You're tasked with leading a product innovation team. How can you ensure their success?

One thing I've found very useful is having shared alignment on the outcome - ensure all team members are moving towards the same outcome and are excited about it. We can then debate on the various paths that help us get there, evaluate pitfalls and risks, brainstorm approaches - have open communication of how we get there - but the focus should remain on the outcome. Eventually, it does not matter what approach we take, as long as we all agree it's the one we all believe has the highest probability of getting us where we want to go. And by identifying options early, we can pivot as and when needed.

Establishing trust within your product innovation team is crucial for success. It fosters open communication and collaboration, encourages active participation, and creates a positive environment that enhances performance and camaraderie. To build this trust, be transparent about your objectives, actively listen to your team’s input, and embrace mistakes as valuable learning experiences.

En mi experiencia como líder de marketing en grandes compañías y hoy también como vehículo para el desarrollo y crecimiento de personas y equipos, puedo decir que la #confianza es un punto absolutamente #clave y uno de los #mayoresdesafíos. Y es que tiene todo que ver con la forma en que cada uno se relaciona con la #vulnerabilidad. Generalmente o no lo vemos o no lo queremos ver, porque asusta abrazarla! Entonces, como líderes, podemos promover espacios para el autoconocimiento y poner algunos temas incómodos para llevar al equipo al siguiente nivel. La #confianza no es una mera declaración! Es un llamado a soltar creencias personales y de equipo.

I've learned that creating an environment that fosters creativity, collaboration, and continuous learning, with joint ambition, clear direction and measurable goal will lead to success. Allow the team to fail and learn fast, equip them with tools and resources to explore options and collaborative solutions, and empower them to become agile and diverse. Empowerment fosters sense of purpose, creativity, and ownership to drive the innovation team to succeed.

Practice Empathy Be constantly aware of the needs of the customer you are innovating for. This is hygiene as well as oxygen for any high performing team.

Leading a product innovation team means making sure innovation isn’t siloed—it has to be everyone’s responsibility. Success comes from aligning the team’s efforts with the product vision and business goals, focusing on solving real customer problems. I create space for cross-functional collaboration, empowering teams across the organization to experiment and contribute ideas. The key is fast feedback loops and iterative learning—move quickly, test often, and adjust. When innovation becomes a shared mindset, not just a task for one team, it naturally drives better outcomes.

Take team input but set a clear direction and priorities. Equip the team with the right mindset, tools, skills and resources to execute against the priorities - without burning out. Prioritise hiring for the right attitude over performance record - it will save you in the end. And use science to screen for the right attitude (like psychometric profiles). Set agile execution plans and provide the team with plenty of recognition and protection if needed.

Foster a culture of psychological safety, where team members feel valued and vulnerable. Encourage open communication, active listening, and constructive feedback. Empower decision-making, embrace failures, and celebrate successes. By cultivating trust, you'll unleash creativity, collaboration, and continuous learning, driving innovative breakthroughs and growth.

10 core principles for leading product innovation teams to drive impacftul and sustainable results 1.Cultivate a collaborative culture 2.Prioritize transparent feedback 3.Empower experimentation and learning from failure 4.Set clear objectives but allow flexibility in execution 5.Emphasize cross-functional coordination 6.Focus on collective goals over individual metrics 7. Foster trust at all levels 8. Provide the right tools and resources 9. Balance short-term metrics with long-term impact 10. Celebrate wins and encourage ongoing improvement

Here’s how I see it: trust is at the heart of a successful product innovation team. When people feel trusted, they’re more likely to bring forward bold ideas, and tackle challenges together. Being open about goals, and progress, helps everyone feel accountable and on the same page. When we actively listen to each person’s input, it shows we value different viewpoints, which often sparks creativity. This creates a safe space where team members feel free to experiment and contribute, knowing they won’t be judged. Building this kind of trust makes room for creativity and problem-solving to flourish—something we really need to succeed in product development.

En mi experiencia como líder y movilizador de cambio, abrazar la diversidad en los equipos es fundamental para maximizar el impacto organizacional. En los entornos inclusivos, se potencia la colaboración y se aprovechan las diferentes perspectivas que cada miembro aporta. Esto no solo mejora la creatividad y la innovación, sino que también permite a los equipos abordar problemas complejos desde múltiples ángulos. La diversidad, entendida como una variedad de experiencias y enfoques, puede disminuir los sesgos inconscientes y aumentar la satisfacción laboral, lo que se traduce en un rendimiento superior. Al implementar estrategias que valoren y gestionen esta diversidad se impulsa el éxito colectivo.

Foster a vibrant tapestry of perspectives by actively recruiting diverse talent, experiences, and expertise. Encourage inclusive collaboration, leveraging differences to fuel creative problem-solving. Empower underrepresented voices, and celebrate unique strengths. By embracing diversity, you'll unlock groundbreaking ideas, drive empathy-driven design, and craft solutions that resonate with a global audience.

CONSTRUIR EQUIPO, se convierte en el perfecto aglutinante o hilo conductor,donde a partir de un buen conocimiento de los miembros entre sí,un reconocimiento de su líder como guía y pauta en el camino,trae el terreno fértil dónde CULTIVAR LA CONFIANZA,esta que trae una comunicación abierta y transparente,que asume riesgos tras el sueño de crecimiento y que esta dispuesta (sin señalar) a construir sobre alguno que otro tropiezo. “CONSTRUIR EQUIPO” abre la puerta a la DIVERSIDAD que si lo pensamos bien,es un portal,en pro del ejercicio creativo,que le da la bienvenida al universo que trae el equipaje,de cada una de las personas del equipo,su perspectiva,su cultura,su origen,su experiencia,elementos que serán fundamentales en su aporte.

A product must be able to solve the 'same' problem for DIFFERENT people. Because of that it is extremely important to have diversity in a team during the development of an innovative product. At this way, different points of view, needs and accessibility issues can be addressed in a single product through the experience, contexts and understanding of the team members.

I would talk more about « skills «  you need to your project : I call it « The Dream Team » method: who do you want to enter in your team? Diversity is « natural » and effective if you go through this method.

Define bold, yet achievable goals, aligning your team's passion and purpose. Establish measurable objectives, key results, and key performance indicators (OKRs/KPIs). Ensure transparency, focus, and accountability, with regular progress checks. By setting clear goals, you'll concentrate collective energy, drive momentum, and deliver innovative solutions that impress and inspire.

En el tema de productos y hacerle marketing se debe evaluar y tomar en cuenta en sondeo que se le realiza a clientes y valorar sus respuestas para aplicar

“CONSTRUIR EQUIPO” implica navegar juntos hacia un mismo norte y esto habla de ESTABLECER METAS CLARAS, la cohesión del equipo tras conocer claramente su destino, da la certeza de remar firmes hacia el objetivo, verificando siempre el avance en el camino, procurando no perderse en el horizonte. “CONSTRUIR EQUIPO” trae consigo un compromiso de salud por ejercitar el músculo más grande que sostiene el ejercicio de la Innovación y con esto me refiero a LA CREATIVIDAD, un compromiso que involucra a todos y le da cabida a toda buena práctica (dinámica, lectura, formación, rutina, espacios, técnica, etc.) que le permita mantenerse activa, tonificada y muy bien nutrida.

Leading an innovation team a long time ago, instead of setting goals that could limit creativity I prefered to give unformal directions in order to let the creativity of the team members as open as possible.

Split your outcome in problems to solve, then « translate » this problems by the SMART method, so you can better manage the projet.

Creativity serves as the foundation for innovation to thrive and for innovators to excel! By cultivating an open environment, you empower team members to freely share their ideas. As a leader, you need to foster engaging brainstorming sessions and encourage out-of-the-box thinking that drives creativity and collaboration.

Creativity is amazing and must be fostered. Need to back it up with 2 important elements: 1. Not all innovations are brought over on day 1, adoption takes time. Hence as a leader instill confidence and patience in team to have patience. 2. Creative ideas on product needs to solve for a problem that industry has. No point being super bullish on some idea and finding there are no takers in market. Monitor and Reward the performance on both qualitative and quantative measures. For the above 2 to happen, the product team has to be in the market and near the customer to know the visible and NOT so visible problems faced by the industry.

It is extremely important for an innovation team to have quality time to innovate and create. It is very common for the innovation and product teams to get caught up in daily activities, leaving little time to focus on proposing 'the new.' As an innovation manager, it is crucial to ensure that this time is made available. To achieve this, it is worth following the example of leading companies that allocate time for employees to create and innovate. A well-known example is Google, which allows employees to dedicate 20% of their working time to personal projects. Through this initiative, the company has fostered the development of ideas like Gmail and Google Now.

“CONSTRUIR EQUIPO” ejerciendo el oficio mágico de la Innovación, implícitamente nos exige tener la apertura para adoptar nuevos marcos de trabajo y aquí aparece el AGILE, que si bien surge para ser aplicado en otras disciplinas, hoy comparte sus bondades para abordar los proyectos con una dinámica distinta, flexible, que da la posibilidad de interactuar oportunamente con los clientes en pro del resultado, visibiliza el avance del proyecto, articula constantemente el equipo y le permite conocer muy bien su desempeño.

Open Innovation is a great tool in creativity ; one example I use frequently is « Biomimetisme »: the Mother Nature has invented all the solutions, just look around, look for analogies, for example low energy and recycling are common process in Nature. This develop the interest to look outside the solutions proposed by other fields of application. And second, ask your team to consider they have all the resources, all the power, what would they do to solve the problem?

In our journey we've found that using agile methodologies is a surefire way to ensure our roadmap is tight and our goals are met. By adjusting scaled agile practices to fit our unique needs, we've been able to navigate the challenges of a startup environment beautifully.

Agile has allowed us to stay flexible, respond quickly to changes, and continuously improve our processes. This approach has not only helped us achieve our goals but also fostered a culture of collaboration and innovation.


“CONSTRUIR EQUIPO” finalmente conlleva el ejercicio juicioso y transparente de conocer, reconocer y construir sobre nuestro ejercer y qué mejor manera de hacerlo a través del poder revelador de la RETROALIMENTACIÓN, que nos trae abiertamente el blanco y negro, potenciador del reconocimiento, de la celebración, de la reflexión y por qué no del cambio, si este es necesario, pues a la final todo se verá traducido en algo maravilloso para todos en el equipo, que se llama ÉXITO.

Regularly gather feedback from stakeholders, customers, and team members. Use it to refine product ideas, pivot when necessary, and ensure the team is aligned with market needs.

Una experiencia clave me enseñó que la retroalimentación no solo mejora los productos, sino que fortalece equipos y relaciones. Escuchar a clientes y partes interesadas nos permitió ajustar nuestro rumbo y crear algo que realmente resolvía sus necesidades. Pero lo más importante es entender que la retroalimentación no es un desafío, sino una oportunidad. Cada comentario, incluso el más crítico, es una guía para crecer y mejorar. Cuando valoramos estas voces y actuamos en consecuencia, no solo entregamos mejores resultados, sino que también demostramos un compromiso genuino con quienes confiaron en nosotros. Esa es la verdadera clave del éxito