Quiz Are You an Innovator or Executor

Scenario

We have been provided with an article written by Michael Glauser titled “Are You an Innovator or Executor? Take This Quiz to Find Out”. At the start of the article, he states that entrepreneurs lack social thinking skills and hence are predictable and can’t operate their companies, while on the other hand, they will need to hire an MBA in this regard. The focus is given to innovation and execution skills that are required to run a business successfully. So, if one of these skills is lacking, then there will be a need for a partner in this regard. So the following quiz will help to understand our ability to be an innovator or an executor (Lozano & Ceulemans, 2015).

Quiz For Innovation

A person’s mind is always constructive or systematic, which means he prefers to solve a problem either in an innovative way or he wishes to choose a pre-defined method to address an issue. The former approach is called innovative, and the other one is called executive. The following is a set of questions extracted along with the responses being presented.

Quiz For Execution

The following set of questions can be used regarding execution.

Self-Assessment

Based on these estimations and responses, one can easily determine the type of person he is, either executor or innovator. If I talk about myself, then from the analysis of the quiz, I am more of an executor as I like to follow a systematic pattern of instructions given by my subordinates during a course of action, and my efficiency is greater in conditions where I have to follow organized and systematic procedures. I have a strong background in executing various activities. These executions require extensive background knowledge in this regard. I like to follow a predefined order when addressing problems, as they are easy for me to understand rather than creating a background scenario for the problem in this regard. Another task that I can perform in a fine-tuned manner is maintaining high work accuracy if the work follows a systematic procedure, as it gives a complete understanding of how to act in a specific situation.

Personal Strengths Based On Execution

Based on the questionnaire, the following personal strengths have been identified (Craig & Henry, 2002):

• The first strength that I possess due to my executive mind is making a quick decision based on a pre-defined and well-established problem background, which helps me to cater to my issues.
• Due to executive thinking, I can absorb information related to the decision quickly as I don’t have to discuss it with others, at least not with my subordinates, and it allows me to make my own decisions relatively faster.
• Due to an executive approach, I can identify the bottlenecks existing in the organizational hierarchy as I am well aware of the system and have gone through it several times.
• I deal with a particular problem using a problem-solving mechanism rather than a constructive approach, as from my point of view it takes more time to make a decision based on such a constructive approach.

Personal Weaknesses Based On Execution

There are certain weaknesses that are based on the execution approach to solving problems, which are listed as follows (Kazmi, Zainab, & Marja, 2013):

• Due to having a more systematic approach, I face difficulty in handling off-routine issues like disputes between subordinates, and these issues consume a lot of time.
• I also experience difficulty as some decisions are to be made by gut feelings, which are not that systematic because the role of gut and intuition is much more vibrant in some decision-making scenarios.
• I often get bored with the mechanical process of decision-making as each activity is repeated over and over again; hence, the executive model makes it difficult for me to make a favorable decision under such boredom.

Self-Assessment Example Based On Executory Approach

One particular example I would like to quote is when I was working as a manager of operations in a branch of KFC. It was a medium- to large-scale outlet, and I had a team of 10 under my supervision. The system of the organization was mechanistic and involved the execution of several tasks on a repeating basis. As one customer places an order, the food processing and serving consist of several steps, which are to be repeated each time a customer places an order. In that scenario, I was enjoying my work, but practices such as employee-customer disputes and customer complaints were difficult tasks to handle as they were outside the routine.

Using Two Leadership Practices

Now, we will discuss two of the leadership models based on the above quiz. The first quiz focuses on innovative approaches for which the charismatic visionary leadership model can be used in this regard. The second quiz is based on a more systematic approach, and pre-defined problems are to be solved in this regard, so in this scenario, we can recommend the autocratic leadership style, which is comparatively less innovative. The details of the two methods which can be adopted by an individual are listed below (Loop & Swell, 2017):

Charismatic Visionary Leadership Model

When we talk about the charismatic visionary leadership model, it heavily depends on the charm and the skills of persuasion of the manager. Sometimes these leaders are called transformational leaders as they have similar capacities. These are managers with extraordinary communication abilities who can reach the deepest level of a person’s emotions by using this skill. So there are certain pros and cons of this model, which are listed as follows (Lewis, 2012):

• This model urges people to cooperate with each other and work for a common cause.
• These managers are committed to a central mission, which is their collective responsibility to achieve.
• Management of the organization keeps learning from its mistakes in such an approach.
• These managers are sometimes non-responsive to their peers.
• Sometimes, they think they are above the law and hence cause problems (Lozano & Ceulemans, 2015).

Autocratic Leadership Style

The next thing is related to the autocratic style of management, which is also adopted by managers; this style requires that only one person make decisions in the organization, and he will be solely responsible for managing the company’s affairs. For decisions to be made quickly, the autocratic style is preferred by several managers as it gives ease of access to the decision-making process, but on the contrary, employees also feel exploited when they know they have no participation in the process of decision-making (Voet & Vermeeren, 2016).

Analysis Of Skills

The five skills identified through the quiz are analyzed as follows (Leswing, Kif, 2017):

• The innovative exercise of controls of an organization is essential and required as innovative skills will reduce the amount of redundancy and hence make sure that organizational efficiency is increased.
• The managers will have to leave the autocratic set of thinking behind. This approach is obsolete in several terms, so people now prefer to use other leadership approaches.
• Managers will need to be realistic while making managerial decisions because decisions made on assumptions are sometimes not valid (Sandy, 2009).
• The SMART goals approach should be used in the decision-making process. The goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.
• The PEST and SWOT Analysis should be conducted in an orderly fashion. These are effective tools for leadership and management (Voet & Vermeeren, 2016).

References

By, R. T. (2005). Organisational change management: A critical review. Journal of change management, 369-380.

Craig, & Henry. (2002). Vertical versus shared leadership as predictors of the effectiveness of change management teams: An examination of aversive, directive, transactional, transformational, and empowering leader behaviors. APA Psych Net, 6(2), 172-197.

Kazmi, Zainab, & Marja. (2013). Comparative approaches to key change management models – a fine assortment to pick from as per situational needs! International Conference on Business Strategy and Organizational Behaviour (BizStrategy). Proceedings; Singapore, 217-224.

Kettinger, W. J. (2015). Special Section: Toward a Theory of Business Process Change Management. Journal of Management Information Systems, 9-30.

Leswing, Kif. (2017). Apple’s battery controversy could cost the company over $10 billion in lost iPhone sales. Retrieved from Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-battery-controversy-10-billion-lost-iphone-sales-2018-1

Lewis, A. (2012). Finding a model for managing change. Training and Development, 6-7.

Lozano, R., & Ceulemans, S. (2015). Teaching organizational change management for sustainability: designing and delivering a course at the University of Leeds to better prepare future sustainability change agents. Journal of Cleaner Production, 106(1), 205-215.

Sandy, T. (2009). Taking charge of change with confidence. Strategic Communication Management, 28-31.

Steven C, H., & Kirk D., K. G. (1999). Acceptance and commitment therapy: An experiential approach to behavior change.

Voet, & Vermeeren. (2016). Change Management in Hard Times. The American Review of Public Management, 230-252.

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