How can you inspire your team to think outside the box?

Thinking outside of the box is an empty statement if we don't help the team understand the box. Many people are unaware of the box they thrive in. A goldfish has no concept of water. You only find out how American, German, or Japanese you are when you start to travel. So the key is to enable the team to build up multiple perspectives of "the box." The customer view, the supplier view, the employee view, the competitors view. Allow them to travel, train them to observe, inquire, listen, understand. My experience is that with this, the innovation will naturally start; first as a trickle and then in a flow.

The top managers I have the chance to work with teach me always to think about to rise my bar.. and this was my way since that moment.. working with a mindset of the 2x or 3x instead of 0,2 or 0,3 as increase is my belief. My team knows than instead to work to fix issues with a short term vision, I need to get from them either long terms solutions or visionary solution.. Thinking as usual will kill us… future is for the brave !! This is the message I share with my teams.. easy? It’s not… successful.. it is !!

Thinking outside the box is a nebulous and controversial statement. Is there really a box? Who created it? What type of box is it? Consequently, there is boxless thinking, thinking within the box, and thinking outside the box. So, where do you fit or belong? In reality, individuals, groups, and society create the so-called box. The box is therefore individually and socially constructed. The approach for navigating the box through thinking is the same: training and capacity building on how to think. I recommend the Six Thinking Hats. It is a thinking tool developed by Edward de Bono. Each "hat" represents a different style of thinking, helping individuals approach problem-solving or decision-making from various perspectives. My thoughts! ??

Back up. Are you even asking the right questions or solving the right problems or creating something that will be bought and enjoyed/appreciated? Ask better questions. Question storm before you brainstorm. Identify the illness instead of the symptom(s). People say one thing and do another or sometimes don’t know what the problem truly is. Test for accurate results. Begin with the end in mind. Before you expend a ton of time and resources innovating, is the juice worth the squeeze? Lastly, don’t assume you’re the best person to solve the problem.

By ensuring them that nothing is "off" the table, and that every idea is considered as valuable contribution towards growth, innovation, efficiencies, etc. If you've hired the right team, and it's likely that you have, then identifying any sort of guard rails relative to "creative/critical thinking," which is how I also identify out of the box, is only diminishing your team's value. Thinking outside the box is also tough to avoid in a time when we're all impacted by internal and external factors, from technology, to customers, to suppliers, to competitors. Now is THE time to welcome open thinking. We typically know what the box is, we just need to empower thinking outside of it.

To provide effective and engaging feedback to your team, focus on specificity and actionability, utilize the feedback sandwich method, provide feedback in various forms, incorporate visuals and storytelling, prioritize frequency and consistency, create a safe and supportive environment, embrace two-way feedback, focus on growth and development, and utilize technology to simplify the process. By implementing these strategies, you can enhance the effectiveness of your feedback sessions, foster continuous learning, and empower your team to reach their full potential.

We have seen if credit or blame is removed from ideas or suggestions, teams become far more comfortable & open. Ideas & feedback are written on post-its & presented on a wall. All vote & good ideas are retained.

Feedback is there to elevate you. Often it carries a negative connotation yet if you view it as a chance to continually improve you'll get better at implementing the feedback you receive.

To inspire out-of-the-box thinking in teams, it's essential to blend constructive feedback with unwavering support. This approach, backed by a Gallup study, shows that employees who receive regular feedback are nearly 3 times more likely to be engaged. Engagement, in turn, fuels creativity, as engaged teams demonstrate higher levels of innovation and adaptability. By fostering an environment where feedback is seen as a tool for growth and support as a foundation for risk-taking, teams are more likely to break free from conventional thinking and explore groundbreaking ideas.

To foster innovation through feedback and support, adopt a 'guided discovery' approach. Ask questions that lead team members to self-evaluate and refine their ideas, enhancing their problem-solving skills and sense of ownership. Embrace a 'celebrate all efforts' philosophy, acknowledging the creativity and effort behind every idea. This recognition builds resilience and motivates continuous effort, even in the face of setbacks. Establish 'iterative feedback loops' for regular, ongoing feedback, making it an integral part of the innovation cycle. This approach creates a supportive and dynamic environment that values, encourages, and thrives on innovative thinking and continuous improvement.

Napoleon knew commands from the top snuff out new ideas. Instead, he built a system where creative thinking flowed up from below. He judged people only by talent, not background. Napoleon rapidly promoted promising young soldiers, breaking rigid hierarchies. He pushed decision-making down to officers on the front lines, instead of distant bureaucrats. This spurred aggressive maneuvers from input across all ranks. Napoleon also shared recognition widely through rewards and bulletins, motivating everyone to raise bold options. Through inclusive meritocracy and psychological safety, not control, the great dictator ironically drew system-wide ingenuity that outmatched opponents. Bottom-up mobility fueled out-of-the-box thinking.

It’s great to celebrate these big wins! Just don’t forget about celebrating those smaller or less obvious successes, too. Recognizing employees whose work doesn’t naturally call attention to itself can help reinforce their sense of purpose at work, a key driver of employee retention.

From some subordinates, I have heard a recurring comment that some managers take all of the praise for great work and shift blames. Firstly, Managers and/or leaders need to kill that behaviour. It demoralises staff morale. Secondly, praise and appreciate good work. Ensure that the individual team member is recognised even though it is a team task. Encourage team bonding activities. The manager and/or leader is always the fall guy. Have the back of your team. Take responsibility for poor work and fix it because that is what excellent managers and/or leaders do??

I believe the concept of “Gamification” can further boost outside-the-box thinking within a team. Challenges or games can make problem-solving more engaging, turning tasks into enjoyable experiences. This approach psychologically taps into motivation of completing challenges and being rewarded, enhancing creativity and collaboration.

Effective employee management involves clear communication, recognizing achievements, and fair rewards. A historic example is when Henry Ford doubled workers' wages in 1914, fostering loyalty and productivity. Regular feedback, acknowledging hard work, and ensuring equitable compensation are timeless strategies for maintaining a motivated and dedicated team. Open dialogue and personalized recognition contribute to a positive work culture, boosting morale and performance. Ultimately, investing in employees pays dividends in organizational success and employee satisfaction.

In my experience, there are 3 main points to consider to encourage diversity and collaboration: 1- Company culture, many companies run inclusion and diversity programs, but when looking at leadership positions, the numbers are not proportional to those of the company as a whole. Companies attract talent through diversity programs, but then try to fit it into their culture, generating frustration or evasion. 2- Empathy, for this it is important to recognize that we all have biases to a greater or lesser extent, and the simple fact of recognizing this allows us to be more empathetic. 3- Time and space must be provided, as well as processes and methodologies that encourage genuine and true participation and collaboration.

Divergent thinking can come from nature in neurodiversity or from nurture in education or experience. In same thinking seeking different thoughts vs different thinking seeking different thoughts, the latter will often exceed the former. Want to converge on what will be most accepted by the masses? Apply convergent thinkers. Want to disrupt the status quo and truly innovate beyond the next step and reach next gen? Apply divergent thinkers.

Construa uma equipe diversificada, com membros de diferentes forma??es, experiências e perspectivas. A diversidade de pensamento pode levar a abordagens inovadoras para os desafios enfrentados pela equipe.

Encouraging diversity and collaboration in teams is like mixing different spices in a dish - it brings out unique flavors of creativity! A BCG study found that companies with diverse management teams report 19% higher innovation revenue compared to those with below-average diversity scores. So, mix it up! Different perspectives in a team can create a melting pot of ideas, leading to innovative solutions that are as delightful and unexpected as a well-seasoned meal. Embrace diversity, and watch the magic of collective brainstorming unfold!

Diversity is the key to innovative thinking. We have seen the more diverse the team, the richer the ideas. But diversity has to be consciously built into teams taking into account not gender and age, but cultural and financial backgrounds. We have tried immersive diversity, where few team members spend time with people outside the company (customers, stakeholders and vendors), so truly understand their point of view.

If variety is the spice of life, then gaining new skills, insights, and perspectives fuels innovation. Innovations in a given industry often come from outside that industry. So, as you encourage your team to find new perspectives and insights, point them to other industries, countries, and cultures. Remove any constraints to fresh input. This gets them outside the box. "Thinking outside the box" is a phrase with unintended constraints... The BOX. Therefore, encourage your teams to "THINK." No boundaries. No filters. No limitations on applicability. Make this change and reap the rewards. Or react to another company's innovation that forces you to change while they reap the rewards. Your choice.

Encourage employees to think and question processes, applications, behaviors and technologies, no matter how elementary they may be. Empower them to challenge the status quo and propose alternatives. I like many of the examples mentioned in Adam Grant's book called Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, emphasizing the importance of senior leadership promoting this behavior within companies.

One of the key new "skills" to learn I believe is Curiosity. Specifically, it is 1) to be able to "unlearn" old ways, conventions, and norms and 2) to be able to ask the right questions, vs just focusing on finding answers, which might actually be for the wrong problems!

In my view by openly promoting learning and curiosity you are setting the stage for all to develop a natural thinking outside the box, company or department. It could be new methods of work, systems or technology that employees bring back to the table that will benefit all. Equally important that the team leader are open to all ideas that comes to the table.

Learning new skills and being curious helps you to be flexible. By consistently educating yourself and trying new things, you'll learn you're capable of change and growth, which keeps you open to new opportunities in life. Learning a new skill can get you out of a rut.

In my experience, this is combination of deliberate efforts that needs to be fostered within the teams 1) Culture - No idea is bad idea and does the team has a platform to collaborate, synthesise those ideas. It’s okay to fail, it simply means that you challenging yourself and exploring beyond the obvious. 2) Simplify - Not all out of box idea needs to be complex, simplicity can be innovative too and that is what organizations want now a days. Simplify and boost the growth by eliminating the fat around the current systems/processes. 3) Future forward - The world, technology and work methods are changing rapidly, can we keep an eye on future trends? Can we anticipate them and be ready with our efforts today?

Trust, trust, trust your people and give them the space to innovate. People work well when encouraged and empowered. Foster a culture that encourages co-creation and one of authentic listening and your outputs will flourish.

*Providing a safe space for the experimentation ground is key for employees to explore uncharted territories. Fear doesn't lead to curiosity & creativity. How might you create a psychologically safe space for employees to test new territories. * Reward Creativity and trying new things leading to intelligent failure and new learning discoveries.

If your team misses the ability to think out of the box then you have the wrong team members. Possibly you just inherited the team, you are not authorized to hire the right team members or it is your own error ... ?? My point ... if team members can not think out of the box then it will become very difficult to embed continuous learning and innovation. External consultants and advisors are a 'patch' ... not the solution ... ????♂? It used to be ok ... but today with all the new (disruptive) challenges ... team members not able to think out of the box ... will 'kill' your team ...

Build the culture! Allow employees to understand that failing is learning forward and to feel psychologically safe! The message needs to come from the top and the bottom and be supported in the middle! Couple culture with mecahnisms to execute on ideas and it’s a winning framework! This could look like annual review goals, internal innovation programs, and internal incubators to drive employee ideas.