I recently read that according to an IBM study of more than 1,500 CEO’s creativity is the single most important leadership competency for enterprises facing the complexity of global commerce for today. And I read that an Adobe Systems poll of 5,000 people see unlocking creative potential as the key to economic growth.

Innovation is the requirement for success. But if creativity is so vital to leadership competency, global commerce, and economic growth why is it never talked about or taught in most organizations? Why are companies not fostering an innovative model for their employees? One would think that if innovation is the key to the future we would want to develop it at ALL cost. Yet, when was the last time you saw a budget line for innovation development?

Here are 3 roadblocks that kill innovation in organizations…

1) Ignorance

You can only improve what you are aware of. Most organizations do not understand the need or the how to develop innovation in their company. We are so focused on the immediate emergencies that we can’t see past today, let alone tomorrow, or three years down the road. Leaders do not put value in things they see no value in. The best way to combat this limiting factor is to expose your organization to innovation by talking about it, modeling it, studying it, presenting ideas for it, and bringing in experts to teach it.

2) Short-Sightedness

Many people do not see the value of innovation because the pay-off is not always immediate. After all innovation is a result of intense brainstorming and thinking. Most organizations do not want people sitting in meetings thinking and brainstorming (unless you are a successful, growing, and innovative company). The old-school way of thinking is always about bottom-line busy work not creative think-tanks. That way of thinking will always be stuck in the WORK HARDER not smarter mind-set.

3) Fear

Innovation opens the door to trial and error, which can quickly cause fear of failure to set in. The moment organizations are more concerned about failing than innovating is the moment they stop moving forward. Many organizations are living out of their memories rather than their imagination. They only see what they’ve always done, not what they’ve never done. Fear can stifle the creative process in people’s work environment. When fear sets in it weighs people down in laziness.

My challenge to all of us is to overcome these traps that hinder innovation development. If you want to get better you have to invest in the things that make you better. I encourage everyone reading this to pay the PRICE it takes to develop your innovation. Hire a coach, read resources like you are now, and network with people who are innovators! Remember you are only one idea away from a major breakthrough.