Insights from the innovation leadership graduate program at UFred

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TLDR

In this episode, I’m interviewing Dr. Michael Hobeck, Provost and Vice President of Academics at the University of Fredericton (UFred), about building innovation leadership in organizations. We discuss the specialized Innovation Leadership MBA/EMBA program at UFred, key skills and mindsets for innovation leaders, and how the right curriculum and approach can develop confidence and practical capability in aspiring innovation leaders.

Introduction

In this discussion, we are extending beyond product management and into innovation leadership—specifically, what it takes to create, improve, and lead an innovation capability in an organization. Effective innovation leadership helps to chart the course of an organization. It is an exciting role and I’ve had the pleasure of helping many people prepare for this role and I’ll share what it takes, both through my experiences as product management trainer and university professor in innovation.

I’m joined by Dr. Michael Hobeck, the Provost and Vice President of Academics at the University of Fredericton. He also served as Dean of Academics before stepping into the role of Provost. Before his tenure in academia, Michael held senior management positions with large retailers and gained first-hand entrepreneurial experience as a small business owner.

Summary of Concepts Discussed for Product Managers

Innovation Leadership Curriculum at UFred:
Michael and I recreated the innovation leadership graduate program at UFred. This program addresses gaps in corporate innovation such as senior leaders’ lack of foundational knowledge of innovation, confidence, and ability to influence the organization.

What Makes a Great Innovation Leader?
Innovation leadership requires more than traditional management skills. Innovators embrace uncertainty, learn from failure, and see value in new ideas. They foster organizational culture and exercise influence to support innovation.

Building Confidence and Practical Skills:
UFred’s innovation leadership program is unique in that it is fully integrated and was developed by practitioners with close ties to industry. The program includes three courses focused on innovation. The first course focuses on how to innovate and teaches the process of innovation. The second course focuses on building a structure for innovation that extends to every part of the organization. The third course focuses on how to grow the organization by generating more value from existing operations while also exploring new ideas.

Students’ Takeaways:
We introduce a tool called the idea notebook, where innovators can record their ideas. Periodically, former students email me and tell me what they’re writing in their idea notebook. I also see students develop confidence that they can innovate and influence their organizations. It’s easy to see the ability to innovate as an unattainable superpower, but it’s actually a process that can be learned.

Falling in Love with the Problem:
One concept that I want future innovation leaders to remember is to fall in love with the customer’s problem, not your solution. It’s human nature to leap straight to solutions when we hear about a problem, but this risks missing what the customer truly needs. When product managers are too attached to their solution, they lose track of what the customer actually cares about. Instead, they should focus on understanding the customers’ needs and creating value for them.

Useful Link

• Learn more about UFred

Innovation Quote

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” – Thomas A. Edison

Application Questions

1. Which core skills do you think are essential for effective innovation leadership in your organization?
2. How can you build your own and your team’s confidence to take on innovation challenges?
3. What structures or processes does your organization have to capture and foster new ideas from all levels?
4. Reflecting on your recent projects, did you “fall in love” with the customer problem, or jump too quickly to solutions? What was the impact?
5. What practices do you use or could you introduce to consistently integrate current business trends into your product management and innovation work?

Bio

Dr. Michael Andrew Hobeck is the Vice President of Academics & Provost at the University of Fredericton, where he leads academic quality and rigor, student success, and new program development to support strategic growth.  Previously, he served as Dean of Academics at UFred, where he helped launch new degrees and specializations, strengthened faculty review and teaching recognition practices, led ACBSP accreditation for the MBA and Executive MBA, and spearheaded UFred’s first virtual convocation.  

Before UFred, Michael held senior academic leadership roles at Seneca College and Nova Scotia Community College, as well as extensive teaching experience in business and leadership disciplines.  

He holds a DBA specializing in Organizational Leadership (with distinction) and an MBA in Innovation Leadership, and has published on engaging adjunct faculty as partners in student success. 

Thanks!

Thank you for taking the journey to product mastery and learning with me from the successes and failures of product innovators, managers, and developers. If you enjoyed the discussion, help out a fellow product manager by sharing it using the social media buttons you see below.

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