Innovators, Improvers, and Maintainers

Someone much smarter than me came up with these labels to describe three types of leaders in an organization. The beauty of the labels is that they are pretty clear descriptors of the type of leaders they describe.

Innovators innovate. They create things. They start things and get things going. They see possibilities and are gifted visionaries. They have hope for the future. They see what exists and know that something better is available. They are not committed to the tried and true — especially if they don’t see the tried and true working. They generate ideas and are willing to risk it all.

Improvers improve what already exists. They are about refining things and offering improvements. They typically follow innovators and for a good reason. Innovators usually create a mess because innovators break a lot of stuff in the process of innovation. Improvers clean up the mess of what the innovators create and bring some order and process into play. Improvers give structure.

Maintainers maintain what exists. They offer stability, order, and predictability. They don’t like messes. They do what they can to ensure that the gains made are protected. They institutionalize. They slow things down and analyze the situation and data. They are cautious. They come after the improvers and set about to take what the improver did and maintain it for the long term.

Organizations need all three of these leadership types. One is not better than the other overall. But there are times when…