Innovation isn’t missing. It’s blocked.

Advantage Partner Selen Turner’s new book shows leaders how to unlock the innovation their cultures hold back.

Organizations are racing to adopt AI. Budgets shift, tools roll out, and pilots multiply. Yet many transformations stall, and the reason isn’t the technology.

People hold back ideas and stop speaking up. Teams settle into artificial harmony. That’s the problem at the heart of Unique Belonging, the new book by Advantage Partners Selen Turner that launched today as an Amazon bestseller and a #1 new release, ranking Top 5 in multiple categories.

“There is a lot of fear in the workplace right now,” Selen says. “It’s incredible how people are shrinking because they fear for their jobs.”

You can’t just tell people to innovate

“As AI transforms the way we work, innovation has never mattered more. But innovation isn’t missing. It’s already there, waiting to be unlocked, and too often it’s blocked by culture.” — Selen Turner

Selen’s argument is simple. Innovation gets blocked “by the very cultures we design,” she says, and it can’t be commanded into existence

“You cannot say to a person, ‘Be more creative’ or ‘Be more innovative,’” she explains. “You need to give them the right tools and especially the right environments.”

Those environments let people experiment, fail forward, and contribute their unique ideas while feeling part of something bigger. “The problem is not capability,” Selen says. “The problem is contribution.”

She calls the answer human-centricity, and she sees it as the next evolution of a familiar idea. “This is all about human-centricity,” she says, “just like customer-centricity a decade ago.”

From 5 years of research to a practical blueprint

Unique Belonging grew out of Selen’s doctoral research and more than 5 years of study. It also draws on 20 years leading culture work inside global organizations. Her publisher pushed her to make the dissertation research practical, so she rewrote it from the ground up. She also interviewed executives across industries to ground it in today’s challenges. Each chapter tells the story of a leader who unlocked innovation in their organization.

The book introduces the CultivMaX™ Matrix, a diagnostic for individuals, leaders, and teams that reveals which of 4 cultural states their organization is in:

• Disconnected
• Conforming
• Fragmented
• Innovation-Enabled

From there, her Innovation-Enabled Culture Blueprint lays out a clear path to a culture where ideas move.

“Selen’s book shows what happens when you stop measuring people only by their skills and start unleashing everything they bring.” — Jonathan Hodge

A story close to home

Several leaders in the Advantage community appear in the book. Advantage President & CEO Jonathan Hodge and BTS Global CEO Jessica Skon were among the first executives Selen interviewed, and their encouragement helped shape the project. Richard Hodge (an early co-founder of Advantage) and Jim Perry, both of Harness Intelligence, advised her along the way and are featured in the book as well.

“I learned that it takes a village to launch a book,” Selen says. “Definitely not a lonely road.”

"Selen has captured some lightning in a bottle—and made it something we can all share. Unique Belonging is grounded in science without feeling academic. Its stories make the ideas real; its models bring clarity, and its practical guidance helps leaders move from good intentions to action." — Richard Hodge

Built for leaders and for everyone else

The book gives leaders a timely, practical resource for making AI and transformation actually work. It speaks just as directly to individuals who want to thrive, contribute, and grow in a workplace that AI is reshaping in real time.

Free quizzes

Curious where your organization sits on the belonging-and-uniqueness spectrum? Take a short, research-grounded quiz based and get a snapshot of where your culture stands today.

• CultivMaX™ Diagnostic (Organization—The Enabler): A short quiz based on the Four Cultural States of Innovation Matrix that reveals your organization’s cultural state and points toward pathways for belonging, uniqueness, and innovation.
• Leader Quiz (Leadership Role—The Integrator): A quick self-check grounded in the Innovation-Enabled Culture Blueprint to help leaders reflect on their practices and identify areas for growth.
• Individual Quiz (Personal Role—The Indispensable): A short assessment to help you explore how you can thrive by being fully yourself—bringing your uniqueness forward while contributing meaningfully to your organization.

Take a free quiz →

Beyond the free quizzes, advanced assessments and programs are available as part of structured, bespoke engagements for self-growth, executives and leaders, organizations, and conference & event organizers.

How to get the book

Support the launch and discover how human-centered cultures can unlock innovation in your organization.

Get your copy →

See also: Talent Development Tuesday - Fitting in and standing out