How can you encourage team members to seek new and diverse perspectives for innovative ideas?

Ask yourself: 1. "Who is *not* at this table/conversation?" 2. "There is a conversation that only these people at this time can have, find it." (source: Emergent Strategy, Adrienne Maree Brown)

Bringing in people that have the subject matter expertise is vital. It requires us to listen and learn from those who have real world experiences to share. This ultimately results in unique voices being heard and engaged, and new information disseminated.

All this is well and good. Having been in charge of establishing and realising an internal process for the past 5 years I can say it requires 100% commitment from the top to the idea holder. It requires of it a recognised process of coaching, ideation, MVP development, connection to catalysts who can build or mentor the idea. It needs funding to develop the idea and some means of sustaining the concept into bau. Without any one part of that people soon realise that ideas don't make it to the end of the line. They also realise their ideas are being used by others without a recognition process that will reward them in some major or minor way. Also the issue of IP is also very important and if the idea is a game changer, who gains and WIFM?

We don't need to give courage to someone. We need to make an environment which everyone will express their selfe. Because courage is the absence of fear. Only with such an environment people fell free to express their selfe.

usually asking the team about the thinking about a real challenge and finding a solution in real case and put them in test most of the time you can find a practical one among them and it would be next innovation

I can't count how many times I said the following sentence: The collective idea between all involved contributors is always better than any individual idea. In my career I have seen countless times good ideas becoming great when people collaborate for the best idea instead of compete to see who's idea is best. So making sure that every one get's to voice, that egos are not attached to ideas and that the collaborative idea is celebrated as a team success is key to make sure innovation happens!

One of my favorite memories early in my career was being put in a cross-functional think tank to plan the future of the organization. It was invaluable to my professional development and we literally had innovation time set on our calendars.

I was once involved in a cross function sales training day.. - Create teams with representation from every function - Everyone in the company delivers a short elevator pitch - Pitches are delivered in a safe, learning, collaborative environment - Feedback and discussion is shared The learnings I took from this experience.. Each function has a unique perspective on the product and how to pitch it, which is interesting and valuable to share for all. The passion and pride of dev teams should be shared more often Non-sales functions get new perspective of sales and customer needs, which aids understanding, critical thinking and development Internal relationships are made or improved, and collaborative opportunities identified

Listen to hear the small voices Leaders have to be unafraid to silence the noise and listen to those teammates that have less experience, are afraid to speak, or possess softer voices. Innovative ideas can come from anywhere, and it’s vital that the leader recognizes that each person matters. Fostering a collaborative atmosphere by listening and including everyone, leaders can help their team be receptive to new ideas, evaluate new approaches and operationalize the best ideas to produce innovative results.

One of excellent practices to empower better collaboration and consequent internal innovation is a desk swap. Take a day or two in you industry low season and let your team swap their desks (i.e. daily routine functions) and try walking in colleagues shoes. This experience could bring an unexpected boost to teams’ collaboration, however the expected effects are eliminating tug-of-war games and better linear flows.

Always letting your team know that failing is allowed but fail only if you know you are learning from the failure and that they don't fail in those same matrices later.

One of the ways is to add this as 10% or 5% of their annual goals - do at least 1 innovative initiative. Award them on efforts and good questions they ask !

I believe it starts with culture that encourages and rewards innovation and failing in search of better solutions. This begins with leaders modeling this type of behavior and providing support , show them, don’t tell them.

Allowing your team time to explore related or unrelated work can bring a freshness - vital for ideas and innovation. Setting challenging briefs stretches what individuals think they’re capable of achieving and once your mind is stretched it can’t go back. Failures are learning experiences and stowing stones to the right answers.

I find that some of the newest members of the Team are more likely to have the freshest ideas about issues but are often the least likely to bring them forward. It is essential that team members feel comfortable contributing new ideas and the older team members are likewise comfortable accepting that they are not the repository of knowledge. To get this process going, I often cite examples of how fresh perspectives have helped an entire team succeed and why it is crucial to actively seek this out. I make it clear why this is important to our success. Communicating this in clear terms helps the team realize that it is in our collective best interest to actively explore all we can about the subject at hand.

Provide diversity and inclusion training to help team members recognize and address unconscious biases that may hinder them from seeking diverse perspectives.

To encourage team members to seek new and diverse perspectives: Lead by example and show openness to diverse ideas. Promote inclusivity in the team environment. Build diverse teams with various backgrounds and skills. Provide diversity and inclusion training. Foster a safe space for questions and challenging assumptions. Offer regular feedback on the value of diverse perspectives. Encourage diverse sources of information. Include diverse voices in decision-making. Rotate team members through different roles and projects. Celebrate successful outcomes resulting from diverse perspectives.

A diverse group of individuals will drive the best results, ensure that perspectives and bases can be covered. It’s more fun too!! Having a range of cultures, ethnicities, backgrounds, ages, genders brings a magic to innovations and exploration. That being said, the spaces that these groups are operating in need to safe. By safe I mean that all voices have equal weight to be heard and when talking from their perspective respected. The leader of the group must ensure that all are encouraged and supported - especially if they’re talking about sensitive topics or those that the possibility to challenge.

Diversity and inclusion are pillars of innovation. Encourage diverse perspectives by forming cross-functional teams, ensuring inclusive ideation sessions, and supporting Employee Resource Groups. Embrace mentorship across backgrounds, incorporate diverse insights into product development, and establish inclusive feedback channels. Elevate diversity in leadership and celebrate successes stemming from diverse contributions. These actions create an environment where every voice matters, propelling us towards greater heights of innovation and success.

At the same time, remember that information does not equal transformation. What is below the need to cultivate diversity is something deeper that wants to be discovered. Ask yourself why do you need to create a safe and respectful environment where your team can express themselves without fear? Why do you need to create it not only for others, but for yourself? How will you benefit from cultivating this environment? And if you're brave; ask yourself, How is our current system *preventing* openness without fear? Then, start imagining other ways a system could work to value a no fear space, free from judgment, discriminiation or retaliation while recognizing everyones strength where people are seen and heard.

modeling the behavior of seeking new and diverse perspectives is not just about words; it's about actions that drive a culture of inclusivity, innovation, and continuous learning. As a leader, your commitment to this approach can have a profound and positive impact on your team's dynamics and overall success.

Your team becomes a reflection of who you are ! Question yourself in front of the team, challenge yourself for getting diverse perspectives and enabling them !

You are the culture. If you’re a leader you must live the code, the values and mission of the team and business. If one doesn’t how can you lead authentically. Leadership teams; these model how the organisation operates. If your team works well, department heads utilise each others expertise - everyone sees this so mimics the tribal behaviour and will also work harder and better with their counterparts. This deepens performance, unity and builds a culture of success.

When you ARE then you BEcome and it’s noticeable around all your environment! BEing authentic and truthful to yourself and others becomes who YOU are and influences how others see you and react to you. It becomes your vibrational frequency. If you plead to be “inclusive” you are open to learn any time and from anyone. What is that mean? For example: you will be ready to allow the youngest person of the team to contribute and learn from that person, moreover, share with other members of the team what you have learned AND the source. That way you are not only cultivating creativity, and listening skills, you are empowering your team to challenge the status quo, to be able to speak up and you are being the sponsor everyone wants to have.

Modeling behavior is instrumental in fostering an innovative culture. Leaders who embrace risk-taking, prioritize open communication, and promote collaboration set the stage for creative thinking. They invest in learning and development, champion inclusivity, and recognize innovative efforts. By adapting to change, prioritizing customer-centricity, and respecting intellectual property, they inspire a culture of continuous improvement. This behavior-driven approach propels teams towards a shared mission of innovation and progress.

When we talk about innovation, we usually interpret it as doing it faster, with fewer people, with better quality and for a lower price. Even if unconsciously, sometimes these factors generate a “human barrier” that blocks everything around. One way to leverage innovation is to create an open and spontaneous culture where everyone can participate, is not afraid of being replaced, and on the contrary, is rewarded for ideas and collaborations.

Proactively try to find flaws in your ideas and address them. Play devil’s advocate, but remember to do it objectively and reasonably with clear positive intentions. When we master the fine art of constructive auto-criticism we can unleash potential we would otherwise never have discovered.

Organize the work so that there is time for reflection. When employees are always on the go and pressured to quickly achieve objectives, there will be no time to think. You can't imagine how creative team members can be when they think and managers listen.

Create an environment where team members actively seek new and diverse perspectives, leading to a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.

Ideas based out current experience is merely recycle of old data, instead enhance perception to clearly see problem and responding consciously definitively generate new ideas