Unleashing Creativity: Finding the Balance in Diverse Environments
Cultivating a Culture of Innovation: Adaptable Strategies for Teams in Any Environment
🚀 DEVELOP: Unleashing Potential
This week, we're diving into a reader's request (thank you! keep ‘em coming!): how to help team members break free from the constraints of big-company thinking and unleash their creative potential.
Let's remember that creativity can flourish in various types of organizations, big and small, and the key is finding the right balance for your unique team dynamic. Here are some actionable tips to foster a culture of creativity and innovation that can be tailored to your team's specific needs:
Embrace the power of "What if?" 🤔💡 Encourage your team to start thinking in terms of possibilities rather than restrictions. By framing challenges as "What if we...?" questions, you'll inspire a mindset that is open to exploration and experimentation. This approach turns problems into opportunities for growth and change.
HOW TIP: I've found pre-mortems or PIP Decks by Charles Burdett to be helpful in my experience. The PIP Deck “Hopes & Fears” exercise can be an excellent way to get a team “un-stuck” and to plant (or replant) the seeds of psychological safety.
Make it safe to experiment 🛡️🚫 One of the biggest reasons people are afraid to think outside the box is the fear of failure. Rebrand failure around experimentation. Create a safe space for your team to experiment by emphasizing that failure is a natural part of the learning process. Normalize “failing” by encourage the sharing of lessons learned from setbacks and celebrate the courage to try new things.
HOW TIP: Do post-mortems, make them visible, and reference them regularly (e.g., as part of your innovation reviews).
Schedule unstructured brainstorming sessions ⏰🌪️ Designate specific times for free-form brainstorming sessions, where team members can share ideas without any judgment or pressure. Emphasize that these sessions are for exploration, not evaluation. This will help your team feel more comfortable thinking beyond their usual boundaries.
HOW TIP: Charles has several wonderful PIP Deck recipes for how to workshop effective brainstorming sessions. Adapt these methods to fit your team's specific needs and preferences.
Encourage cross-functional collaboration 🤝🌉 Break down silos by encouraging your team members to collaborate with other departments and disciplines. This will expose them to new perspectives and spark innovative ideas. Plus, it'll help them understand how their work fits into the bigger picture, making it easier to identify opportunities for improvement.
HOW TIP: As a team leader, it is on you to create and regularly optimize your stakeholder engagement map through Influencer Engineering.
Reward and recognize creative efforts 🏆🎉 Recognize and reward team members for their creative contributions, regardless of the outcome—especially failed experiments! By showing that you value their innovative thinking, you'll foster an environment where creativity can thrive.
HOW TIP: Although this may be self-explanatory, you’d be surprised how far a compliment will go toward changing the nature of the conversations. Take time to celebrate and recognize efforts and out-of-the box thinking. As you manage through the tyranny of meetings, consider a quick 15-min recognition-only meeting…THAT meeting will certainly be worth it!
Helping your team think beyond the corporate lines might seem challenging at first, but with persistence and the right approach, you can create a culture that embraces creativity and innovation. Encourage open-mindedness, create safe spaces for exploration, and celebrate the journey—not just the destination. With time, your team will soar beyond the limits of what they once thought possible!
As you put these tips into practice, remember that the effectiveness of each strategy may vary depending on your team's unique context and individual preferences. It's essential to be adaptable and open to modifying these approaches as needed to suit your specific team dynamics.
To quote leadership expert James M. Kouzes, “exemplary leaders know that if they want to gain commitment and achieve the highest standards, they must be models of the behavior they expect of others.”
Call to action: Reflect on your team's unique needs and dynamics, then choose one experiment from the five we discussed to adapt and implement tomorrow with your team.
Disclosure: all of the tools / websites / service recommendations I make are non-paid. I’ve simply used them and found them to be effective. If you've found others that work for you, please let me know!
Amen to the pre-mortem. They can be invaluable in framing expectations. Another tip: The "5 Reasons" exercise, i.e. In 5 minutes, the team articulates 5 Reasons an idea/project/campaign will fail. Be specific about exactly how and why. Then... flip to 5 minutes spent articulating why the same idea will be unexpectedly successful—i.e. what *could* occur if luck intervenes? Then take a break. Maybe for 24 hours. When you return, you'll very likely see immediate ways to tune, de-risk, and enhance the idea/project/campaign.