Mark Batey
drmarkbatey.bsky.social
Mark Batey
@drmarkbatey.bsky.social
Creativity, Innovation, Culture & High Performance | Director of the Master of Sport Directorship (MSD) | Associate Prof at Man Met Uni | https://linktr.ee/Markbatey
Find out about our part time hybrid executive masters for sporting leaders by following @msd-mmu.bsky.social
April 17, 2025 at 9:09 AM
This was a fab opportunity to enhance creativity and innovation ensuring the club continues to thrive and lead in the competitive environs of elite football. A big thank you to the legend that is David Weir MSD for the invitation (and an awesome dinner with Fabian Hürzeler and so many of our MSDers)
April 17, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Practical Applications:
🚀 Well that would be telling wouldn’t it!  But we found some new approaches that will help the club 'Challenge the Establishment'
April 17, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Building a Creative Culture:
🥇 Psychological Safety: Essential for fostering innovation
🥈 Diverse Teams: Mixing roles, departments, and backgrounds to harness diverse strengths
🥉 Role of Leadership and Culture: Aligning people, teams, and systems to support innovation
April 17, 2025 at 9:09 AM
The Workshop:
🏋️‍♀️ Group Challenges: We tackled a real BHAFC challenges to find an extra performance edge
🏋️‍♀️ Innovation Tools: Learned and applied tools such as ‘How to’ framing, the Kipling Method, Picturestorming, Attribute Listing and Dot Voting to generate and refine ideas
April 17, 2025 at 9:09 AM
➡️ Strengths are Weaknesses Too: Avoid over-relying on any single strength
➡️ Follow the Creative Process: Follow a structured process of accumulation, generation, and evaluation (and leave space for incubation)
April 17, 2025 at 9:09 AM
🔑 Key Takeaways:
5 Key Principles for Creativity & Innovation:
➡️ Connections: Creative ideas stem from remote associations
➡️ Chain Reactions: Foster a psychologically-safe climate to encourage idea sharing
➡️ Strength in Diversity: Leverage diverse perspectives for richer ideas
April 17, 2025 at 9:09 AM
We delved into key principles, processes, and practices to boost innovation within the club – and tackled a live challenge at the same time.
April 17, 2025 at 9:09 AM
April 13, 2025 at 9:49 AM
April 13, 2025 at 9:49 AM
April 13, 2025 at 9:49 AM
April 13, 2025 at 9:49 AM
April 13, 2025 at 9:49 AM
April 13, 2025 at 9:49 AM
April 13, 2025 at 9:33 AM
But by setting a supportive culture through safe leadership practices… bringing in some outside inspiration… and experimenting with structures we can often set off the ideas that become innovations that can make a difference.
March 25, 2025 at 8:38 PM
There are no one touch, simple solutions to helping companies (and councils) boost innovation.
March 25, 2025 at 8:38 PM
And some more…

- Back to the Floor: Leaders engage in everyday tasks will see and hear more
- Do Something Different: Don’t fall into a comfortable behavioural rut.
March 25, 2025 at 8:38 PM
- Read Widely: Gain diverse knowledge by reading, watching and listening around.
- Get a Mentor: Learn from others' wisdom and impart yours
- Look for Lucky Inspiration: Many inventions come from unexpected sources. Keep an open mind
March 25, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Then there are everyday practices any of us can apply…
March 25, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Case studies 2:
- Business Model Innovation: Wolves FC's partnership with Castore – now evolved into the Sudu company bringing great value for fans
March 25, 2025 at 8:38 PM