The relationship between personal mastery and innovation.

Abstract

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate the nature of the relationship between personal mastery and innovation amongst employees in South African organisations. The literature has indicated that there is a correlation between the two concepts. It is incumbent on individuals to take primary accountability for developing their own levels of mastery, and, if organisations wish to leverage this mastery in pursuit of innovations, there are a number of elements that need to be in place. These include communication, collaboration, teamwork, knowledge sharing and rewards. The study employed a concurrent mixed methods design in which 16 purposively selected senior managers and associates from innovative organisations were interviewed to establish their sense of personal mastery and their innovativeness. For the quantitative phase of the research, an inter-battery factor analysis was carried out via a Likert scale questionnaire emailed to approximately 200 people in the innovation network of the author, from which 100 usable responses were obtained. The questionnaire sought responses to statements about the innovation-fostering aspects of the respondents’ organisations as well as their own behaviours regarding the personal mastery construct. A two-factor solution resulted from the analysis; the axes being labelled frustration (at the individual level) and organisational support (an innovative culture) respectively. From the two factors, four distinct clusters were evident. These were labelled Deadalus (after the Greek god of innovation), found in the quadrant with high levels of organisational support and individual freedom to develop personal mastery to innovate; Sisyphus was in the sector with low organisational support and high frustration levels for individuals wanting to express their own mastery; Trojan was found to have high frustration in environments of varying levels of support, suggesting low levels of personal mastery and variable levels of innovation; and finally Apathethea was placed centrally on the axes, suggesting a level of apathy with regard to both innovation and personal mastery. Organisational support opens doors for innovation to take place, and provides opportunities for employees to develop personal mastery; and the two constructs are potentially self-reinforcing, either positively or negatively.