The gist: Recent trends in Learning & Development (L&D) training have illustrated how leaders are building and driving cultures of innovation for their businesses with L&D. Conversations with practicing training professionals illustrate some simple but effective leadership and L&D strategies to lead the charge towards innovation.

Innovation is an omnipresent reality of operating a business, (or even just having a job) in today’s fiercely competitive and rapidly globalizing business market. On a daily basis, other businesses, employees, and competitors are constantly coming up with new ideas that seem to strip yesterday’s innovation of all its greatness.

In your capacity as a leader, driving a culture of innovation may seem like a nearly impossible task. The swift, ruthless and global nature of business is an overwhelming challenge to overcome at first glance, but accepting that facing worldwide competition is the new normal is an effective first step to stop vying for, and start maximizing your business’ competitive edge.

Recent research from a 2019 L&D Report indicates that organizations and leaders across industries are taking advantage of the many benefits of L&D training to drive cultures of innovation forward for their businesses with simple yet effective training strategies.

Using L&D training to create safe spaces for ideation, embrace diversity, and implement agile training are all straightforward tactics that you can employ in order to manage your team towards a culture of innovation and maintain your competitive advantage over the long term.