Maintaining the Excitement

“You can’t go to him/her (who has made the mistake) that ‘oh, you blew this up’, rather you should encourage him like ‘this seems really interesting, I wonder how we could solve this!’ ”

On the other hand, setbacks were seen as the ones that reward the developers most. It was noted that the people tending to drift towards product development usually like challenges and solving different kinds of problems. Project leader of large Company B mentioned that:

“Setbacks are the reasons why some projects are remembered. Once you solve those problems, they give the best feelings!”

Project leaders agreed showing commitment to the project by being present and giving their time to team members. In addition, they show interest to the project by enquiring how team members are doing with their tasks and taking part in solving problems as was noted above. This function is not valid only during the development phase but also during the front end.

Staying Optimistic

Humour was seen a helpful element to keep the atmosphere less serious during challenging times. In addition, “announcing small victories” as the upper manager of Company A mentioned, was said to be important to show that progress is being done.

Optimism has been recognized to be important during setbacks also in earlier studies.

Waldman and Bass (1991) emphasize that optimism and encouragement needs to be provided to the group in order to persist in their effort even when facing difficulties.

Especially in cases where the timetable doesn’t keep and there are technical or other problems, frustration occurs5and once the team gets really frustrated, it is very difficult

to get the good feeling back again. Although the project will be completed sooner or later, the work is not meaningful anymore.” (upper manager, company A)

When acquiring the respondents how they see the excitement could be maintained during the process, it was noted to be very challenging. Furthermore, it was difficult for leaders to name methods for maintaining the excitement. However, all of them mentioned that how the project is received in the in the organization has a huge effect on the atmosphere of the project team. As the project leader of large Company A commented:

“If the new product doesn’t have much value to the company you wouldn’t say it’s motivating to work with that development project.”

The notions above are in accordance with the study of Katz (2004). He argues that most professionals have motivational problems when assigned tasks appear to have only little significance. Furthermore he notes that professionals are most motivated when working on projects that are considered important.

It was mentioned during the interviews that if the product has a strong “suction” in the organization and there is a feeling that the product is very important to the company, it is easier to maintain the excitement and passion during the whole process. As other interviewees of large companies, the project leader of Company B mentioned it to be easier to work in a bigger project, since they are prioritized high and it is much easier to have the resources needed.

“It is much easier to have a bigger project since everybody is interested about it and you have all the support you need.” (project leader, company B)

Also in the literature, organizations support has identified to be necessary for the success product innovation process (see e.g. Cooper 1993, Kim & Wilemon 2002b).

According to Cooper (1993) management should empower the NPD project teams and make the necessary resources available.

Reminding the Meaning of the Project

As noted earlier, at the beginning of the project it is important for project leader to clarify the meaning of the product for the firm to the team members (Valle & Avella,

2003). However, the upper manager 1 of Company B emphasized the importance of reminding the meaning of the work being done along the process, especially during the phases that might be frustrating. He noted:

“It is important to point out and remind about the reason the product in question is being developed. For example, it’s not just a technical device they are developing but

they are making the everyday of the end-user easier and more pleasurable.”

Keller (1992) has also noted communicating the purpose and importance of ones work to be essential function of a leader. Also Conger and Kanungo (1987) proposed that reminding the team about the vision of the project is of great importance in face of setbacks.

Reducing Routine Works

Furthermore, the interviewees of large Company A, mentioned that reducing routine works to be done during the development phase might help to reduce the feeling of frustration. In the case of large Company A the routine work is trying to be reduced by renewing the software. An upper manager of the Company A also mentioned that it would be good if the routine work could be delegated to people who like doing that kind of work. The freedom to pursue tasks of greatest interest to the employee has been noted to be one of the most important motivators in R&D work (James, 2002).

“--- that we could reduce the routine work --- that people who are interested in routine work could it.” (upper manager, company A)

Furthermore, the upper manager of Company A commented that it would be good if employees could do what they like the best. He further argued this to be important also in maintaining the interest during the end of development phase where the amount of routine work increases. The freedom to pursue tasks of greatest interest to the employee has been noted to be one of the most important motivators in R&D work also in earlier studies (see e.g. Amabile 1996).

Table 11 summarizes the findings regarding the leadership functions during the front end of innovation. As Table 10, Table 11 shows which functions were mentioned to be important in each of the companies interviewed during the development phase. Again, in cases where there is no mark in the column of a certain company, it does not necessarily mean that these functions would not be seen as important in the company

in question. However, it means that the functions in question were not pointed out during the interviews.

Table 11 Findings about Leadership Functions during Development Phase

Leadership Functions

in the Development Phase

Large Company A Large Company B Small Company C

Creating an

understanding of the scope and the goals of the project

X X

Breaking down the project in concrete tasks

X X

Setting goals to

different functions X X

Planning the timetable X

Committing team members to the

common goal X X

Showing direction to

the team X X X

Controlling the work of

different functions X X X

Recognizing the critical parts of the project and putting more emphasis on them

X

Collaborating with different functions and

groups X X X

Monitoring the proceeding of the project

(are we on budget?

are we on timetable?)

X X X

Providing professional

support X X

Maintaining the atmosphere relaxed an open

X X X

Announcing small

victories X

Informing the achievements of the project

X

Communicating the reasons of possible setbacks

X

Taking part in solving

the possible problems X X

Clearly

communicating and rationalizing the decisions made

X X

Informing about bad news with alternative solutions

X

Reminding the meaning of the teams work / project

X

Giving recognition of

good work done X X X

Follow-up the proceeding of the project

X X X

Showing commitment to the project (by being present)

X X X

As table 11 depicts, several common leadership functions during the development phase were found between the interviewees. Unlike during the front end, during the development phase it was seen of importance that the project leader shows the direction to the team. That is, project leader takes more control during the development phase, whereas during the front end it was more important for project leader to “throw the ball in the air”. Furthermore, during the development phase it is necessary to monitor whether the project is on budget and on timetable. The results show also, that project leader have an important role in collaborating with different functions and groups. Since there usually are several setbacks during the development process, maintaining the atmosphere relaxed and open and giving recognition of good work done are essential.