The Motor of Innovation: Applying the Learnings from a Networked Improvement Community (NIC) to a Software as a Service (SaaS) Organization's Thought Leadership Strategy

Abstract

“GlobalWorksTech” is a business-to-business software as a service (SaaS) technology company whose mission is to support learning through its various educational platforms. The organization currently lacks a clearly defined, organization-wide vision and operational definition for “thought leadership” (TL). This lack of vision and definition is resulting in fragmented understandings and inconsistent executions of TL activities across departments and divisions. Thought leadership as a motor for innovation remains underutilized. This quality improvement project engaged senior, divisional leaders in a networked improvement community in service of answering the following questions: Q1: How do stakeholders characterize the nature and/or quality of thought leadership? Q2: In what ways, if any, does user feedback inform the organization’s structure or actions of its thought leadership design and practices? Using our conceptual framework from our literature review on the construct of thought leadership, organizational improvement, and equity in thought leadership, we deductively coded then thematically analyzed our findings based on the theoretical lenses of organizational behavior and organizational design. After coding and analyzing session recordings in addition to survey responses and 1:1 interviews, we found the following: Finding 1 (PQ1): GlobalWorksTech Steering Committee members mainly characterize TL in terms of the individual functions of thought leaders within the organization. Finding 2 (PQ1): GlobalWorksTech Steering Committee members frequently connected micro-level operations of TL to macro-level implications. Finding 3 (PQ1): GlobalWorksTech Steering Committee Members construct and communicate understandings of TL through symbolic and structural organizational behavioral framing. Finding 4 (PQ1): Although GlobalWorksTech’s Steering Committee members showcase their understanding of TL through symbolic and structural organizational behavioral frames, the lack of a clear organizational design of TL in its current state creates tension in an otherwise highly bureaucratic environment. Finding 5 (PQ2): GlobalWorksTech Steering Committee members hold various perceptions of who “users” of TL are. Finding 6 (PQ2): External and internal stakeholders influence TL activities. Finding 7 (PQ2): User feedback-informed TL varies across divisions. Taken together, the findings highlight a critical gap between how thought leadership is enacted and how it is structurally supported at GlobalWorksTech. Therefore, we recommend that the organization establish a vision, norms, and definition explicitly for thought leadership, continue the networked improvement community, create additional spaces in which thought leaders can come together across the organization, and task the networked improvement community with developing and managing a “Thought Leadership Portfolio.”