: Eric Van Gennip
Tags: Innovation Skills, Entrepreneurship, Futures Literacy, Creativity, Responsibility

© Simia Innovations

When we educate innovative business professionals we pay special attention to three specific powers that make an innovator. Being an innovator is not only about knowing the tools and how to apply them. It’s a way of thinking and getting things done. This way of thinking comes forward from three mindsets, that melt together in one person. They form the innovator’s personality, for these behavioral skills steer his actions.

The first two are widely known as a part of being innovative, also included on all future skills lists:

—the Creative Mindset, which is all about growing your own personal creativity and applying it in a business context.

— an Enterprising Mindset, which is all about exploring new opportunities. A way of critical thinking and challenging the status quo to see chances and take them.

The third is rather new but endorsed by a lot of current studies. We call it a Responsible Mindset. Not only is it the greatest cause for innovation to take place, but it’s also based on two big and upcoming needs in society.

The first one is well-being: there is a huge focus shift from only efficiency and monitoring progress to paying attention to yourself, the whole person. Making space, plugging in on who you are and what you care about. And that most certainly affects one another.

The second one is long-term thinking. By overseeing the bigger picture and the greater good: what actually counts most, you come across themes like ethics and the SDGs as key topics to develop in.

Seeing this happen, we started to coach people on this responsibility mindset, that allows you to grow the best futureproof version of yourself. It’s a holistic way of thinking that emphasizes well-being in the broadest of meanings as well as empowering you with the skill of long-term thinking. This mindset helps the innovator to be disciplined as well as disruptive. There are three components to a Responsible Mindset:

1. Responsibility towards yourself

At first, you must be vital & have self-knowledge. Vital as in healthy but also make healthy choices for your well-being. Being able to cope with stress and attention management, to know how to steer your focus. But also it’s about knowing what your talents are and what skills you still can develop more and planning how you want that to happen.

2. Responsibility towards others

Empathy is a keyword for the next decades. Being able to interrelate with others and being a good listener. As a leader, it’s the power to give space, trust, and autonomy.

3. Responsibility towards the future

Long-term thinking is essential to make better choices today. To be constantly aware of how you anticipate, resist the threat of short-termism, and look beyond what’s happening now. Realizing how you want to live in the future and therefore keeping an eye on values and ethics. Contributing to the SDG and a better world for tomorrow and generations to come.

In these core themes, we activate our students at Avans University of Applied Sciences. And we want to activate you. To become aware of these three capacities, train them and reach a level of agility in your thinking. If you combine your skills training with the needs of the next decade and incorporate the Responsible Mindset with your creative and enterprising powers, you master a futureproof skills set you can rely on. All these three mindsets have their own strengths. But together they make sure you reach that form of adaptable, future-oriented, innovator’s mindset. Ready for the future. Whatever future it may be.