How to Foster Creativity and Innovation Within Your Organization

Building a workplace environment that allows employees to explore innovative, creative outlets is one of our 31 Leadership Competencies. Successful leaders understand that employees are more productive when they can experiment and express their own ideas. Your organization can show your employees that you care about their development by giving them room to grow.I’ve been reading about workplace innovation this week. The articles below offer guidelines for leaders and employers that I think you’ll find helpful.How To Innovate: Experiment! (It's Not Just For Scientists). Forbes: “Prototyping—or development experimentation—is the best way to keep innovation moving at today’s competitive pace. Scientists have been using the experimental method for centuries. But cost and time have been considered barriers to innovation. In the not-so-distant past, traditional development life cycles included research, consulting work, and numerous studies. But at what cost? All this added up to a lot of time consumed, with large budgets to support the effort. True innovation was something that could take years. Today, those traditional methods are quickly becoming history. What was formerly referred to as ‘shadow IT’ experimentation—often frowned on by management—is now mainstream.”Seven Ways That Even The Smartest Companies Kill Great Ideas. Inc: “The number of very smart people I've heard say, ‘That's just not the way we do it around here!’ is the single most incredible aspect of my job. So the next time you want to say ‘That's not the way we do it here,’ try instead saying, ‘We prefer to let someone else do it that way and succeed in figuring it out so that they can take our customers away from us.’ Doesn't sound as comforting, does it? Here's a news flash; the greatest threats to any business are those that make the least business sense because they are the most antithetical to your current business model. Think it won't happen to you? You'll recognize the next big thing, especially if it's right under your nose. So did Kodak, which invented digital photography and then summarily killed it, and themselves.”3 Easy Ways To Build Creativity Into Your Company Culture. Fast Company: “One paradox about business is that your profits largely depend on productivity and efficiency while, at the same time, these values are not necessarily conducive to creativity. When you're at your most productive, you are usually using methods and procedures that you have already mastered. For example, if your company’s main product is Widget X, you will naturally want to find ways to make more of these widgets in less time. A truly creative approach, however, might involve developing a Widget Y, which could represent a radical new breakthrough. That’s why it’s important to balance productivity and creativity.”Points to Make Innovation a Success. ITS Innovative: “Innovative companies often seek out the best talent to help them develop new technologies and products. They headhunt and bargain with external hires in order to bring the best and brightest to their doorsteps. Instead of looking outside the organization, though, it’s also important to remember to cultivate champions internally. Companies should aim to create programs to encourage the training and development of their current employees to help them achieve their fullest potential. Not all champions are born; some can be made when given the right tools and opportunities.”How To Incite Business Innovation In Your Company. SAP Business Innovation: “The youth of today sometimes have a bad reputation. However, remember the role that youth has historically played in the moon landing, the dot-com revolution, and other innovation milestones. In addition, many of today’s young people are quickly becoming millionaires and billionaires. Since technology is ubiquitous in today’s landscape, millennials know all about it, and they understand what’s relevant and what isn’t. They should be hired, nurtured, and celebrated for major accomplishments in any business...Administrative bureaucracy and red tape are inevitable burdens for any business, but they should not hinder innovation within your company.”Need help fostering innovation at your organization? Get in touch!Success Labs is a leadership development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.