# Innovation Leadership Training for Managers > Innovation leadership training helps managers run smart experiments, build a fail-forward culture and scale pilots that work. Customised by Bodhih. Enquire. - Source: https://bodhih.com/innovation-leadership-training/ - Publisher: Bodhih Training (Bengaluru, India; since 2008) - Last updated: 2026-10-06 - Contact: solutions@bodhih.com · +91 99000 11601 --- Ideas are rarely the problem. The problem is the pilot that never ends, the idea that dies in a steering committee, the team that stops suggesting anything after one public failure. Innovation leadership training equips managers to run disciplined experiments, protect new ideas and scale what works. ## At a glance - **Duration:** Recommended: 2 days in person, or 5 × 3-hour live virtual sessions, plus a 60-day experiment sprint - **Who it’s for:** Mid-level and senior managers responsible for improvement, growth or new offerings - **Level:** Advanced - **Format:** In person · Live virtual · Blended - **Track record:** Since 2008 · 2,000+ companies Innovation leadership training prepares managers to lead innovation, not just join a brainstorm. It covers balancing an innovation portfolio, designing quick experiments, creating psychological safety for ideas, learning from failure, making kill-or-scale decisions and moving pilots into operations. Bodhih customises it to each organisation's strategy and uses the ADDIE model. - Recommended: 2 days in person, or 5 × 3-hour live virtual sessions, plus a 60-day experiment sprint - Level: Advanced · In person · Live virtual · Blended - Designed with the ADDIE model and customised to your context - Offered by Bodhih since 2008 to 2,000+ organisations across 7 regions **Also known as:** leading innovation training, innovation management for leaders, fail forward culture training, experimentation leadership workshop **Where and how:** innovation leadership training as an in-person workshop in [Bengaluru](https://bodhih.com/corporate-training-in-bangalore/), [Mumbai](https://bodhih.com/corporate-training-in-mumbai/), [Delhi NCR](https://bodhih.com/corporate-training-in-new-delhi/), [Gurugram](https://bodhih.com/corporate-training-in-gurugram/), [Hyderabad](https://bodhih.com/corporate-training-in-hyderabad/), [Chennai](https://bodhih.com/corporate-training-in-chennai/), [Pune](https://bodhih.com/corporate-training-in-pune/), [Kolkata](https://bodhih.com/corporate-training-in-kolkata/), [Ahmedabad](https://bodhih.com/corporate-training-in-ahmedabad/) and [Jaipur](https://bodhih.com/corporate-training-in-jaipur/); as a live online course; or delivered overseas in [Dubai](https://bodhih.com/corporate-training-in-dubai/), [Singapore](https://bodhih.com/corporate-training-in-singapore/) and across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Last reviewed 06 Oct 2026 · Bodhih Training, Bengaluru ## Why innovation now depends on managers, not labs [GenAI](https://bodhih.com/generative-ai-training/) has made testing new ideas cheaper and faster than ever, and every function now has pilots underway. Yet many stall because managers are rewarded for predictable delivery, not for learning, and nobody decides when to stop or scale. Innovation [leadership training](https://bodhih.com/leadership-skills-training-in-india/) focuses on the leader's job: setting the portfolio, making it safe to try, reading early evidence honestly and clearing the path from pilot to scale. It is not a design thinking methods course; it is about the conditions that let those methods succeed. > BCG's 2024 study found 83% of senior executives rank innovation among their top three priorities, but only 3% of companies were 'innovation ready'. Source: [Boston Consulting Group](https://www.bcg.com/press/4june2024-companies-rank-innovation-as-a-top-three-priority) > WEF reports creative thinking, along with curiosity and resilience, is rising in importance for employers to 2030. Source: [World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report 2025](https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025/in-full/3-skills-outlook/) ## What participants will be able to do ### Balance the portfolio Split effort sensibly between core improvements, adjacent bets and a few bolder experiments. ### Design fast experiments Turn an idea into a testable hypothesis with a small, cheap experiment and a clear success signal. ### Make it safe to try Build team norms where people raise half-formed ideas and report failed tests without fear. ### Learn from failure deliberately Run blameless reviews that capture lessons and separate good decisions from bad outcomes. ### Decide to kill, pivot or scale Use agreed evidence gates to stop weak ideas early and back promising ones with resources. ### Move pilots into operations Plan ownership, funding, process and change support so successful pilots become business as usual. ## Who should attend - Managers leading improvement, digital or AI pilots in their function - Product, R&D and engineering leaders in [GCCs](https://bodhih.com/gcc-leadership-development-program/) and product companies - Business unit heads tasked with new revenue streams - Operations and quality leaders driving continuous improvement - Innovation champions and intrapreneurship program sponsors - Leaders in family businesses and mid-sized firms modernising their offer ## Program outline Recommended design, customised to your context after a short needs analysis. ### **The leader's role in innovation**Module 1 · 90 min - Innovation as a management system, not a lucky spark - Why delivery-focused cultures quietly kill ideas - Diagnose your team's innovation climate - Leader behaviours that open or close the door ### **Portfolio thinking**Module 2 · 90 min - Core, adjacent and transformational bets - Setting an effort split for your team - Aligning bets with strategy - Map your current initiatives ### **Experiments and evidence**Module 3 · 2.5 hours - From idea to testable hypothesis - Low-cost tests: prototypes, pilots, AI-assisted mock-ups - Choosing leading indicators - Design an experiment for a live idea ### **Psychological safety for ideas**Module 4 · 90 min - How leaders respond to the first bad idea - Idea rituals that include quieter voices - Blameless reviews and 'fail forward' practices - Role-play: responding to a failed pilot ### **Kill, pivot or scale**Module 5 · 90 min - Evidence gates and stage-based funding - Avoiding sunk-cost and pet-project traps - Presenting decisions to sponsors - Case: an Indian or Gulf organisation scaling a pilot ### **From pilot to business as usual**Module 6 · 90 min - Owners, budgets and process changes - [Change management](https://bodhih.com/change-management-training/) for adopting teams - Measuring value after scale-up - Your 60-day experiment sprint plan ## Sample training plan: 2-day hands-on design This two-day design focuses on the leader's job in innovation: choosing bets, making it safe to try, reading evidence honestly and getting pilots into operations. Each manager brings one live idea or stalled pilot and turns it into a testable experiment by the end of day one. Day two covers blameless reviews, kill-or-scale decisions and scale-up plans, ending with a sponsor panel. A 60-day experiment sprint follows, so the learning happens on real work. 77% hands-on practice · 13.5 contact hours · Cohort: 12–24 participants, ideally cross-functional · In person · Live virtual ### Day 1: From ideas to experiments Participants can diagnose their team's innovation climate, balance their portfolio and design a real experiment. 1. 09:30–10:00 · The idea graveyard (Energiser) 2. 10:00–10:45 · Climate check (Diagnostic) 3. 11:00–11:30 · Three kinds of bets (Concept burst) 4. 11:30–12:15 · Map my portfolio (Build sprint) 5. 12:15–13:00 · Idea to hypothesis (Skill drill) 6. 13:45–15:15 · Design the cheapest test (Hands-on lab) 7. 15:30–16:45 · Experiment peer review (Gallery walk) 8. 16:45–17:30 · What I protect tomorrow (Reflection) ### Day 2: Safe to try, clear to decide Participants can respond well to failed tests, make evidence-based kill or scale calls and plan a pilot's move into operations. 1. 09:30–10:00 · Worst response wins (Energiser) 2. 10:00–11:00 · The pilot that failed (Role-play) 3. 11:15–12:15 · Blameless review (Case clinic) 4. 12:15–13:00 · Evidence gates (Concept burst) 5. 13:45–14:45 · From pilot to business as usual (Group challenge) 6. 14:45–15:30 · Pitch prep (Peer coaching) 7. 15:45–16:45 · Capstone: sponsor panel (Presentation) 8. 16:45–17:30 · 60-day sprint plan (Action planning) Recommended: 2 days in person (09:30–17:30), or 5 × 3-hour live virtual sessions, plus a 60-day experiment sprint ending in a sponsor showcase. A sample design: every Bodhih program is customised after a short needs analysis. ### How long is innovation leadership training? The recommended design is two days in person, from 09:30 to 17:30, followed by a 60-day experiment sprint ending in a sponsor showcase. It also runs as five live virtual sessions of three hours each over about three weeks. A half-day sponsor briefing is available for senior leaders. ### What activities are included in innovation leadership training? Managers map their team's portfolio of bets, turn a live idea into a testable hypothesis, build a cheap prototype, and get peer review in a gallery walk. They role-play responding to a failed pilot, run a blameless review, make kill-or-scale calls with a budget pool and pitch their experiment to a sponsor panel. ## How we deliver it ### Learn by experimenting Each manager designs and runs a small experiment on a real idea during a 60-day sprint, with peer review. ### Leader-focused, method-light We reference [design thinking](https://bodhih.com/design-thinking-workshop/) and lean methods but focus on leader decisions and behaviours that enable them. ### Sponsor involvement Senior sponsors join the closing showcase to hear results and make kill, pivot or scale calls on the spot. ### Cross-functional cohorts Mixing functions exposes managers to different ideas and builds allies for scaling. ## Tailored versions ### AI experimentation edition For leaders running GenAI pilots: choosing use cases, safe experiments, responsible use and scaling from pilot to workflow. ### For manufacturing and operations Links innovation to continuous improvement, kaizen and quality, with experiments on the shop floor or in the supply chain. ### Innovation sponsor briefing A half-day for senior leaders on portfolio governance, evidence gates and how their reactions shape risk-taking. ## How we measure impact In the ADDIE Evaluate phase we measure an innovation climate pulse in each team before and after, a pre and post [leadership assessment](https://bodhih.com/leadership-assessment/) on AssessAll, and the number and quality of experiments completed in the 60-day sprint. At 30, 60 and 90 days we review decisions made at evidence gates, pilots moved towards scale and changes in team willingness to raise ideas, with sponsors and HR. AA Pair this program with [AssessAll](https://assessall.com), Bodhih’s AI assessment platform, for pre- and post-program skill measurement. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is innovation leadership? Innovation leadership is the set of behaviours and decisions that help a team generate, test and scale new ideas while still delivering today's work. It includes setting a clear portfolio of bets, making it safe to experiment, judging evidence honestly and clearing obstacles to scale. It is about creating conditions, not only having ideas. ### How do leaders encourage innovation in teams? Leaders encourage innovation by protecting time for experiments, asking for ideas regularly, responding to early ideas with curiosity, celebrating useful lessons from failed tests and removing approval bottlenecks. They also link experiments to real business problems. Innovation leadership training helps managers build these habits deliberately. ### How do you build a fail forward culture? Separate smart failures, which are small, planned tests that teach something, from careless mistakes. Run blameless reviews focused on lessons. Leaders should share their own failed experiments openly. Reward learning speed and good decision-making, not only successful outcomes. Over time, people become more willing to test ideas early. ### Why do innovation pilots fail to scale? Common reasons include no clear owner after the pilot, no budget in the operating plan, unclear evidence of value, resistance from teams expected to adopt it and pilots designed in isolation from real operations. The program teaches managers to plan for scale from the start and use evidence gates. ### How is this different from a design thinking workshop? A design thinking workshop teaches a method for understanding users and generating solutions. Innovation leadership training focuses on the leader: portfolio choices, [psychological safety](https://bodhih.com/psychological-safety-training/), experiments, decisions and scaling. Many organisations run design thinking for teams and this program for the managers who sponsor their work. ### Does the program cover AI-driven innovation? Yes. Many current experiments involve AI tools. We cover choosing sensible AI use cases, designing safe tests, involving risk and data teams early and moving successful AI pilots into everyday workflows. Responsible-use considerations are built in, and a dedicated AI edition is available. ### Who should attend innovation leadership training? It suits managers and senior leaders who own improvement, growth or transformation goals, and who sponsor or run pilots. It also works well for a cross-functional cohort, since innovation often needs allies in finance, operations, technology and HR to scale. ### How is the program delivered? Our recommended design is two days in person or five live virtual sessions, followed by a 60-day experiment sprint and a showcase. Bodhih has served 2,000+ companies since 2008, delivering in person across India, the Middle East and Asia with facilitators from Bengaluru, or live virtually.