Innovation doesn’t always start with a vision. Sometimes, it starts with a rejection.
George Couros had trained to be a kindergarten teacher. That was the plan. But during the interview, the panel kept asking about something he’d barely thought about since uni, a website he had created in college.
He didn’t get the job.
Three weeks later, George called the school to ask for feedback. They told him they’d loved his interview, but had gone with someone else for kindergarten. Then came the twist: “We actually have a high school technology job that we didn’t know was open. We wanted to offer you that, we were actually going to call you today.”
So he accepted, despite not having any experience teaching tech. “I would have to learn everything I was about to teach them about a week prior.”
That moment didn’t just change his job. It changed how he thought about learning, leadership, and innovation itself. Because when you don’t have a script to follow, you build one. And in George’s case, that meant building a career focused not on tools or titles, but on helping people embrace change with confidence.
Redefining Innovation
One of the first lessons George learned? Innovation isn’t about tech.
It’s about creating better outcomes by challenging the status quo.
In his early leadership role, George was tasked with building a culture of “innovative teaching and learning.” But the term felt vague. What did it mean? How do you encourage others to pursue it?
His definition:
“Innovation is simply doing new and better things. That’s it. It has to be better. It can’t just be new.”
Whether he was in a classroom, a principal’s office, or now speaking at conferences and advising districts worldwide, George always returned to the same principle: an innovation mindset means creating better outcomes by being open to trying new approaches, and accepting that not everything will work the first time.
Showing Your Work (Even When It’s Messy)
Much of George’s influence came not from polished ideas but from his willingness to share in-progress thinking.
From blogging to conference keynotes, he’s built a career around transparent learning. Even today, he’s quick to say that what got him here wasn’t perfection, it was iteration.
“If I spent another two hours, would it be better? Yes. But if I kept following that train of thought, I would never release something because it would never be good enough.”
He believes that doing your learning publicly doesn’t just improve your ideas, it models the courage others need to try their own. And in a world that often rewards polish over progress, that’s a refreshing approach.
Leadership Without Compliance
When asked what holds people back from innovating, George is blunt: Compliance culture.
Teachers, teams, and even students need psychological safety and permission to try new things. In environments where innovation is encouraged but not structurally supported, most people will stick to what’s safe.
This insight applies beyond education. In any organization, if leadership says, “be creative,” but limits how, when, or with what resources people can act, that’s not innovation. That’s lip service.
“If you want different results, you need to remove barriers, not just give pep talks.”
Tools Evolve, Mindsets Should Too
George uses AI in his work. He also blogs. He’s still experimenting.
But he’s careful not to focus on the tools themselves. What matters is how they’re used.
He tells the story of asking educators to reflect during a session, then capturing their thoughts via voice, converting them with ChatGPT, and generating real-time summaries and strategies.
The real innovation? Not the tech, but the time it saved, the insights it generated, and the engagement it sparked.
This approach is just as useful for team leads in tech, HR managers, or anyone managing creative problem-solving in their org. Use what you have. Use it transparently. Use it with the people you’re trying to support.
Building an Innovation Mindset
Whether you’re leading a classroom or a global team, the innovation mindset isn’t about having the right tools, it’s about asking the right questions:
- What are you trying to improve?
- What barriers can you remove?
- Are you learning in public?
- Are you giving your team permission to try?
Innovation doesn’t have to be flashy. Sometimes it looks like trying something new, sharing it honestly, and adapting in real-time.
That’s what George Couros has done and what he encourages others to do, no matter their role or industry.
🎧 Listen now to the full episode on Innovator Insights. Now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
