Trending
New ideas, reinvention, and creative energy are the lifeblood of success today. Yet so many companies in my orbit play in highly regulated and/or risk-averse spaces. And the tension between wanting to innovate and needing to contain risk can be a tricky one to balance.
So how to navigate the balancing act between innovating and risk-containing?
In our ready-to-roll, interactive workshop we discuss - and action plan against - the three drivers of Innovation They are, we believe, the drivers that will move us all forward in 2022.
1. Mindset
Expanding our collective capability for Innovation begins with expanding what defines it and therefore whose responsibility it is (spoiler: it’s everyone’s responsibility).
Too many organizations focus their Innovation efforts in product – because that’s where the invention of things tends to happen.
But a culture of Innovation begins with a mindset that Innovation is everyone’s responsibility…and it comes in many shapes and forms. Developing new ways of engaging with customers, infusing new life into old processes and programs, identifying incremental shifts in how we market to customers or attract talent…. These are all Innovations.
This is the mindset we focus on building.
2. Climate
Believing that Innovation belongs to everyone is a critical foundation.
But having a climate in which it can thrive is the next great challenge.
In our program we focus on two key elements of an Innovation climate:
- A climate of exploration – in which people are given time, space, encouragement, forums, tools, resources, and more in which to express their curiosity, their wonder, and their willingness to imagine.
- A climate of experimentation – in which small, managed (read: risk-mitigated!) experiments can be run, learned from, reimagined, tweaked, run again, and celebrated.
The reality – especially in highly risk-averse companies – is that these elements of climate are easier said than implemented. In our workshop we focus on identifying our obstacles and homing in on actionable strategies we can execute immediately to shift in the right direction.
How can you do the same with your team?
3. Leadership Behaviors
And finally. As leaders, we all have an accountability to keep Innovation humming. Here are just some of the critical leadership behaviors we workshop in this workshop!
Leaders who drive a culture of Innovation in a risk-mitigated world…
- Role Model – I don’t mean role modeling eureka moments, but rather the practices – of asking, listening, learning, trying, failing, and bouncing back.
- Storytell – Lore is a powerful incentive If the only “Innovation” stories you tell are about breakthrough inventions, then people will check out. Telling stories of innovative approaches to customer service, to employee recruitment – these get people excited to roll up their sleeves.
- Recognize and reward – Again, not breakthrough innovations, but innovative behaviors. When we preach learning from failure, but we punish those who actually fail…we are the ones failing. Are you recognizing those who speak up, who try things, who learn along the way?
Well, there you have some food for thought around Innovation. I hope it left you hungry!
And whether your interest is in this particular workshop, or you have other needs you’d like to explore, connect with us anytime! We really are lovely, if I do say so myself!