In the middle of an otherwise-remarkable innovation endeavor at a global enterprise, I received an urgent email from a concerned innovator: “Legal said we have to stop.” Taking the bait, I scrambled to get on the phone with legal, eager not to allow the progress the team was making to slow down.

Silly me. I forgot a foundational truth: innovation is scary. It’s risky.

Turns out, legal wasn’t really the problem. Fear was.

Helping the team overcome the fear, they easily overcame the “obstacle” that stood in the way. Sure, removing obstacles is a high calling of any organizational leader. The question is, what’s the real obstacle? When doing innovation work, some folks are actually eager for an obstacle to emerge. It — the natural fear folks confront in the face of uncertain work — becomes the reason why they can’t take the scary-looking risk.

Innovation leader: next time an organizational obstacle rears its ugly head, as yourself, “What’s the real problem I need to address?” Often times, it’s not an organizational issue at all. The org obstacle is really just a scape goat, a deflection from, the real issue: that issue is a deeply personal one.

Related: Examine Resistance

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