STRATEGIC THINKING
Innovation Behavior
Whether an unconventional idea was actually built, adopted, and tied to a real customer, business, technical, or operational outcome, not creativity for its own sake.
← All 16 dimensions in the competency frameworkWhat strong evidence looks like
- A specific idea, how it was prototyped or tested cheaply before committing
- Evidence of who had to be convinced to try it, and how
- A measurable result after it shipped and was adopted
What weak evidence looks like
- Describes "innovative thinking" with no shipped result
- No adoption evidence -- an idea that stayed a pitch
- Creativity presented as the outcome itself, with no downstream result
A real follow-up question
“Who had to be convinced to try this, and what evidence changed their mind?”
Questions like this follow directly from what you just said, not from a fixed script -- they exist to find out whether an answer holds up, not to check a box.
Browse by career level
The evidence standard for Innovation Behavior shifts with scope. Select a level to see what strong evidence looks like, what changes from the level below, and a real interview probe.
Innovation Behavior at the PM levelA single feature, component, or defined product area within one team.Innovation Behavior at the Senior PM levelA defined product area with real ownership of roadmap and metric accountability.Innovation Behavior at the Principal PM levelCross-team or full product line scope. Often defining the boundaries rather than operating inside them.Innovation Behavior at the Director levelA product area spanning multiple teams, often with PMs reporting directly.Innovation Behavior at the Senior Director levelA large product portfolio or multiple product areas, often with directors reporting.Innovation Behavior at the VP levelA full product line, major business unit, or portfolio with P&L accountability.Innovation Behavior at the CPO levelCompany-wide product vision and strategy, as a member of the executive team.
Related dimensions in Strategic Thinking
See where you actually stand on this
A self-assessment only goes so far. The adaptive interview tests exactly this kind of evidence, in your own words, with follow-up questions built to find out whether it holds up.