Creativity is a vital skill for any team that wants to solve problems, innovate, and adapt to changing situations. But sometimes, your team may feel stuck in a rut, repeating the same old ideas and routines, and losing their spark. How can you inspire them to think creatively again? Here are some tips to help you.
One of the reasons why your team may be stuck is that they are relying on assumptions that limit their thinking. For example, they may assume that a certain solution is the best, that a certain customer is the most important, or that a certain process is the most efficient. To challenge these assumptions, you can ask your team to question them, to look for evidence that supports or contradicts them, or to imagine scenarios where they are not true. This can help your team to explore new perspectives and possibilities.
Continuous process improvement is a necessity. Everything must be measured and evaluated for efficiency and effectiveness. A vision of success must be communicated to all levels of management and feedback must be given as you move toward that successful vision.
Continuous evaluation of existing processes and contradicting viewpoints will lead to revisit the thoughts that led to those processes and will allow team members to think differently.
Já vivi esse tipo de experiência e reagi diante da equipe, ouvindo, orientando e motivando a realizar atividades que agregam em conformidade à política, objetivos e metas da empresa . Rotinas sistêmicas, burocráticas e massantes muitas vezes s?o desenvolvidas sem o consentimento da alta dire??o da empresa e muitas vezes , sobrecarregam a base com atividades, tarefas e a??es que n?o tem nada a ver com a atividade fim ! cabe ao líder, conhecer e desdobrar de forma correta aquilo que importa para a unidade de negócio, na dúvida se pergunte, o que é valor ?, o que é sustentável ? o que agrega pra empresa e para os acionistas?
Get them out of the office for a bit. Have some fun. Creativity doesn't come from being in an office all day. Remind them how much the company values them.
Whenever a team is guided by assumption it very well could be that leadership has not fully communicated the vision to the team. Simply put, if you don’t clearly mark the path to be travelled, then the path will be marked by the collective. Assumptions created and acted upon outside of an expressed vision limits the overall success of the team and possibly creates an environment of contradiction, instead of progress. If your team is stuck, a leader must decide to act, but first be willing to listen; then act upon and redraw the map for long term success. Imagine creating an opportunity for a team to redirect by influencing informal leaders to guide your team to a new destination; even allow for the vision to evolve in the process if needed.
Another way to inspire creativity is to encourage your team to be curious about their work, their customers, their industry, and their environment. Curiosity can lead to learning, discovery, and innovation. You can foster curiosity by asking your team to research new topics, to observe and analyze trends, to seek feedback and insights, or to experiment with new tools and methods. You can also create a culture of curiosity by rewarding your team for asking questions, sharing knowledge, and trying new things.
One thing that often will squash curiosity is experience. Bear with me. Experience likely means someone has done it before, seen this situation and many like it, they have battle scars. Their curiosity and creativity may have been beaten out of them a bit. In order to encourage that curiosity make sure to drive a space of "There are no ideas off the table". Put everything down and allow teams to get excited, build on ideas, and think blue sky. The more we attack with curiosity, the higher the probability that we innovate. We will challenge the status quo and not just remind ourselves of what did and didn't work years ago or last time.
Un esprit qui n’est pas curieux, est souvent une personne qui n’a que peu d’intérêt pour son activité. La logique veut que l’entrain et la communication pour permettre de mieux comprendre, apprendre et surtout avancer, entraine des questions qui demandent réponses La curiosité pour permettre de s’intéresser et d’évoluer
When your team is stuck in a rut another way to inspire them creativity is to encourage their curiosity. When you encourage their curiosity you give them the green light to ask questions and really be curious. This will allow them to discover new things that could potentially be innovative.
Focus the curiosity onto other industries and disciplines. Many great ideas and solutions exist in seemingly unrelated industries. Ask the team to look at the larger, less industry specific matters being discussed and how others have solved tge issues.
Implement a “fail-forward” mentality, where mistakes and respectfully challenging processes are viewed as learning opportunities. Encourage cross-functional collaboration to expose team members to different perspectives and areas of expertise. Offer resources such as books, podcasts, or guest speakers to inspire and broaden their curiosity. Recognize and reward innovative thinking to reinforce the importance of curiosity in the organizational culture. Best way to have added value conversations is to create opportunities for open forum discussions and further opportunities for leaders to listen, possibly creating listening meetings where questions and topics can be discussed freely in a manner that promotes collaboration and growth.
Your team's creativity can also benefit from diversifying their inputs, that is, the sources of information, inspiration, and stimulation that they use. If your team is exposed to the same inputs all the time, they may become bored, complacent, or narrow-minded. To diversify their inputs, you can introduce your team to different people, places, media, genres, disciplines, or experiences. For example, you can invite guest speakers, visit new locations, read different books or articles, watch different shows or movies, or learn new skills or hobbies. This can help your team to expand their horizons and generate new ideas.
Bring in people from outside the normal circle of discussion! Diversifying the team working on a project will bring new, fresh perspectives which will challenge the entire team to think differently. When you want to truly make changes, innovate, or think big - you will want to strategically find people from other areas of the organization or outside the industry to offer inputs or inspiration to the team. Their ideas and examples will often help steer the team in a new, exciting direction.
Without injections of fresh thinking, companies can stagnate over time. This stagnation can lead to operational challenges, or even business closure in some situations. Through the creation of a diverse workplace where employees are encouraged to share openly and respectfully while challenging existing beliefs or the status quo, innovation can follow. The servant leader will empower and uplift employees and encourage diverse viewpoints as they know creative problem solving can help gain or maintain a competitive edge. At times, seeking outside counsel from an executive coach or industry consultant can also inject new thinking and new energy into your organization.
When your team is stuck in a rut a great way to inspire them creativity is to diversify inputs. When you diversify inputs you open up yourself to hear different ideas and perspectives. By hearing different perspectives it helps inspire more creativity.
Diversifying input can encourage teams to think creatively by bringing in different perspectives and ideas. When team members come from diverse backgrounds and have varied experiences, they can offer unique insights that others may not have considered. This diversity of thoughts can spark innovation and lead to more creative problem-solving. So, it's important to create an inclusive environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their ideas.
Creativity is often a collaborative process, where your team can exchange ideas, build on each other's suggestions, and provide feedback and support. To facilitate collaboration and brainstorming, you can create a safe and supportive space where your team can communicate openly, respectfully, and constructively. You can also use various techniques and tools to stimulate and organize your team's brainstorming sessions, such as mind maps, sticky notes, sketches, or online platforms. The key is to encourage your team to generate as many ideas as possible, without judging or dismissing them at first.
Leaders need to listen and allow those within their sphere of influence to generate ideas and responses without you confining the conversation. True creativity is extinguished when we blast at flames that create discomfort for our plans. The building blocks of change have to begin with a foundational belief system. If our people do not believe they are safe to collaborate, then collaboration can never actually occur. Just listen, and watch a masterpiece unfold in front of your very eyes!
We know brainstorming can be a very helpful tool, but is always good to remember to do it focused on the main goal, whether it is to solve a problem or to implement an improvement. The 6-3-5 technique is a good option, and be sure to have the right people involved to make it more effective.
What is the difference in collective brainstorm and “force feeding” ideas? Is experience better measured by what is/was successful or what is/was learned? How much does luck play is both success and failure? Which type of experience is learned from failure and success? Is experience gained through time or situations? Ask these question to the audience and the answers will be shocking. The Learn is greater than the Outcome.
Finally, creativity can also be enhanced by taking breaks and having fun. Sometimes, your team may be stuck because they are too stressed, tired, or overwhelmed by their work. Taking breaks can help your team to relax, recharge, and refresh their minds. Having fun can also help your team to boost their mood, motivation, and morale. You can incorporate breaks and fun into your team's routine by scheduling regular pauses, organizing social activities, playing games, or celebrating achievements. This can help your team to enjoy their work and unleash their creativity.
While type A++ people who are focused on developing solutions can be difficult to distract, adding a physical activity that forces the brain to switch modes is extremely useful. Also include strategy related activities and add a competitive component to help distract the team. If you can structure a split day to get back to the project after a break from activity (lunch?), it seems like a buzz kill, but the switching of the types of intelligence being drawn upon and bring great success. Some sort of weekly, or randomly scheduled competition in the first part of the work day works well.
La routine est rassurante et confortable, pour certains, peu pour d’autres. Il faut savoir trouver un équilibre entre le centre, et fondement de son travail au quotidien qui assure, et rassure. Et l’interaction avec les autres sur d’autres sujets, amener par le biais d’activités ludiques, une autre vision, et des besoins pour aller plus loin, en étant plus positif.
It is intuitively obvious that groupthink is not a good thing, yet it takes conscious effort to avoid falling into its trap. Oftentimes we attempt to resolve sticky situations by searching for the root cause of our problems, yet flipping things around to look at what is going right can be a better approach in many instances. This tactic is commonly called “appreciative inquiry.” It helps build on our strengths, just as conventional problem-solving can help manage or eliminate our weaknesses. Appreciative inquiry follows a five-step process to (1) Define the challenge, (2) Perform discovery, (3) Dream of what’s possible, (4) Design a solution, and (5) Deliver results.
Si un equipo de trabajo se encuentra bloqueado, por supuesto es necesario revisar con espíritu crítico, lo siguiente: ? Son sus componentes, los idóneos para la labor a desarrollar. ? Es posible que existan problemas entre sus miembros que impidan o limiten su desarrollo. ? Se está siguiendo una metodología que bloquea aportaciones. ? Se está cuidando la motivación y el sentido de equipo. ? Se está prestando atención a la formación continua del equipo. ? Se ha analizado el punto de vista de reemplazar para reforzar su estructura, o incrementar algún área según necesidades. ? Se están efectuando sesiones lecciones aprendidas. ? Se efectúan contrastes individuales y en grupo, para analizar sus puntos de vista y oportunidades de mejora.