In 2020, I moved from being an innovation consultant to:
leading open innovation project in response to the pandemic
focusing on 1:1 coaching and coaching supervision
upāing my game as a writer
By Christmas, it was no surprise (to me) that I had tuned out to an annual competition that has always been good for my innovation practice: Braden Kelleyās nominations for Top Innovation Bloggers.
Howeverā¦.My place on the list matters because:
Women are under-represented.
Ever-green writing is good for our professionalism.
I take risks in my writing about innovation; and (believe it or not) innovation people arenāt always in healthy relationships with their own risk appetites.
I donāt write listicle posts.
I donāt pump a yearās worth of blogs into the system that drip-drip-drips them to readers. I only publish when I have something to say. (And sometimes I publish when what I have to say is still only part crystallised. In other words, as writer, I allow you to read over my shoulder.)
The global publisher that ghosted me in April 2020 (when I thought five months of work on a rapidly progressing, highly promising pitch) may well return; and Iād like to be the same candidate author I was pre-pandemic.
I realised this once Iād digested that I was nominated. A post by Dr Orin Davis (co-author of Team Flow (Springer 2019) voting for me woke me up to the reality that I care about being visible on this list.
So when I ask you to help me, Iām asking you to contribute to something that matters to me, professionally and personally.
Earning your support
In 2020 I published:
a distillation of team flow research by Dr Orin Davis and co-author Jef van den Hout, for Management Today readers
a project website (showcasing the open innovation work thatās underway: it combines technical innovation, product innovation and business model innovationā¦and we found a way to parallel track R&D and D&D (Design & Development) which shaved 6 months at least off our timelines. You wonāt read about that on the website because our core audiences donāt care. What you will find on the website are illustrations created by an immensely talented 11-year-old named Nellie G who says in our forthcoming press release: āI designed the step-by-step instructions for CareSleeves. I think itās a great invention. With CareSleeves, you have something you can use multiple timesā. Nellieās drawings appear alongside the garment sketches for Series 2 by the then-furloughed Costume Supervisor of a leading national opera company.
a bare-fisted description of a leadership decision I took to protect the leeway & headroom of the CareSleeves #innovation project I lead which was forming in my mind but hadnāt yet happened when I delivered this popular webinar āatā the Disruptive Innovation Hub in Toronto in July 2020. The webinar showcases our project and my leadership ethos.
and not content with essays, Iāve also started using poetry (or poem-ing) to get at matters that matter when it comes to creativity and change. Hereās the first. After writing it for myself, I found it useful in two different peer learning sets. Poetry, as David Whyte shows, is an organisational and community intervention.
My second poem āBone Dustā is about exhaustion and renewal which form part of an innovatorās ongoing dance. This one is an audio post, so you can hear my voice (inexpertly recorded).
Sidebar: I will always share my work when itās good enough, because for women and under-represented people, weāre too inclined to wait for perfect. Perfect is the enemy of published. If this pisses you off or scares you, and you work in innovation and workplace creativity, I think youāve just received a signal that thereās some worthwhile inner work to do.
How about the back-catalogue?
This forensic essay on culture acuity (2019) responded to the change in Nike senior leadership while also making ever-green points about the capacity in corporations to scan and shape culture through their innovation process. Itās one that needs constant cultivation.
This short post published on the original Innovation Excellence platform that Braden co-founded raised discomfort back in 2015 (when our popular discourse about growth mindsets and stretch zones wasnāt yet so well-engrained). Workplace hasnāt gotten any easier in the years since.
And from 2014, this, my all-time favourite: about how hidden criteria stifle creativity and reproduce bias in organisations. I still recall hearing from an executive coach after a client session where sheād recommended the article. The clientās tears were a relief from the inner pressure building up with nowhere to go.
And that, after all, is the purpose of good, brave writing. To help people recognise themselves, the ground the stand on, what they disbelieve or believe; all so that people can commit to work and live in ways that serve their aspirations in congruence with their values.
Receiving your help
Itās simple, really. Before 7 Jan 12midnight GMT, please vote for me.
If you tweet, send a Tweet to @innovate letting Braden Kelly know you vote for me, @kate_hammer.
If youāre on Facebook, find the Top 40 Voting post (4 Jan 2021) on Bradenās page and type my name in the comments on the post.
If youāre on LinkedIn, find the Top 40 Voting post here and type my name in the comments on the post.
Screenshot from the Top 40 Innovation Bloggers original post:
If something youāve read has stirred you, Iāve made my 1:1 coaching affordable. You can book time with me here, and the scheduler handles payment by credit card so itās all very smooth. (If access is a barrier, let me know here and Iāll be in touch with options on start dates. The google form is called: "I seek accessible, affordable high-calibre 1:1 coaching".)
If something youāve read has moved you, my tip jar is here. Your contributions keep me connecting dots, connecting with people and creating bridges, paths and possibilities.
None of the writing I list has been paid. Nor has the CareSleeves leadership work. Working with me on a paid basis and tipping me are the ways to contribute to my livelihood.
Accepting my thanks
Thank you. For reading this far. For helping me stay on the list. For supporting my livelihood.
2020 was an unprecedented year. 2021 may be differently the same. Iāll be here, telling the truth as it comes to me.
Yours warmly,