LEIGHTON K. GRANT

Superpower: Kindness

Day job: Air Force Civil Servant

Project Mercury Project: Collaborative Tissue

Best personal “aha” moment in Project Mercury?

There are no bad ideas, ideas are critical to match problems with solutions…it is up to the team to collaborate inclusively to find the innovative ideas that solve problems.

 
Best team “aha” moment in Project Mercury?

The best team is diverse, inclusive and fosters pshycoligically safe environment for creativity and innovation to exist. The best teams disagree respectfully, and in the end come up with better ideas to solve hard problems.

 
What tool do you use the most from Project Mercury?

Practicing Prismatic Thinking. Understanding that my ability to Collaborate and Create is balanced better with my other teammates that Control and Compete. Leaning on others abilities in all areas allows us to solve problems faster.

 
What other innovation books or programs would you recommend?

“Team of Teams” by Stanley McChrystal;
“Blink: the Power of Thinking without Thinking” by Malcom Gladwell;
“The Infinite Game” by Simon Sinek;
“Range: Why Generalist Triumph in a Specialized World” by David Epstein

 
Dream job:

I don’t have a dream job, coming from humble beginnings, I was taught to do what you have to do to be better than you were yesterday. I hope that over my career I can help make the world a better place for my kids to thrive.

 
Advice to the next cohort:

Think Inclusively…Don’t Boil the Ocean.