Do you know what it means to be a innovator ? According to Professors Jeff Dyer 
and Hal Gregersen 
, it means to develop a set of skills and traits that necessary for creative innovation.
Dyer: The first skill is what we call "associating." It’s a cognitive skill that allows creative people to make connections across seemingly unrelated questions, problems, or ideas. The second skill is questioning — an ability to ask "what if", "why", and "why not" questions that challenge the status quo and open up the bigger picture. The third is the ability to closely observe (observing) details, particularly the details of people’s behavior. Another skill is the ability to experiment (experimenting) — the people we studied are always trying on new experiences and exploring new worlds. And finally, they are really good at networking with smart people who have little in common with them, but from whom they can learn.
Fryer: Which of these skills do you think is the most important?
Dyer: We’ve found that questioning turbo-charges observing, experimenting, and networking, but questioning on its own doesn’t have a direct effect without the others. Overall, associating is the key skill because new ideas aren’t created without connecting problems or ideas in ways that they haven’t been connected before. The other behaviors are inputs that trigger associating — so they are a means of getting to a creative end.
Gregersen: You might summarize all of the skills we’ve noted in one word: "inquisitiveness." I spent 20 years studying great global leaders, and that was the big common denominator. It’s the same kind of inquisitiveness you see in small children
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