ABSTRACT
The biggest symptom of a failed innovation capability is a failure to make the bet to win. Single loop learning can be a rigorous discipline, seeking root causes for deviations and addressing them rather than simply resolving the specific instance of a problem. A key to ambidextrous leadership is the ability to discuss conflicts that are created when a company tries to innovate. According to Tushman, team-centric ambidextrous leadership is more difficult to create and sustain. Michael Tushman has studied executive leadership teams and what makes some more effective than others in driving innovation. A starting point for ambidextrous leadership is simply to acknowledge the differences between managing the core business and managing an emerging business. The fundamental idea of ambidextrous leadership—which has been around in the innovation field for a while—is that companies need to develop dynamic capabilities at the business unit level and at the corporate level to play two games at once.
