Building Systems that Sustain Ingenuity
FEATURED PAPER
By Dr. Steve Ford, Dr. Jay C. Hanan, and Kelly Benson, PMP
Colorado, USA
This article examines the interdependence of creativity, innovation, and leadership structures in advancing organizational adaptability and resilience. It distinguishes between creativity, which involves generating novel and valuable ideas, and innovation, which involves systematically implementing these ideas to produce tangible outcomes. The analysis emphasizes the importance of leadership theories, such as transformational, skills-based, authentic, and adaptive approaches, in fostering cultures that sustain ingenuity in evolving environments. Governance frameworks at the project, program, and portfolio levels establish the structural alignment that links creative processes to strategic intent, ensuring that innovation remains both purposeful and measurable.
Drawing on case examples from diverse industries, the discussion identifies recurring pitfalls, including overemphasizing ideation without execution, inconsistent collaboration patterns in hybrid or remote teams, and a lack of structured review mechanisms. It then outlines evidence-based practices that integrate leadership theory with operational discipline to mitigate these challenges. The incorporation of data analytics, risk management, and continuous improvement systems is presented as essential for converting creative capacity into verifiable performance outcomes. Ultimately, the synthesis supports leadership models that balance psychological safety, data-informed decision-making, and iterative feedback, ensuring that creativity evolves into sustained innovation aligned with long-term organizational objectives.
Introduction
Creativity, innovation, and leadership constitute the foundational elements of organizational adaptability and resilience in an era of rapid industrial evolution. As complexities in global markets intensify, effective leadership requires the seamless integration of visionary foresight with structured governance, and imaginative ideation with rigorous accountability. Competitive advantage now depends less on efficiency and more on the capacity to evolve, meaning to anticipate change, absorb disruption, and transform uncertainty into opportunity (Zucker, 2019). Creativity fuels this adaptability by generating novel solutions, while innovation operationalizes those ideas into sustainable outcomes. Leadership serves as the critical intermediary between the two, translating conceptual vision into coordinated action and aligning human potential with strategic intent.
Within this context, organizational resilience emerges not from chance but from deliberate design. Governance frameworks that encourage experimentation, cultures that reward learning, and leadership systems that balance empowerment with discipline collectively sustain ingenuity over time. As Deming (2018) observed, improvement must become institutionalized rather than improvised; the same principle applies to creativity itself. This article examines how leadership systems, governance models, and organizational cultures can be architected to sustain creative capacity and channel it through innovation, producing enterprises that are not only efficient but also enduring.
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How to cite this work: Ford, S., Hanan, J., Benson, K. (2025). Creativity, Innovation, and Leadership Structures: Building Systems that Sustain Ingenuity, PM World Journal, Vol. XIV, Issue XII, December. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/pmwj159-Dec2025-Ford-Hanan-Benson-Creativity-Innovation-Leadership-structures.pdf
About the Authors
Steve Ford
Colorado, USA
Steve Ford holds a BS from the US Air Force Academy (2004), an MS in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota (2009), and a Doctorate of Management – Project Management from Colorado Technical University (2021). Steve is currently the President and CEO of Advanced Applied Project Management Solutions, Inc., a project management, change management, and risk consulting firm. He holds numerous project management-related qualifications, including Project Management Professional (PMP), Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP), Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, and PROSCI Certified Change Practitioner. He can be contacted at Steve@aapms.net or via LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/steve-ford-dm/.
Jay C. Hanan
California, USA
Jay Hanan holds two Bachelor of Science degrees from Oklahoma Christian University (1997) and an MS (1999) and Ph.D. (2002) in Materials Science from Caltech. Dr. Hanan attended the Executive Management Program at Stanford in 2015. He developed a novel R&D management method while transferring intellectual property on polymer nanocomposites he developed as a professor at Oklahoma State University (since 2005) to industry, one of over 400 patents, and now serves as a Sr. Technical Fellow in R&D at Origin Materials while maintaining a part time role in academia where he brings real world opportunities including design projects with a PM component to Mechanical and Aerospace engineering students.
Kelly Benson
Colorado, USA
Kelly Benson holds a B.S. in Occupational Therapy from the University of Louisiana at Monroe and an M.S. in Health Leadership from Western Governors University. She is currently pursuing an M.S. in Information Technology with a concentration in Data Analytics at Capella University. Kelly is a Project Management Professional (PMP), Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Licensed and Registered Occupational Therapist, and Certified Lymphedema Therapist. She serves as a Business Analyst Consultant, specializing in data-driven process improvement and applied analytics to advance quality, efficiency, and patient outcomes in healthcare settings. Kelly can be reached at Kelly.benson@live.com or via LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/kelly-b-b72840156.
