Encouraging innovation starts within office teams

Encouraging innovation is vital today, and the process can take many forms.

Innovation is the lifeblood of modern business. Every company wants it – firms that innovate can take drastic leaps ahead of less-ambitious competitors. But where does this elusive source of power come from? If the pursuit of innovation was too obvious, all businesses would be equally skilled at it, and, obviously, this isn’t so. That just means it’s time for leaders to dig deeper and find the skills that lead to innovation excellence.
As with any kind of corporate progress, there are ways to incubate and support innovation at all levels. Leaders can create a corporate culture that encourages bold thinking and set up structures that reward risk-taking rather than the status quo. Then they can encourage new ways of thinking among their teams. There are various ways to go about this and numerous reasons to do so.
Building a new mindset
When the status quo is good, it can be hard to encourage teams to come out of their collective comfort zone. According to Forbes contributor Micah Solomon, resolving a case of too much inertia involves teaching employees they can innovate in a multitude of ways. Showing the breadth of the concept may help spark new ideas and get the ball rolling on meaningful and helpful changes affecting the whole company.
Solomon broke out four types of company elements that can be usefully reinvented by an innovative team, including the product the company makes; the process by which the organization creates or sells the product; the overall business model; and the firm’s tone, meaning its internal and external culture. With these four areas away, it’s time to innovate within them. This doesn’t have to be as drastic as it sounds, either.
When it comes to the modern concept of innovation, the prevailing image is disruption, starting from scratch and cutting down old ways of doing things. Solomon explained that when leaders tell their teams they can iterate rather than “blowing stuff up,” they may feel more free to suggest ideas or make useful new developments. Accepting many different kinds of ideas, and creating an environment in which they are accepted and discussed actively, can turn a static company into an innovation incubator.

Listen to the voice of the employee
When it comes to harvesting useful ideas, Brink encouraged leaders to create a culture of conversation and collaboration. The best ideas get iterated on, turning creativity and innovation into the engines of the business.
Organizations today are caught up in waves of changes based largely in technology. The news source explained that expanding creativity and decision-making throughout the company and talking with employees rather than locking them into rigid roles, can alleviate some of the fear and doubt caused by such industrial evolution while simultaneously giving more professionals a voice in business decisions. The benefits of such a system are great and include positivity becoming a company value.
Brink explained it’s reasonable for leaders to worry about relinquishing some of their control in favor of listening to the voice of the crowd, the system is more resilient than it at first seems. When creativity is in the hands of the employee population as a whole, group decision-making tends to ensure less trustworthy opinions don’t take over, and the company stays on a productive path.
Empowering workers
Leaders who want to ensure their employees are well-equipped to flex their decision-making muscles and lead their companies to new heights can invest in creativity and innovation courses from Mastery TCN. Inspiring a new sense of dynamism and possibility can lead firms down productive new paths in the years ahead.
If you are an employer looking for training solutions, check out our list of partners or contact us for a referral here.
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