Innovation at Work Starts with Mindset, Not Management

Why It Matters

Many organisations invest heavily in leadership training and “safe” workplace cultures to spark innovation. New research suggests they may be overlooking the most powerful driver: employees’ own mindset.

Key Takeaways

• Employees with a strong learning mindset are far more likely to generate, promote and implement new ideas.
• Leadership effectiveness and psychological safety matter less than expected when mindset is taken into account.
• Organisations seeking innovation should focus on developing how employees approach learning and challenge.
  

Innovation Is More Than Bright Ideas

Innovation is not just about having clever ideas. In the workplace, it is a three-stage process: coming up with new ideas, persuading others to support them, and turning those ideas into reality. Together, these behaviours help organisations adapt, grow and stay competitive.

Because of this, researchers have spent years trying to understand what drives employees to behave innovatively. Past studies have pointed to many possible factors, from supportive leaders and open cultures to personal motivation. However, most research has examined these influences in isolation, making it difficult to know which ones really matter most in practice.

This study set out to answer a practical question that organisations increasingly face: if resources are limited, where should leaders focus their efforts to get more innovation from their people?

Putting Three Popular Explanations to the Test

The researchers examined three widely accepted drivers of employee innovation, each representing a different level of influence.

The first was goal orientation, or how individuals approach challenges at work. Some employees adopt a learning goal orientation: they focus on developing skills, mastering tasks and learning from mistakes. Others focus on proving their competence or avoiding failure.

The second factor was leadership effectiveness. Previous studies suggest effective leaders encourage risk-taking, provide direction and motivate employees to go beyond their formal job roles.

The third was psychological safety: the shared belief that it is safe to speak up, make mistakes and challenge the status quo without fear of punishment.

Rather than studying these factors separately, the researchers tested them together in the same model, allowing them to compare their relative importance. They analysed matched data from supervisors and employees across a wide range of industries in the United States.

Learning-Focused Employees Stand Out

The results were striking. When all three factors were analysed together, only one consistently predicted innovative behaviour across all stages: learning goal orientation.

Employees who were motivated by learning were significantly more likely to generate new ideas, rally support for them, and follow through on implementation. In contrast, leadership effectiveness and psychological safety showed no meaningful relationship with innovation once employee mindset was taken into account.

In simple terms, employees who see challenges as opportunities to learn are more willing to take risks, persist through setbacks and collaborate with others. Innovation often involves uncertainty and the possibility of failure, and learning-oriented employees appear better equipped to cope with that reality.

The findings challenge a common assumption in management thinking – that innovation mainly depends on leaders creating the right environment. While leadership and culture still matter, this research suggests they may not be enough on their own.

Rethinking How Organisations Foster Innovation

The study points to a shift in how organisations should think about innovation. Rather than focusing primarily on external conditions, such as leadership style or workplace climate, organisations may achieve more by developing employees’ internal motivation to learn.

Importantly, a learning goal orientation is not fixed. Previous research shows it can be developed through deliberate interventions, such as reflective practices, storytelling, coaching, and training that encourages experimentation rather than performance comparison.

This does not mean leaders and culture are irrelevant. Instead, it suggests their role may be to support the development of learning-focused employees, rather than being seen as the main drivers of innovation themselves.

Business Implications

For leaders and organisations, the message is clear: if you want more innovation, start with mindset.

Recruitment, performance management and development programmes should place greater emphasis on learning behaviours, such as curiosity, openness to feedback and persistence, rather than solely on outcomes or rankings. Training initiatives should help employees reframe challenges as opportunities to grow, not threats to their reputation.

At a time when organisations face constant disruption, cultivating a workforce that values learning may be one of the most effective – and overlooked – ways to drive innovation from within.

Authors & Sources

Authors: Ryan K. Gottfredson (California State University), Tanja R. Darden (Towson University), Kumaran Rajaram (Nanyang Technological University)

Original article: Journal of General Management (2025)

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