What are effective ways to develop coachees' innovation and creativity skills?

It all starts with creating a safe space, someplace where the coachee can feel confident that you are on their side. If we're trying to foster creativity, then doing things differently, to get a different part of the creative brain firing up, can work. Some examples: In my experience, especially in the world of zoom, where we're all crouched down in a 'low power' pose, I might ask the coachee to stand up. Literally look at the question from a different perspective. Or I might ask them to choose an object around them (literally anything) and think about how this relates to their question. Or I might suggest they draw something that comes to mind when they think of their question.

Please teach you AI not to use coachee. It centers the process on the coach and not the performer. As coaches, we struggle enough to remember it is about our client and not ourselves.

Starting with the end in mind is a powerful technique I employ in coaching. It's about envisioning a desired future and meticulously reverse engineering the process to achieve it. Begin with visualization, move to vocalization, delve into implementation, and round off with evaluation. In essence, fostering innovation in coachees isn't just about brainstorming; it's a systematic progression from a dream to reality.

This is very important. As a coach you must understand that you aren't there to judge if the coachee is innovative or not and how much creative skills if he/she already has. It is highly possible that they already possess the skills they like to develop hence it is crucial that you let them define the goal for themselves rather you define it for them. Not just defining the goal but also how would they measure it towards the end of the coaching journey is critical considering that you want them to see it for themselves if they already have a measurement criteria and are okay to use it. So this is a generic step that applies to any coaching process - not only for developing innovating and creative skills.

Providing your coachee the space and safety to self-reflect is both a gift and the foundation of what coaching does and brings to others. That said, developing innovation and creativity isn't directly tied to goal setting but rather the journey of self-exploration. If it winds up being a goal, great! If not, it's still developmental for your coachee. Sometimes an insight can simply be an insight not attached to something greater.

Divergent thinking is what all coaches should be exploring with those they coach. It's about expansion of thought and what's possible. It's thinking there is no box vs out of the box. Personally, I skip on the tools and rely on the conversation. As a coach, your training should involve open ended questions which in its purest form allows the other person to think, pause, reflect and speak.

A line of inquisition that I find helpful is to ask in stimulating divergent thinking is, "where has this been done before?" and then, "what inspired you about that?" Lastly, I am always curious to see if the solution is expanded by the thinking, "what if all possibilities exist?"

"What else?" is one of the most powerful questions that can be offered. If the space is created and safety is established, the silence that follows the question is filled with a thought process that goes beyond what usually comes to mind for the coachee.

We can prompt creativity by role-modeling it for our clients. One of my favourite questions to ask invites a playfulness when it comes to making a decision. If these choices were ice cream flavours, what would they be? The ‘flavours’ your client shares may reveal underlying thoughts/feelings about the decision that doesn’t come to light with traditional coaching questions.

In my opinion getting out of the comfort zone or normal surroundings is most helpful! Get out in nature, go swimming , hiking or something you don’t normally do! Even changing positions can help foster creativity!

You never want to hang out at 30k feet with your client. There's a time to elevate and ideate and then there's a time to synthesize which unto itself is a critical skill. Yes, there are always tools a coach can use and SMART is often an excellent one to employ but so is powerful questioning. From the "5 Why's" to a series of "Then What" -- there are ways to promote convergent thinking without making it too formal.

Moving from divergent to convergent thinking invites cognitive biases. To counter this, apply "Counterfactual Simulation." Imagine a future where an idea failed - why did that happen? This surfaces overlooked barriers. Instead of typical ranking, employ "Asymmetric Optionality" to spotlight ideas with high rewards and low risks. Replace static action plans with "Adaptive Blueprints," which are dynamic, real-time guides. Use machine learning to auto-adjust milestones based on progress and changing variables. These strategies offer leaders a route to informed, agile decision-making while mitigating the pitfalls of conventional approaches.

Getting people into small groups, having them discuss ideas then brining back to the larger group for reports on what each group came up with! This crowd sourcing technique can bring really good ideas to the front of the pack in less time!

Get on the balcony for a time, creating space to reflect is something we all don't really do enough in our fast-paced world. But get back on that dance floor and act. Ibarra's concepts of "insight" and "outsight" come to mind here as well. Also Dorot's quote "the world without action is only an idea".

Growth mindset has become a gimme... you cannot be a leader unless you continuously challenge yourself to consciously act with a growth mindset. The challenge is that it's a see-saw. Sometimes we act well, sometimes we close off and revert to fixed. Self-awareness, forgiveness, and recalibration is the key.

I can't stress this enough but having a growth mindset is no longer a nice-to-have but a must-have. Being able to navigate the new norms of uncertainty while maintaining integration with all the areas of your life is a superpower. It also enables resilience in addition to enhancing ones EQ. There are simply no downsides to cultivating a growth mindset.

Creativity much like Growth Mindset has been ranked as a top 10 must have skill for years from McKinsey to the World Economic Forum and for good reason. Leaders at all levels must be creative in their solutions for both work and life. This is in addition to being resilient and innovative. A coaches job to is to foster the sessions and create the space for their coaches to develop their creative side and nurture it.

In my experience, I have found that t creativity is a muscle – the more you flex it, the stronger it becomes. A strategy I've found fruitful with my coachees is facilitating 'unbounded brainstorming' sessions, devoid of immediate pressures. During sessions, they are encouraged to think as if there were no limitations – be it budget, resources, or time. It's astonishing the kind of revolutionary ideas that emerge when the chains of everyday constraints are momentarily unshackled. It's worth noting that innovation isn't always about the big, groundbreaking ideas. Sometimes, it's the subtle shifts in perspective, the slight deviations from the norm that lead to the most profound changes.

There are several effective ways to develop coachee innovation and creativity skills : - 1. Encourage and support experimentation. 2. Foster a growth mindset. 3. Enhance their curiosity. 4. Provide regular feedback and recognition. 5. Promote collaboration and diversity of thought. 6. Provide resources and tools. Further to that let’s not Forget , developing innovation and creativity skills takes time and practice. Be patient, offer support, and celebrate their progress along the way. Small or big victory needs celebration must required in the process.

There is no one or best way to support your coaches development for creativity, innovation or anything else. The goal and focus should be enhancing and upskilling your clients. You get to chose "how" but make sure you are aligned on the "why".

Three areas to explore with coachee: 1. Create time and space Kevin Cashman calls this the “Pause Principle”. Humans are most creative when we are solving problems obliquely like in the shower, running or simply day dreaming. Allow the subconscious to sit with a problem in the bg. An answer may “pop up” in an unexpected way 2. Explore parallel interests Create more proverbial “dots” to connect. Encourage activities outside coachee’s domain of expertise to build what David Epstein calls “cognitive agility” and “range”. All the greats from Leonardo to Steve Jobs were Renaissance men proficient in a wide range of fields. 3. Uncensoring self Help coachee suspend self judgement and the fear of looking stupid when in “creative mode”.

It is important for the coach to ascertain the coachees’ desire or willingness to be creative in their current situation at work. It takes a platform of trust with their boss as well as an understanding that they have to be willing to go beyond just doing their particular job/ function. Also need to know how this will impact their particular career path and goals. Once a defined new objective is identified, does the coachee have the abilities and drive to develop the skills and take the risks. If the answers are all yes, the outline phases are reviewed with the coach as it is being implemented. If not then search for new alternatives. It is possible that the coachee is not willing to take any risks at all. They may not be able to proceed.

2 thoughts: 1) for your clients - create the space and the conditions for them to explore. It's less about a set of defined tools or frameworks, more about asking great questions to unlock their inner creativity 2) for you as a coach - the learning and growth never ends. One of the best ways to continue to add great value for your clients is to continue to invest in yourself through whatever combination of tools and media works for you

To keep it simple: - Encourage practicing growth mindset behaviors - Get to it; encourage hands-on experience is. - Provide consistent, and frequent feedback - Celebrate, the creative/innovative ideas and milestones reached along the way - never forget to also celebrate failure. Failure means that you’re onto something, you’re on your way to achieving a breakthrough, something great.