---
id: "framework-three-functions-of-bridgers"
type: "framework"
source_timestamps: ["¶8", "§ What Bridgers Do", "§ Curating partners.", "§ Translating among partners.", "§ Integrating disparate intentions and ways of working."]
tags: ["leadership-model", "process-framework"]
related: ["concept-bridger", "concept-mutual-trust-influence-commitment", "concept-social-glue", "concept-contextual-intelligence"]
steps: ["\\\"Curating partners (selecting", "vetting", "and earning trust through deep listening).\\\"", "\\\"Translating among partners (exposing differences", "strategic storytelling", "making motivations explicit).\\\"", "\\\"Integrating disparate intentions (co-creating operating models", "defining shared metrics", "building social glue).\\\""]
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2026/03/why-great-innovations-fail-to-scale"
source_title: "Why Great Innovations Fail to Scale"
sources: ["futures"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-futures"
originDay: 2
articleStem: "hbr-nm-102-innovations-fail-to-scale"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/03/why-great-innovations-fail-to-scale"
sourceTitle: "Why Great Innovations Fail to Scale"
---
# The Three Functions of Bridgers

[[concept-bridger|Bridgers]] perform three critical, **fluidly overlapping** functions throughout the innovation process to scale ideas across boundaries. These are *continuous activities*, not discrete consecutive steps, and each is aimed at producing [[concept-mutual-trust-influence-commitment|mutual trust, influence, and commitment]].

**1. Curating partners** — Selecting and attracting the right stakeholders for both *capabilities* and *buy-in*. Bridgers cast a wide net, vet partners by discovering points of alignment and friction, and earn trust through deep listening and empathy so partners reveal their true risk appetites. *Exemplar:* [[entity-raja-al-mazrouei|Raja Al Mazrouei]] at [[entity-org-difc-fintech-hive|DIFC Fintech Hive]] — one-on-one listening tours, sharing proprietary benchmarking data to create urgency, and engaging regulators early to co-develop a novel testing license.

**2. Translating among partners** — Building common understanding across differing priorities, strengths, and risk tolerances. Bridgers **expose differences through dialogue rather than minimizing them**, use strategic storytelling to make abstract concepts tangible (especially between technical and non-technical groups), and make underlying motivations and fears explicit — turning operational friction into joint problem-solving. *Exemplar:* [[entity-garry-lyons|Garry Lyons]] at [[entity-org-mastercard-labs|Mastercard Labs]] — physical prototypes for the board, and one-on-one education that never made non-technical leaders feel like [[quote-second-class-citizens|'second-class citizens']].

**3. Integrating disparate intentions and ways of working** — Defining a shared 'north star' and coordinating efforts. Bridgers facilitate [[action-co-create-operating-model|co-creation of a common operating model]] (division of labor, decision rights, shared metrics such as the [[framework-dfv|DFV framework]]), maintain a **ruthless focus on forward momentum** to avoid analysis paralysis, and build [[concept-social-glue|social glue]] by [[action-articulate-shared-intention|constantly linking the shared intention to individual priorities]]. *Exemplar:* [[entity-nicole-m-jones|Nicole M. Jones]] at [[entity-org-the-hangar|The Hangar]], often using the [[framework-initiative-canvas|Initiative Canvas]].