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Why can’t we all be sparkly? Innovation as a Process vs. a Thing
Dana Huber, Generative Fellowship alum
(This story originally appeared on the CoreAlign blog, Feb. 10, 2015)
(This story originally appeared on the CoreAlign blog, Feb. 10, 2015)
Before my CoreAlign journey, I often thought about innovation as a buzzword: just a synonym for “shiny and new.” Within the movement, I’ve seen us try to elbow past each other to claim that our work is new and innovative – that what we are doing as an individual or organization is completely unique. To preserve the most sparkly ideas, often under the pressure of fundraising, we put walls up to protect what we see as our greatest innovations.
However, from my experience as a Generative Fellow, I learned that innovation is a process that gets us to the answers that improve lives. An innovation is the back and forth, the trial and error required to get to a solution that works, rather than just something we want to claim is new and different. Innovation requires input, collaboration, and sharing to make ideas stronger and more applicable to all. By holding onto our need to be unique, we aren’t working in service of anyone else.
I quickly learned this through my experience as a Generative Fellow. After the first retreat, I was in awe of what I learned, who I met, and the new ideas that were zooming through my head. This motivation drove me to dig into my project through the design process we had learned – I began to conduct informational interviews and gather data – but underneath, I think I was just trying to validate what I thought of as my amazing project idea.
Soon after, my “personal disaster” struck. I was on the phone with a leader in field, talking about postpartum care and resources for folks interested in information about sexual health. She shared some resources with me – basically the same thing that I had envisioned as my project. To see something there on the screen – the thing you had wanted to do – is quite stunning. As an innovator, there is some pressure to be the first, the boldest, the most unique. And that was not me.
So I decided to ignore my project. I felt stuck – an image of mud puddles kept coming to mind. I was unable to move forward. And that was my fault because I wasn’t unique. Or sparkly.
In the meantime, I went to a seminar about how to have a successful hospital birth. During the Q&A, two women asked about VBAC – vaginal birth after caesarian. Their stories hit me hard. One woman was dropped from her doctor’s care at 36 weeks because she wanted to attempt natural labor; she felt had no choices in her care at the hospital. When she asked questions, she faced hostility from personnel. She wished she had had the tools earlier to ask the right questions of her provider so that they could be on the same page much earlier in her pregnancy. I found that this issue of respectful care needed much more attention.
From my CoreAlign experience, I learned what innovation means to me – the process of collaboration to learn and share new perspectives. In turning my attention to this new project of respectful care, I knew that there were others working on these issues – and that was okay. And I learned that even if other people – fantastic people – are working on a similar issue, I can too. I have a unique perspective on things and I can work with others to collaborate around a similar vision to change our fractured maternity care system. I can learn from their experiences, they can learn from me, and we can all move forward together.
Being ashamed and upset that someone else has done something before us is natural – especially in a world where innovation is prized: by funders, by the media, by ourselves. But when we say innovation, what do we really mean? Innovation is the okay that you don’t have to get it right the first time. It’s the go-back-to-the-drawing board to try and try again. It’s the getting out of your head and reaching out to learn, rather than just shutting off. It’s the being sparkly, not alone, but together.
Dana Huber works at the crossroads of public health and social change with a focus on improving maternity care.
However, from my experience as a Generative Fellow, I learned that innovation is a process that gets us to the answers that improve lives. An innovation is the back and forth, the trial and error required to get to a solution that works, rather than just something we want to claim is new and different. Innovation requires input, collaboration, and sharing to make ideas stronger and more applicable to all. By holding onto our need to be unique, we aren’t working in service of anyone else.
I quickly learned this through my experience as a Generative Fellow. After the first retreat, I was in awe of what I learned, who I met, and the new ideas that were zooming through my head. This motivation drove me to dig into my project through the design process we had learned – I began to conduct informational interviews and gather data – but underneath, I think I was just trying to validate what I thought of as my amazing project idea.
Soon after, my “personal disaster” struck. I was on the phone with a leader in field, talking about postpartum care and resources for folks interested in information about sexual health. She shared some resources with me – basically the same thing that I had envisioned as my project. To see something there on the screen – the thing you had wanted to do – is quite stunning. As an innovator, there is some pressure to be the first, the boldest, the most unique. And that was not me.
So I decided to ignore my project. I felt stuck – an image of mud puddles kept coming to mind. I was unable to move forward. And that was my fault because I wasn’t unique. Or sparkly.
In the meantime, I went to a seminar about how to have a successful hospital birth. During the Q&A, two women asked about VBAC – vaginal birth after caesarian. Their stories hit me hard. One woman was dropped from her doctor’s care at 36 weeks because she wanted to attempt natural labor; she felt had no choices in her care at the hospital. When she asked questions, she faced hostility from personnel. She wished she had had the tools earlier to ask the right questions of her provider so that they could be on the same page much earlier in her pregnancy. I found that this issue of respectful care needed much more attention.
From my CoreAlign experience, I learned what innovation means to me – the process of collaboration to learn and share new perspectives. In turning my attention to this new project of respectful care, I knew that there were others working on these issues – and that was okay. And I learned that even if other people – fantastic people – are working on a similar issue, I can too. I have a unique perspective on things and I can work with others to collaborate around a similar vision to change our fractured maternity care system. I can learn from their experiences, they can learn from me, and we can all move forward together.
Being ashamed and upset that someone else has done something before us is natural – especially in a world where innovation is prized: by funders, by the media, by ourselves. But when we say innovation, what do we really mean? Innovation is the okay that you don’t have to get it right the first time. It’s the go-back-to-the-drawing board to try and try again. It’s the getting out of your head and reaching out to learn, rather than just shutting off. It’s the being sparkly, not alone, but together.
Dana Huber works at the crossroads of public health and social change with a focus on improving maternity care.
