Gaining Leadership Backing for Your Innovations

This article is part of our exclusive career advice series in partnership with the IEEE Technology and Engineering Management Society.Imagine this: You have a strong idea for a new product for your company. Your coworkers encourage you to move forward because they believe it could be the organization’s next big success. The idea clearly falls outside your department’s responsibilities, however, and you have no role in the product line.What should you do? Sit and wait for “the right group” to pick it up, or push the idea forward without knowing how or what it might mean for your current position?Such situations occur frequently. Many end up as missed opportunities, even though they could have significantly advanced the company’s technological or market position.Some organizations actively support such initiatives, allocating specific periods during the workday for employees to focus on developing their own ideas.Companies known for that include Google and 3M. They allow employees to pursue projects with a portion of their time, such as one day per week. Research that I conducted indicates it pays off for employee performance.Bootlegging and skunkworksAt some companies, managers kno…