LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DIFFERENT LEADERSHIP STYLES AND ORGANIZATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS ON INNOVATION PROCESSES

Abstract

Fast and dynamic, these have been the most used adjectives to represent the current business environment. To address these new characteristics, many authors have suggested new leadership styles and organization designs, which could increase productivity and catalyze innovation efforts. But, how do the consciousness levels of leaders and their teams relate to their organizational designs and leadership styles in order to improve team effectiveness regarding innovation? Based on the assumption that the same organizational structure and the same leadership style can be more or less effective in view of the levels of consciousness involved, this article sought, through multi-case studies with four different teams, to characterize the influence of these variables on results of innovation processes of two different companies, a multinational in the automotive manufacturing sector and a startup in the financial services and e-commerce sector. It was found that the most flexible and autonomous organizational arrangements, as well as the leaders with more situational style and with consciousness closer to the integral levels (present in the startup), were more effective in improving innovation performance, despite the similar consciousness levels among members of the four teams. This fact denotes  the importance of having the organizational structures and leadership styles more aligned with the consciousness levels available and the company’s strategy, in this case, focused on innovation. The proposed research presents predominantly descriptive and exploratory aspects in a multi-case study. The research was carried out during the Pandemic of COVID-19, which prevented it from involving a larger number of teams and companies, which could allow deeper conclusions regarding the interplay of the variables involved.