Session: Leadership for Innovation with Social Impact (Society for Social Work and Research 20th Annual Conference - Grand Challenges for Social Work: Setting a Research Agenda for the Future)

Connection to the conference theme: The grand challenges for the social work profession are an ambitious statement for the profession that requires innovative thinking and strong leadership.  Future research will need to focus on understanding leadership for innovation, particularly what it means in the context of the social work profession and how it could create a positive societal impact. In particular, future research will need to explore what innovation is and what innovation means for human service organizations and for the social work profession.  Understanding how leadership can foster and generate innovation for positive social impact in the human service context, has the potential for setting a research agenda to support the grand challenges moving forward. Drawing on theory and previous research on leadership and innovation, the proposed symposium will examine different aspects of leadership in human service organizations that can promote innovation.

The first paper provides a theoretical foundation for the symposium by examining the connection between leadership, inclusion, and innovation, particularly in diverse workforces. As human service organizations strive to increase workforce diversity to match the clientele they serve, it becomes crucial that organizational leaders understand how to channel diversity into positive outcomes that foster creativity and innovation. Ultimately, this paper outlines one of the greatest challenges facing the social work profession: Creating a space for social work professionals to generate innovative approaches for solving society’s ills and supporting those innovations with evidence-based research. 

 The second paper qualitatively examines leadership for innovation in the context of the board of directors in nonprofit organizations. This qualitative paper seeks to understand the process by which the board of directors influence organizational innovation. The paper provides the development of an integrative model of Board Governance for Innovation and preliminary empirical evidence for the model from nonprofit organizations in developing countries. Results provide support for the role of board of directors in the process of innovation, and highlights the importance of board attribute and process variables.

 The third paper empirically examines leadership and innovation climate among child welfare providers, documenting a connection between providers’ level of agreement on team leadership and the level of team innovation. Results suggests the need for stable and consistent perceptions of leadership in order to foster an innovative climate in human service organizations.

 Grouped together, these presentations provide theoretical, qualitative, and empirical support that highlight the central role of leadership for innovation, provide examples of what innovation means in human services organizations, and ultimately the social impact of leadership and innovation. Presenters will draw practical suggestion for leadership and innovation development in social work through education, training, policies, and practices.