The Innovative Leadership: How Leaders become creative and innovative in an instant!

“Creativity or innovation is about making connections of existing things to come up with the things which have never existed before!”

Atip Muangsuwan
CEO Coach and Coach Supervisor

Creativity or innovation is about making connections of existing things to come up with the things which have never existed before! Just like the story of a woman who made millions by connecting typing mistakes with painting. Yes, this is a story of an ordinary secretary named, “Bette Nesmith”, who invented a product called, “Liquid Paper”.

Bette was a secretary frustrated by the messy, time-consuming process of correcting errors (Pain Point), she observed painters seamlessly covering mistakes with white paint. She made the connection between this art technique and her typing problem, leading her to create her own correcting fluid using basic white tempera paint (Making Connections). To perfect her invention into a practical, quick-drying product suitable for office use, she wisely partnered with her son’s chemistry teacher to develop the ideal formula (Partner with Experts), ultimately creating the transformational successful Liquid Paper.

3 Key innovation elements extracted from this story:

1. Pain Point:Messy, inefficient typewriter error correction.
2. Making Connections:Linking painters covering mistakes with white paint to the need for covering typing errors.
3. Partner with Experts:Collaborating with a chemistry teacher to develop the final, functional product formula.

When an executive approached me with an urgent mission – “I need to develop a breakthrough product within the next 18 months, but my innovation capability was rated ‘underdeveloped’ based on the recent 360-degree feedback.” – it became a powerful case study in creative and innovative leadership. Our work confirmed a non-negotiable truth:

“Exceptional leaders must be both creative and innovative alongside traditional strengths to deliver revolutionary results.”

This leader’s challenge mirrors today’s business reality: creating “masterpiece” innovations under tight deadlines. Here’s the exact framework we implemented, anchored by the Atip’s EE-FI Leadership Model.

The 3-Part Innovation Process (Inspired by the Liquid Paper Story)

1. Discover Core Pain Points
   “What deeply frustrates your customers?”
   Like Liquid Paper’s inventor noticing typo struggles, we used the Empathize phase of my EE-FI Model to:
   • Uncover unspoken customer frustrations
   • Validate assumptions through direct observation
   • Identify needs customers couldn’t articulate
2. Bridge Solutions Through Connections
   “Innovation connects or links existing resources in new ways”
   • Audit past/current products for adaptable technology
   • Map team knowledge to identified pain points
   • Host “connection workshops” (echoing the leader’s mantra: “Connections!”)
3. Leverage Expert Partnerships
   “Even innovators need guides”
   Like the chemist who perfected Liquid Paper’s formula, we:
   • Identify internal/external specialists during the Engage phase
   • Create feedback loops to Fulfill technical requirements
   • Prototype with expert validation

Atip’s EE-FI Leadership Model: The Innovation Catalyst

The leader applied the complete model to their 18-month mission:

• Engage: Built cross-functional team alliances and expert partnerships
• Empathize: Conducted immersive “pain point journeys” with customers
• Fulfill: Designed solutions directly addressing validated needs
• Influence: Secured stakeholder buy-in for rapid prototyping

 Action Steps for Breakthrough Innovation

1. Verify ideas using EE-FI’s Empathize phase + customer validation
2. Connect existing knowledge/products to pain points (Fulfill phase)
3. Collaborate with experts through strategic Engagement
4. Drive adoption by Influencing stakeholders early

The surprising fact is… You don’t need to be an expert to create innovation or to become an inventor. You just need to partner with experts. Below is the list of people who are the great innovators or inventors.

The fist flying airplane was invented by the Wright Brothers, bicycle repairmen.

The telegraph and morse code were invented by Samuel Morse, a portrait painter.

The safety razor was invented by King Camp Gillette, a salesman.

And my favorite, the first corrector fluid, Liquid Paper, was invented by Bette Nesmith, a secretary.

You can see from the real-life examples as above that you don’t need to become an expert to come up with your own inventions or creativities or become an innovative leader. You too can be an innovative leader if you have the right mindset, the right process and the right coach! If you need the right coach for you, let’s get in touch soon!

About Atip Muangsuwan: Atip Muangsuwan is the Founder & CEO of The Best Coach International Co., Ltd. He is a CEO & UHNWI Coach, Certified Mentor & Supervisor for global executive coaches, Holistic Life Transformation Expert, Business & Life Strategist, and Corporate Facilitator/Trainer. With a proven track record of helping clients achieve their career goals and job promotions, Atip is dedicated to supporting individuals in their personal and professional growth.