Mapping the Knowledge
In this chapter, the author examines the possibility of applying the servant leadership concept's critical components in the innovation management process. The author, based on his own experience as a top manager of a prominent Russian public company, reveals the importance of a proactive approach to managing innovative projects. The chapter's objective is to develop the rules for the proactive management of innovative project portfolios and, based upon these rules, to lead the team of key personnel. The author concludes that while following the five rules of proactive management of innovative projects, the manager becomes a team's servant-leader. The manager is not suppressing the team's initiative, not depriving them of the right to independently understand current events, and arming them with self-immersion tools in the project's details. The author is confident that the presented approach may be of interest to other practicing innovative managers.