How to become a Top 1% Innovator in Your Organization: Why It Matters and How to Get There

Innovation is often seen as a company-wide initiative, but what if you could become the top 1% innovator within your organization?

Imagine the career boost and recognition that comes with being known as the go-to person for driving meaningful change. That’s the opportunity here. Being a top 1% innovator isn’t just about coming up with good ideas—it’s about bringing those ideas to life and making a real impact.

But what does that look like in practice? And how do you get there? In this article, I’ll break down exactly why being a top 1% innovator is worth it for you and outline a practical roadmap to help you achieve it.

Why Being a Top 1% Innovator Matters

We know why innovation is important to organizations, but why should it matter to you? Here are some key reasons:

1. Earn More: Top innovators often see higher pay, bonuses, and other financial incentives because they create tangible value. According to McKinsey, companies that prioritize innovation outperform their competitors, delivering new products, entering new markets, and establishing new revenue streams, leading to higher rewards for those driving successful innovation ​(BCG Global).
2. Engage in Exciting Projects: Innovation-ready leaders are more likely to be trusted with high-impact projects and new ventures, which are often more exciting and engaging than standard operational work​ (BCG Global).
3. Build Key Relationships: When you drive successful innovation, you gain visibility and build relationships with senior leaders and decision-makers, which can open doors to new roles and career advancement ​(Stanford Graduate School of Business).
4. Advance Your Career: Top innovators tend to advance into leadership roles or strategic positions because they demonstrate the ability to drive business impact and navigate complex challenges​ (BCG).

How to Become a Top 1% Innovator: Practical Steps You Can Start Right Now

Here’s a practical roadmap to help you stand out and become the go-to person for innovation in your organization:

1. Deliver Innovation Impact

It’s not just about having a lot of ideas—the key is delivering results that matter. You need to demonstrate that your innovations lead to tangible outcomes like revenue growth, cost savings, or improved efficiency.

Take Action: Establish a baseline (the “before”) and define KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to measure success. Tracking impact upfront is much easier than trying to do it retrospectively. Use metrics that resonate with your stakeholders, such as net new revenue or process efficiency.

2. Use Proven Innovation Methods to Drive Consistency

To be a top 1% innovator, you need to deliver impact consistently—not just once or twice. Using proven innovation methods like Design Thinking, Agile, and Lean provides you with a clear, step-by-step process to solve complex problems. Frameworks like Design Sprints, for instance, can help you align stakeholders, generate strong solutions, test, iterate, and validate ideas.

Take Action: Pick one innovation method that fits your current environment—like Design Sprints for rapid prototyping or Agile for iterative development. Learn the ins and outs of that method and start applying it to your projects. Using structured methods will help you reduce uncertainty and make it easier to handle complex projects.

3. Champion Innovation and Inspire Others

Being a top innovator means you don’t just focus on your own projects—you help others innovate, too. Championing innovation could look like:

• Mentoring Others: Help colleagues adopt innovative practices and share what you’ve learned from your own successes (and failures).
• Leading by Example: Kick off projects that promote a culture of innovation and set the standard for others.
• Facilitating Collaboration: Use structured collaboration techniques and established workshops to break down silos and bring different departments together.

Take Action: Run a workshop using one of the tools from The Innovator’s Toolkit™. Invite a diverse group to join and build your reputation as a champion of innovation.

4. Be Resilient and Adaptable

Innovation is rarely a straight path. It’s full of roadblocks, pivots, and sometimes failures to learn from. Being able to navigate setbacks and adapt quickly is what sets top innovators apart.

Take Action: Identify a recent setback or failure and document the key lessons you took away from it. Share these insights with your team or colleagues to demonstrate how setbacks can lead to positive change. Use a simple retrospective workshop to make this a productive and enjoyable exercise.

Bonus Tip for Leaders: Invest in Your Team’s Development

If you’re a leader looking to drive innovation across your team, invest in helping your people become top 1% innovators. The ripple effect can transform not just individual projects but your entire function or organization. Consider implementing structured innovation training programs, like The Innovator’s Toolkit™ or our customised in-house Enterprise Innovation Bootcamp to equip your team with the skills they need to deliver high-impact results consistently.