Innovation is the key to staying competitive and relevant in today's fast-changing world. But how do you foster a culture of creativity and experimentation among your team members? How do you inspire them to come up with new ideas, solutions, and products that can benefit your organization and customers? Here are some tips to help you lead your team to innovate.
One of the most important traits of innovative leaders is curiosity. They are always eager to learn new things, explore new possibilities, and challenge the status quo. They also encourage their team members to do the same. As a supervisor, you can inspire curiosity by asking open-ended questions, sharing relevant information and resources, and giving feedback that stimulates learning and growth. You can also create opportunities for your team to learn from each other, from experts, and from customers.
I approach them with a project in such a way that they can make it their own. Almost think it’s their idea and run with it. The end result is innovation and pride in their accomplishments. Trust them to do the job they were hired to do. No micromanagement here.
One of the main things that must come first is building an environment where your team knows that they are supported in trying new ideas out. An environment that encourages not only curiosity and exploration but also shows them that they will not be challenged when trying new approaches that do not work out. That is not to say that they should be allowed to "throw the spaghetti at the wall" and just walk away. It has to be an educated try, one based on a thought out process. Then everyone has the opportunity to observe the process and give feedback if it doesn't work out. Building that culture is the first step to growing a mindset of innovation.
Curiosity is a beautiful thing. It opens avenues of thought, action, and learning. It opens the world up to a person, team, company, and nation. In my experience, either in sales or logistics, curiosity about how a company works, how it's departments need each other, helps smooth work flow and increase production. Plus, it provides answers before a question arrives. Curiosity is good. Coupled with the will to action makes it unstoppable.
Don't solve or give them answers when they run in to issues. In doing so it forces them to find or come up with a solution. Otherwise they will call on you everytime and never learn to think for there self
Another key factor for innovation is diversity. Diverse teams can generate more ideas, perspectives, and insights than homogeneous ones. They can also avoid groupthink and cognitive biases that can hinder creativity and problem-solving. As a supervisor, you can embrace diversity by hiring and retaining people with different backgrounds, skills, and experiences. You can also promote a culture of inclusion and respect, where everyone feels valued and heard. You can also encourage your team to collaborate with other teams and departments, and to seek feedback from diverse sources.
In my experience, diversity of thought is much more important than diversity of the team. It is often diverse thoughts that are thrown into the mix of ideas that generate a tangent that is then fleshed out by the rest of the team into a working idea. The old adage of “thinking outside the box” still generates ideas that help a team to innovate and solve problems. As anyone who has ever worked with computers knows, there are always multiple ways to accomplish the same task. The same is true for most other tasks and finding the most effective, efficient way to complete that task is what innovation is all about.
Diversity of thought and experience is always a good thing. Technology changes at the blink of an eye so having members on your team that have a student's mentality. Learning from each other only grows a team and builds trust. No one person knows it all. Hiring person who "might not fit the mold" often brings those diamond in the rough, those future captains of industry all companies need to succeed. "This is how we have always done it" is a dangerous mentality. Break the mold. Be unique. Seek diversity of experience, ideas, and learning.
Diversity needs definition. Is diversity culture or ethnicity? Is it LGBTQ, disability, or socioeconomic status? Without definition a culture of respect and inclusion cannot be established. Biases/stereotyping are used to label people instead of preferred self-identity. Was that information shared by choice? is it legal for employer ask? If diversity is backgrounds, skills, and experiences as seems risk avoidant. Defining what diversity is, can prevent that little diversity box from being checked without having to provide why it gets checked off. Give examples of what diversity means. Ask what information important to know, so it can be honored and used in a person's preferred identity... and if you don't know how to ask, ask how to ask.
One of the biggest barriers to innovation is micromanagement. When you control every aspect of your team's work, you stifle their motivation, initiative, and creativity. You also create a climate of fear and distrust, where people are afraid to take risks, make mistakes, and experiment. As a supervisor, you can provide autonomy by delegating tasks and responsibilities, setting clear goals and expectations, and giving your team the freedom to choose how they work. You can also support your team's autonomy by providing resources, guidance, and coaching, but not interfering with their decisions and processes.
One of the best ways to inspire innovation is to reward it. When you recognize and appreciate your team's efforts and achievements, you boost their morale, confidence, and engagement. You also signal that innovation is valued and encouraged in your organization. As a supervisor, you can reward innovation by celebrating successes and failures, giving positive and constructive feedback, and providing incentives and recognition. You can also reward innovation by sharing your team's stories and best practices with other teams and leaders, and by creating opportunities for your team to showcase their work.
One thing I have seen that is very impactful, is when you genuinely are there every step of the way during this process. If the innovation works for you as a leader nothing shows a bigger impact to an employee then seeing their leadership take in new ideas and apply it to their day-to-do.
I have made it a weekly goal to think of someone who really shined in our large organization that week. I then email their supervisor to share what I have noticed and what specifically they did— and I copy them. If it is difficult to do that week at work, or if I am on vacation, then I look to my daily interactions and write a Google review for excellent service etc…
“How do you like to be rewarded?” is a good question to ask your people. Rewards don’t come in a one-size-fits-all approach. For example, while some people prefer public recognition for their innovative achievements, others will shy away from the spotlight and would rather receive a personal thank you note. In some instances, paid time off is a wonderful reward, while some workers want to be empowered with more challenging work. Leaders want to reward the behavior they would like repeated. By getting to know your people’s reward preferences, especially before they begin their innovative process (which should be an ongoing work mindset) you can adjust your leadership style to match the rewards they seek.
I like to identify skills and talents among our team members, then provide them with opportunities for professional growth and development based on their areas of interest. It allows for us to keep the team member engaged, validated and valued. In turn, they take their improved skillset to improve our team projects along the way.
Finally, one of the most powerful ways to inspire innovation is to model it. As a leader, you set the tone and the example for your team. If you want them to be innovative, you have to be innovative yourself. As a supervisor, you can model innovation by demonstrating curiosity, diversity, autonomy, and reward in your own work. You can also model innovation by sharing your own ideas, challenges, and failures, and by asking for your team's input and feedback. You can also model innovation by taking risks, trying new things, and learning from your mistakes.
Innovation is a challenge in heavily-regulated industries due to the stringent rule-based structures. That doesn't mean it's impossible by any stretch, but there's a balance to be had. One of a leader's most important duties is removing roadblocks to subordinate performance - which can mean helping to determine when a rule is actually a rule, or there are exceptions/exemptions, and if there are paths to changing the rule. Knowing and the communicating the "why" behind a rule is extremely helpful here.