Creating a Culture of Innovation

Starting a new technology company may be difficult but it is easier than trying to create an innovative culture in an established company. Established companies have institutions and a company culture that may be difficult to navigate and/or to overcome. When an entrepreneur starts a tech company, it means s/he gets to select employees that will help to make the company the way the they want it to be. They can hire people with proven successes in leadership, innovation and enthusiasm. That way, the entrepreneur can create a company with the culture of their choosing.

Characteristics of Employees

The entrepreneur starting a tech company can decide what type of characteristics are necessary in employees. If the entrepreneur is thinking about the future of the company as s/he should be, then they should look for some specific characteristics in employees. The Forbes Technology Council (2018) lists 6 characteristics that tech employees should have. The first one is a thirst for learning (Forbes Technology Council, 2018). Since technology comes and goes quickly, employees should be able to keep up with trends and use them to gain market advantage. The second is communication and leadership skills (Forbes Technology Council, 2018). These traits are important enough they probably should be listed separately. It is important for tech employees to be able to communicate not only with their peers, but also with clients and others who are not tech savvy. Tech employees should also have a “passion for the product” (Forbes Technology Council, 2018). In other words, they should love what they create.

One of the recent trends in business is teamwork, so tech employees should be able to collaborate, but also possess the ability to accept personal responsibility for mistakes. There may be conflict among employees, but that builds trust and drives innovation (Forbes Technology Council, 2018). Along with personal responsibility comes honesty and authenticity (Forbes Technology Council, 2018). It is difficult to trust a dishonest employee. Dishonest people often give themselves away, and then trust is gone. Starting out with honest employees may save heartache and headaches down the road. Finally, tech employees should be committed to innovation (Forbes Technology Council, 2018). New tech companies want to be around in the future, and innovation will make that happen.

Leadership Qualities of Employees

Leadership skills in employees are highly desired. Good leaders drive the company. Grenny and Maxfield (2016) of Harvard Business Review explain that leadership skills for tech company employees differ from the norm. “The norm across tech needs to be that people can bring up concerns when they have them—even when the concerns involve sensitive, risky and potentially volatile topics. This norm not only creates a robust . . . organization, but one that quickly surfaces the best ideas, allowing companies to better innovate and execute” (Grenny & Maxfield, 2016). A tech leader should be inclusive and a good listener.

The other important skill tech leaders should have is to hold people accountable. Grenny and Maxfield (2016) say, “Imagine building a culture of accountability—one where people hold their managers, their peers, their customers and their direct reports accountable for the commitments they make. High-accountability cultures are better positioned to address challenges (Grenny & Maxfield, 2016). If everybody, from the top down, is accountable, then the tech company will be successful. Before the entrepreneur hires someone who seems to have leadership skills, they should look at the success of the companies that the potential employee worked for previously. If the companies are no longer in existence, then perhaps that candidate was part of the reason why.

Organizational Culture

The entrepreneur starting a new tech company must also try to create an organizational culture. To do this, Hanekom (2016) of Entrepreneur has several suggestions. First of all, the owner or CEO must lead from the front (Hanekom, 2016). That means the owner/CEO must be passionate about the work the company does, must be positive and optimistic, demonstrate drive and vision and welcome change because that is an opportunity for innovation, and innovation drives technology. That sort of forward thinking leads to a culture of innovation, which Hanekom (2016) says is important also. It also means that teams must be established, and they must be effective (Hanekom, 2016). One of the suggestions Hanekom (2016) lists is to reward failure. While this may sound counterintuitive, it is a good way to create a healthy and innovative culture (Hanekom, 2016). People must fail before they succeed, and having the courage and confidence to do that is important in tech employees.