Innovation Leadership in Innovation Projects: The Application of the Reflective Practitioner Model

In 1983 Donald Schon wrote the Reflective Practitioner which implicitly but never explicitly contains a model of steps what it is to act as a reflective practitioner in real life. In this paper we apply that model and try to make this latent (tacit) model into a manifest (explicit) model. Project leaders of innovation teams were studied via in‐depth interviewing to assess how they dealt with critical incidents in their projects. Some of these project leaders were able to set in motion actions of recovery which led the project back to the track into which the chances improved to achieve a desired result. Without being aware of it, they applied the steps of Schon’s model. These steps are roughly: recognize a problem, research the problem, develop alternative solutions, test solutions and alternatives on their validity, try and experiment with solutions, select and apply a solution, evaluate the process. The results of the study can help innovation leadership in practice.