How can you create an environment that encourages ideation?

To foster ideation, cultivate an open and inclusive atmosphere where every voice is valued. Encourage curiosity and exploration by providing diverse stimuli, such as brainstorming sessions, collaborative projects, and exposure to different perspectives. Embrace risk-taking and experimentation, emphasizing that failure is a stepping stone to innovation. Foster a culture of active listening and constructive feedback, ensuring ideas are met with encouragement and refinement rather than criticism. Establish flexible spaces that facilitate both focused work and spontaneous discussions, allowing ideas to flow freely. Celebrate creativity and recognize contributions, motivating individuals to continue generating and sharing innovative concepts.

In my opinion, the first thing to do is to set a goal for the session. It could be generating ideas to solve a problem, stepping out of the comfort zone with original ideas for a new product or concept, or something else. Then, based on this goal, you can establish the session's rules. Here's a rule I suggest: listen to all ideas without commenting in the first part of this workshop. An idea may inspire others on aspects they haven't considered before. Before starting, it's essential to clarify the objectives for all participants by explaining what led to organizing an ideation session and reminding them of the rules.

Before, always ensure that the participants know why they are there - the charter, purpose, scope, and outcomes is necessary. In the session, ask a clear, concise question to start the ideation. Plan whether you want open participation (brainstorm listing), anonymous (brainwriting), or small groups depending on the dynamics of the group so that it is safe and all participate.

Before beginning any ideation session, it’s imperative to set the context clearly. This involves clarifying the purpose, scope, and objectives of the session. Participants should be aware of the rules and expectations, including time constraints, the expected number of ideas, and the method for sharing and documenting these ideas. Setting the context aligns everyone, reduces confusion, and directs focus, ensuring a productive ideation session.

In my experience, by clearly defining the challenge or problem statement that participants will be addressing during the ideation session was most critical. I provided context, background information, and any relevant constraints or criteria to guide participants’ thinking. Framing the challenge in a way that inspired curiosity and sparked creativity was a game-changer.

There are activities that help encourage participants to 'think out of the box' so that they are comfortable providing all ideas - the good, the bad, and the ugly. They need to know that all ideas are good - even strange ones that may trigger brilliant ones later.

Starting with a personal and amusing icebreaker, within the appropriate bounds, is crucial. Then, encourage participants to share their own stories (if they are willing, it's crucial not to force participants if they are not comfortable). Being attentive to these stories and expressing gratitude for their involvement can establish an initial trust bond and create an atmosphere conducive to open exchange of ideas without fear of judgment.

Ideation demands creativity, mental energy, and openness. Warm-up exercises or icebreakers can prepare the group mentally and emotionally. Engage participants with activities that are fun, relevant, and encourage sharing personal stories or brainstorming unconventional solutions. This approach not only breaks the ice but also stimulates curiosity and creativity, setting the stage for effective ideation.

Find the most culturally-relevant tools to warm up the crowd. Some icebreakers like 'check ins' are very Anglo-Saxon and will not make your group feel comfortable. It is not always appropriate to get personal either so find the right balance of an exercise that makes people look forward to the session without being tacky. Sometimes, a great snack table really is all you need.

Being neutral means not sharing. It's about them, not you. Use the tools to enable the participants to engage, not something about you or your ideas.

In my view, it could be possible to provide some inspiration to help participants generate more ideas. However, I believe that this session relies on collective intelligence and not solely on the facilitator. Therefore, my first recommendation is to let everyone share their ideas, including those that have been tested and failed, even those deemed impossible. A participant may inspire another, and encouraging people without providing comments is important to push beyond the comfort zone. In case there's a lack of ideas, asking relevant and deep questions can reignite the idea generation process.

To generate a wealth of ideas, sometimes inspiration is needed. Share examples, stories, or facts related to the challenge at hand, and utilize visual aids like images or videos to stimulate imagination. This expands perspectives, enriches knowledge, and encourages participants to think beyond their assumptions, fueling the generation of innovative ideas.

The Lightning Demos exercise from Google Design Sprint is a great way to ignite inspiration showcasing successful solutions that already exist. Firstly, each participant researches individually and comes up with 2-3 examples that they think the team can use as inspiration. It is paramount to remind people to think outside of their industry or field. After the research round, ask everyone to briefly present their ideas one by one, showing the whole team what’s so cool about it, and put up the post-it notes on the wall.

Get creative - a great space, outside their office, can also energise people and provide a new environment to think together. Music, art, a new seating arrangement, and yes food - all are great ways to bring some fun into the event!

Employ various techniques to cater to the diversity of ideas you’re aiming to generate. Techniques such as brainstorming, mind mapping, SCAMPER, six thinking hats, and reverse brainstorming can be highly effective. Feel free to combine techniques or tailor them to fit your session’s needs, enhancing the diversity and depth of ideation.

Get super creative here. If you're an external facilitator, find out more about your client and what their work is like, and talk to them. Don't use the normal boring handbook, it's been done to death!

The best option is to include stakeholders with varying backgrounds, ethnicities, ages, genders, responsibilities, and experiences. If your access to certain stakeholders for the time of the session is limited, try to gather input beforehand and find a way to share it with the participants of the session. Moreover, you can use exercises that bring out different perspectives such as six thinking hats or role-playing.

A diverse group of participants can significantly enrich the ideation process. Invite individuals from various backgrounds to contribute their unique perspectives, skills, and experiences. Foster an inclusive environment where all ideas are welcomed and respected, no matter how unconventional. This diversity not only enriches the ideation session but also helps to mitigate groupthink and bias.

Encourage participants to engage in divergent thinking by generating as many ideas as possible, regardless of feasibility or practicality. Use brainstorming techniques such as mind mapping, word association, or random stimulus to stimulate creative thinking and explore unconventional ideas.

Go deep when it comes to diversity. Mix up groups according to their department, level, language, or some other category altogether. Again - get creative! Do not put all the young people together, all the women together, etc. Nothing halts the flow of creativity more than a 90s style corporate retreat.

Feedback is crucial for refining and enhancing ideas. Provide constructive feedback by highlighting strengths and weaknesses, and encourage participants to do the same for each other. This process of giving and receiving feedback improves ideas, motivates participants, and fosters a culture of appreciation and continuous improvement.

Not this. (And I love feedback) What is the #1 barrier to sharing your ideas? Mine is still the fear of being shot down. Someone not liking it, not liking me. Someone thinking it’s dumb. And really, the fear that my ideas aren’t good enough to be chosen. ?? If you truly want to encourage ideation… Leave feedback out!! This will allow people to freely share, to be creative, to think anything is possible. ?? The key to ideation is to have people come up with so many ideas that they don’t even remember or care if their ideas get used…turning the focus to collaborative fun and contribution to a larger goal. Feedback can join you for the next session. ??

Sharing ideas during an ideation session is crucial, it's the essence of the subject. Encouraging participants to speak, fostering a sense of security in a non-judgmental space is vital. Intervening to shield a participant from negative feedback or unconstructive input is important. In a brainstorming session, there are no good or bad ideas, there's collective intelligence. This entails generating a substantial number of ideas and then delving deeper into reflections with participants in working groups.

Encourage playfulness and experimentation by incorporating elements of fun, humor, and spontaneity into the ideation process. Encourage participants to think creatively, take risks, and explore unconventional ideas without worrying about being “right” or “wrong.”

Establishing a good composition of participants is essential. An environment of psychological safety should be fostered to enable each team member to share their ideas openly.