Necessity once was thought to be the mother of invention.
Why? Because it makes us want to innovate – or actually,
need to innovate. However, most of us are already
motivated. As workers in the Age of Ideas, we love to
innovate, right? What we need is an environment where
innovation comes naturally, where there are no unnatural
blocks to our urge to create.
Organizationally speaking, our environment is the
organization’s culture – an all-pervasive force that shapes
our individual expectations, actions, interpretations and
responses to events. There are certain mandates in the
culture that make it more natural for members of the
organization to innovate. Typically, when you see a list of
these, it includes things like trust, communication and
risk taking. While those are all valid, they’re a little
too abstract to be readily used in leading an organization.
Instead, here are three simple mandates that can help you
create an environment that supports innovation.
MANDATE 1:Â GET CAUGHT WITH YOUR ASSUMPTIONS DOWN
Have you ever been in one of those meetings where people
aren’t really talking to one another and the discussion
goes around in circles?
I was recently working with the executive team of a
technology start-up – very smart guys. They wanted to speed
up their decision making process. During an offsite, a
strategic issue came up. I could tell immediately that the
discussion was one of those circular muddles. After about
ten minutes, I asked them how much of what they had just
heard was “new news” – information that hadn’t been
discussed before in this group. The answer? About ten
percent! Imagine how much time they were wasting if ninety
percent of what they were discussing was old news!
I re-started the discussion by asking them to tell me only
the known facts. A team member would put out a fact. I
would ask others if it was really a fact. Some pretty wild
debates ensued. After nearly thirty minutes of this
discussion, the team said they finally understood why they
had been discussing this issue for three months! They were
now ready to move forward.
The magic? Only that I required them to distinguish between
facts, assumptions, opinions and unknowns. Not so
complicated, but very important. They were now willing and
able to get caught with their assumptions down. And they
had learned that in doing so, they were better able to
understand one another’s thinking and come to decisions
that made sense.
Getting caught with your assumptions down enables lively
and genuine conversations instead of those circular
muddles. These conversations are key to innovation.
MANDATE 2:Â THINK OUTSIDE IN
What is “outside” and what is “inside” depends on your
perspective. If you’re in fifth grade, everyone in the
fourth grade is “outside.” But if you’re the principal, all
of the students are “inside.” Who is “outside” your
organization and needs to be brought in? Customers,
suppliers, community partners and anyone else who is
critical to your success.
These stakeholders are not part of your formal
organization. And no doubt you have mechanisms for
communicating with them, gathering data from them, and
solving their problems. That’s good but not good enough if
you want an innovative culture. If you’re like most
leaders, your “default setting” for these folks is
“outside” of processes such as strategic planning,
designing systems and processes and establishing metrics.
Flip it! Make the default setting “inside” – assume that
key stakeholders will play an active role in critical
business processes. Instead of having to make a case for
bringing them in, ask your team to make a case for when
they need to be left out.
By thinking outside in, you’ll increase the likelihood for
innovative ideas many times over.
MANDATE 3:Â HAVE NO “KNOW” BOUNDARIES
You already know that you can’t be the expert at
everything. Technology is too complex and moves too fast to
make that possible. Whatever your position, whatever your
field there are likely folks on your team who can add to
your expertise. Especially now that you know that your
“team” includes external stakeholders like customers and
users. Imagine what they know that you should know!
How do you create a culture where everyone can contribute
her expertise fully? Where gaps in knowledge are considered
normal, not a “problem” but a routine part of exploring
solutions. The most powerful single thing a leader can do
in this arena is to say “I don’t know.” If the leader feels
comfortable acknowledging that he doesn’t have all the
answers, others will begin to assume it’s ok for them to
not know. And when it’s ok to not know, we can identify and
fill gaps in our knowledge.
Often we don’t acknowledge what we don’t know for fear of
seeming ignorant or “not up to the job.” It can feel risky
to acknowledge what we lack. Here’s the catch – trust is a
risk game and the leader must ante up first.
So, leader, it’s your job to be the first to set the norm
of acknowledging what you don’t know and asking for others’
ideas, input and information. When you do that, everyone
can contribute without fear of stepping on someone’s toes.
Knowledge flows freely without getting stuck in the eddies
of invulnerability. And innovation thrives!
MAKING THE “NEW” CULTURE REAL
Now here’s the hard part. You can’t dictate any part of
your culture. An important part of your role as a leader in
the organization (formal or informal) is to help foster the
development of these mandates in your culture. How do you
do that?
First, you set an example. You might, for example, be the
first one on the team to say, “I don’t know.” Or you might
notice assumptions the group may be taking as facts and
call the group’s attention to it.
Second, find opportunities for a brief explanation of why
you took the action you did. For example, if you invite a
partner to a meeting, be sure your whole team understands
that this isn’t an isolated incident but part of how you
see your task and your organization.
Third, set the rumor mill on the right track. Every culture
has its stories and its heroes. Be on the lookout for
places where these new behaviors have created a positive
outcome. Then get the story told over and over at the
“water cooler.”
If you do these things, you can shape your organization’s
culture. It won’t happen overnight – culture change happens
slowly, especially in large organizations. But over time
the culture will shift and you will have discovered a way
to change your environment to breed innovation and success.
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Take charge of your organization – free resources at
http://fordbusinessconsulting.com/gorillagoods.html .
Dr. Linda Ford helps leaders create organizations that
achieve superior performance. She has consulted to
companies ranging from small start-ups to Fortune 100
companies as well as non-profit organizations To learn more
about Dr. Ford, visit http://www.FordBusinessConsulting.com
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