There are a plethora of skillsets the corporate innovator and intrapreneur must embody but there are three that are mandatory.

Corporate Innovation Management strategies and approaches vary widely. Some organizations take a centralized approach while others have a decentralized or dispersed function. Digital transformation, M&A, and R&D can be the centerpiece of the innovation and growth strategy while other organizations focus heavily on incremental improvements to existing products, services, or business models.

Regardless of the specific innovation strategy taken within your organization, three skillsets are mandatory across all intrapreneurial activity. They are:

Sales

Every corporate innovator, at one time or another, will need to sell their idea. They'll need to sell new concepts, ideas, approaches, frameworks, partnerships, and much more. Advanced, sophisticated sales and marketing capabilities will greatly increase your success.

Consensus Building

Politicking and consensus building are also required in corporate innovation roles and activities. Much like sales, consensus building takes time, energy, skill, and patience. Change takes time and support and corporate innovation is no different. Build this into any innovation and growth effort and account for this your models.

Resiliency

Having a thick skin, hearing no (a lot), and recovering from failure and disappointment are also critical intrapreneurial skills. Most other functional practices within the corporate setting can be fairly predictable, and that's certainly the case for corporate innovators as well, but it's not very common. Developing a resiliency to the uncertain and unpredictable nature of intrapreneurship will serve you well.

The corporate innovation would do well to develop a wide range of skillsets aligned with the specific agenda, goals, and objectives of the organization, but sales, consensus building, and resiliency are mandatory for any successful and long lasting corporate innovator.