You're leading a programming team. How can you cultivate a culture of innovation?

Follow the current examples of success where 'fail fast, fix fast' have a purpose but adapt to the current job objective. Core service apps may not do well with this process since they cause a lot of other issues. On the other hand, new features and beta testing do great on these scenarios.

Normalize experimentation: Make it clear that trying new things and taking calculated risks is encouraged, even if they don't always work out. Focus on learning: When an experiment fails, conduct post-mortems to analyze what went wrong and what can be learned from it. Celebrate "heroic failures": Recognize and appreciate team members who take bold risks and learn valuable lessons from setbacks.

Always push for new tech, new ideas by doing POCs, demos, minor introductions of new ways of working. Try out new methods and do a check point to see the plus and cons. Maybe the solution is in the middle and not following blindly one method.

Provide training and development opportunities: Offer courses, workshops, or conferences related to new technologies, methodologies, and best practices. Support self-directed learning: Allocate time or budget for team members to pursue independent learning initiatives relevant to their interests and the team's goals. Encourage knowledge sharing: Organize brown bag lunches, hackathons, or code reviews where team members can share their knowledge and learn from each other.

"Two heads think better than one" and a team is always the way to go. That doesn't mean that there cannot be thinking tanks with less people, or an idea that comes out of someone's head. But discussing it openly without judgement is the best way to get results.

Create a team environment that values open communication: Make it easy for team members to share ideas, ask questions, and provide feedback without fear of judgment. Form cross-functional teams: Bring together developers with different skillsets to work on projects, fostering a broader perspective and encouraging collaboration. Utilize collaborative tools: Implement communication platforms and project management tools that facilitate seamless information sharing and teamwork.

If you hire someone because of their skills why not trust that they will use then? Allowing programmers to choose the best option on how to solve a problem also opens the door for then to showcase how they did it and share the knowledge.

Empower your team to make decisions: Give team members ownership over their tasks and the freedom to choose how they approach problems. Minimize micromanagement: Trust your team's expertise and avoid overly controlling their work processes. Focus on outcomes, not micromanaging processes: Set clear goals but allow flexibility in how the team achieves them.

Having established guidelines is key but these can also change if a new approach is taken and validated. Programming is not a static work, learning is also not static so guidelines might also not be static. Adapt the work to the objectives by adapting the rules on how to work, this way the development is done in a evolving environment that is feed by new ideas and still meat company goals as an objective is set.

Define a shared vision for innovation: Articulate a clear vision for what innovation means for your team and how it contributes to the company's goals. Establish measurable objectives: Set specific, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals to track progress and celebrate achievements. Align individual goals with team objectives: Ensure each team member's goals contribute to the overall vision and motivate them to be innovative.

Acknowledge and reward innovative ideas: Publicly recognize team members who come up with creative solutions or take initiative. Celebrate both big wins and small victories: Show appreciation for effort and progress, even if it doesn't lead to a major breakthrough. Offer opportunities for career advancement: Provide opportunities for team members who demonstrate innovation to take on leadership roles or work on challenging projects.