Leadership

Modern leadership is another ingredient in Business Design that deserves real attention. Customer research projects and sprints are hands-on approaches, but they still need management support — first, to keep such projects running smoothly, and second, to act on results that don’t always fit the current organization. Too often, innovation work — and the people driving it — sit too far from top management. That distance creates unnecessary friction and frustrated employees.

The following mindsets and behaviors work well for leaders — especially top management — in Business Design:

1. Think from the future: Business Design starts from a future vision and works backward. A future vision is a picture of where you want your customers and your company to be. From that picture, you ask: what can we do today to get there fastest? This takes a visionary leadership style — one not every leadership team has. Many companies are run from the status quo: they analyze what exists and plan improvements with classic project management. That’s not wrong, but it serves a completely different ambition. Business Design is built for big leaps, and big leaps need visionary leadership.

2. Strategic clarity: Innovation work aimed at real change needs clarity about what “change” means. “We want to stay market leader” is a goal, not clarity. The real question is: “What kind of company do we need to become in the next few years to stay market leader?” That means clarity on future roles, future value creation, future technologies etc. “We’re number one,” “use AI,” and “digitalization” clearly aren’t enough guidance. The clearer the future vision, the easier it is for every employee to make good decisions on their own. Vague statements leave room for interpretation — and that creates friction, coordination problems, personal uncertainty, and low commitment.

3. Psychological safety: In some companies, employees don’t just respect their leaders — they fear them. Open exchange doesn’t happen. Employees sell themselves internally and hide failures and anything that might hurt their career. That kind of behavior kills successful innovation work. Business Design needs an environment of high psychological safety for everyone involved. People need to feel that an innovation project — and the work behind it — isn’t just welcome, but strategically critical. Employees need to know their leaders will defend them against resistance, even when it puts the leader at risk.

4. Value innovation work: Here’s a thought that might spark some debate: in many companies today, innovation work — no matter how successful — barely helps your career. Why? Innovation work changes the status quo. It challenges established structures and processes, and that can upset the people who built them. As a result, innovators often get little appreciation and more resistance — sometimes subtle, sometimes direct. Leadership needs to recognize this pattern. Employees need protection, appreciation, and a career boost — even when a project or two doesn’t land.

5. Enable, don’t control: A visionary leadership style helps employees become more self-sufficient by building a shared vision together. Leaders then spend less time defining tasks and checking work, and more time enabling people. They support each employee’s growth, give them the tools and the right environment, and let them work toward the vision with as little friction as possible. Employees get real freedom, backed by trust. In the best case, they enjoy working for their leader and don’t want to let them down. That relationship is ideal for Business Design.

Most of these mindsets and behaviors matter just as much for middle management as for top management. But middle managers sit in a sandwich position, which makes some of them hard to put into practice. They usually need support so they don’t end up blocking innovation work — knowingly or not.