Innovation has become critical for nations, organizations and individuals in an increasingly complex and challenging
world. Leaders responsible for innovation need to be competent in making innovation happen, yet many acknowledge
that they are not sure that their practices would yield success. The competencies for innovation leadership may differ
from those used before to craft and achieve business goals. Research on innovation leadership competencies appears
to be limited and fragmented with little evidence of a cumulative and coherent body of knowledge emerging on the
topic. While contributions to the body of knowledge are increasing, the emphasis appears to be discipline- or
element-specific rather than a comprehensive or systemic review of the underpinning competencies required for
success. This article proposes a competency profile for innovation leaders derived from research in a South African
science-based research and innovation organization. This profile includes competencies identified in a core sample of
leaders whose leadership resulted in the creation of new knowledge or inventions, and the adoption of these by
intended recipients in commercial and non-commercial or public good applications. The research started with a list of
leadership competencies from multiple sources, including best-selling authors, commercially available leadership
development programs, researcher observations and respondent inputs. Respondents completed a questionnaire to
indicate their perceived significance of the competencies in the performance of successful innovation leaders. The
resulting profile proposes a framework which may become a validated model through further research. Stakeholders
who may benefit from these insights, include innovation leaders themselves, those who appoint such leaders to drive
innovation, and those who provide learning and development to such leaders.