Why Now
AI is rewriting how work gets done. Trust in institutions is eroding. Systems built for a stable world are being disrupted in every sector. Organizations know they need to innovate — yet most still treat innovation as the job of a few "creative" people, a lab, or a strategy offsite.
That narrow picture is costly. Culture, identity and language quietly decide who gets seen as an innovator, and talent goes untapped. Innovation Currency™ consulting makes innovation a leadership capability everyone in your organization can build, practice and be measured on.
The Framework
Developed through years of research, real-world observation and qualitative inquiry, and published in Innovation Currency: How to Reimagine Who We Call Innovators, the framework is a practical roadmap that makes innovation accessible, actionable and personal. Every engagement applies it to your leaders and your organization.
Redefine innovation. Separate innovation from creativity and idea generation, so teams aim at value, not just ideas.
Remove the barriers. Name the internal and external barriers — culture, identity, language — that keep people from innovating or being recognized for it.
Discover innovation styles. Help each leader identify their unique innovation style and how it shapes the way they lead.
Lead the culture. Equip leaders to build a culture of innovation that outlasts any single initiative, leader or budget cycle.
Innovator Styles
The framework maps how people innovate naturally, and where they have room to grow:
Disruptor: “Visioning” Challenges the status quo and redesigns systems
Connector: “Trust” Builds cross-functional collaborations that brings people, ideas and resources together across lines of difference
Influencer: “Narrative” Shapes narratives and moves others to adopt change
Distributor: “Resourcing” Unblocks access to budget, time, staff, or opportunities to scale what works
Every Innovation Currency™ engagement starts with the Innovation Currency® assessment, so leaders and teams see their style mix before we build strategy around it.
Services
How an Innovation Currency™ engagement works
Assess. Your leaders take the Innovation Currency® assessment. We map the team's innovator styles and the barriers holding innovation back.
Advise. In facilitated sessions, we connect the style map to your business priorities and agree on where innovation leadership will matter most.
Activate. Leadership labs, coaching and a concrete roadmap turn insight into commitments. A follow-up review measures what changed.
I've spent my career studying innovators, and here's what I know for sure: innovation isn't reserved for a select few. It belongs to all of us. Every leader and every team already holds innovation currency. Most organizations just haven't learned how to see it, spend it or grow it.
That's the work I do through Innovation Currency™ Advisory. I partner with leaders and their teams to discover how each person innovates naturally — as a Disruptor, Connector, Distributor or Influencer — and to clear away the barriers of culture, identity and language that keep good ideas from moving. Then we build the leadership practices that make innovation part of how your organization runs, not a one-time initiative.
How we work together: Innovation Currency™ Advisory is business consulting for leaders who want innovation to show up in how they lead and how their organization runs. Depending on where you are, that can look like leadership development for your executive team, management consulting on the structures and decisions that help new ideas move, or hands-on advising for the leaders charged with driving innovation across the organization.
What you walk away with: a clear picture of your team's innovator styles, an honest read on what's holding innovation back, and a 90-day roadmap your leaders can act on.
For leaders building what comes next
Executive and senior leadership teams that want innovation to be a shared leadership competency
Public-sector and civic leaders moving their institutions from public good to public excellence
Founders, funders and foundation leaders stewarding a company, portfolio or platform through rapid change
HR, talent and L&D leaders designing leadership development that recognizes every kind of innovator
Boards and management teams facing a challenge that calls for a different kind of thinking
Hi. I’m Leigh-Ann
Leigh-Ann A. Buchanan, Esq., is a founder, investor, and strategic advisor. Her body of work explores the future of leadership, specifically how leaders can leverage technology, innovation and social investment to unlock opportunities and transform communities. Her insights and ideas have been featured in notable publications, including the New York Times, Inc. Magazine, and Bloomberg. Leigh-Ann’s professional pivot away from practicing law marked the starting point of her insatiable curiosity about innovators. Since then, she has relied upon innovation to launch and lead a diverse portfolio of social impact ventures and initiatives that have helped unlock over $100 million in philanthropic capital to improve outcomes for individuals, organizations and cities.
Let’s Talk.
Ready to put your Innovation Currency to work?
Tell us about your leadership team and the challenge in front of you. We'll show you how Innovation Currency™ Advisory fits. Book an Innovation Currency™ consultation
Not sure where to start? Take the free Innovation Currency® assessment.