The Roles You Need on Your Innovation Team

Finding the right people to be part of your innovation teams makes all the difference.

What roles do you need on your innovation team?

Processes and frameworks alone can only take an innovation team so far. Finding the right people to be part of your innovation teams makes all the difference. Great innovation teams need to have individuals that possess high emotional intelligence and innovative qualities.  These people often have eclectic or unorthodox ways of thinking and an entrepreneurial mindset biased toward action and iteration.

The most effective innovation teams are made up of people with technical acumen, solid communication skills and the ability to analyze  and relay trends in the market to teams across their organization. By hiring for innovation, companies are looking for the best approach to source and develop new ideas and collaborate with external partners, which are often intrinsic to a company’s success.

Hiring an effective innovation team can help create a positive work culture that includes engaged employees. Sixty-six (66%) percent of respondents to a Deloitte Innovation Survey, said that innovation was key for growth. Employing an innovation team can also be a differentiator in a competitive market, allowing a company to stand out from competitors and attract the best talent.

So, who are these individuals and how can enterprise companies employ them on their innovation teams? They’re a diverse group of people with skills that may not seem like characteristics typical roles on innovation teams:

Technologist