A comprehensive approach to developing innovation leadership competencies through the synergy of self-management, creativity, and strategic management

Abstract

The study’s relevance stems from the growing importance of innovative leadership in a turbulent business environment characterised by rapid technological shifts and heightened demands for organisational adaptability. Modern enterprises increasingly require leadership frameworks capable of ensuring not only operational stability but also fostering innovation, prompt responsiveness to environmental shifts, and long-term strategic resilience. These conditions intensify the need to reconsider traditional leadership paradigms and to expand competency models that integrate strategic reasoning, creative abilities, behavioural flexibility and self-regulatory capacity. The purpose of the article is to develop an integrated competency model of innovative leadership and to substantiate a methodological approach for assessing the maturity of essential competencies that determine a leader’s effectiveness under uncertainty and institutional change. The research methodology relies on systemic and behavioural approaches, comparative analysis of contemporary leadership concepts, structural–functional modelling, and content analysis of scientific sources. The combination of these methods enabled a multidimensional interpretation of leadership attributes and the construction of a comprehensive assessment framework. Results. The study proposes an original competency architecture for innovative leaders, encompassing strategic, behavioural, creative and administrative dimensions, each supplemented with specific skills differentiated by proficiency levels. A matrix representation of the competencies is developed, accompanied by measurable indicators that enable the model to be embedded in HR processes, leadership development programmes, and systems for evaluating executive potential. Conclusions. The practical value of the research is reflected in the broad applicability of the proposed framework within corporate governance structures. The suggested toolkit may be implemented in executive development programmes to identify and foster human capital, and applied when designing strategic trajectories of organisational evolution and implementing large-scale change initiatives.