The development of unconventional forms of innovation relies on information and knowledge exchange and their subsequent integration. However, deceptive knowledge hiding (KH) stifles creativity and hinders the growth of innovative skills and corporate performance. This paper uses a cognitive collective engagement approach and an unconventional management style – knowledge-oriented leadership – to explain how to mitigate deceptive KH by focusing on reducing high levels of task management conflict, which is thought to be an antecedent of KH. We also illustrate how reducing KH has a beneficial influence on innovative capabilities, allowing businesses to achieve long-term competitive advantages. A structural equations model is used to test our assumptions in a sample of 118 inland Spanish hotels. The findings confirm that deceptive KH resulting from task management conflict erodes innovative capabilities in this industry. We also find that knowledge-oriented leadership has positive and strong direct and indirect consequences on task management conflict, knowledge hiding, and innovation capabilities. The implications of using this unconventional leadership perspective to improve innovation capabilities are discussed in detail by the study’s authors.