Experimentation & Inclusion - the gifts of innovators

Innovation has been a way we have moved forward in many areas of the world, how we live and how we solve problems. This includes healthcare, technology, safety, education and connectedness. In reality, two big underlying gifts of an innovator is experimentation (with a lack of fear of failure) and inclusion.

10 ideas to start with will spark curiosity and passion, 100 ideas typically brings forward success, a 1000 ideas will bring forward innovation. 

Experimentation is a true gift as it goes against all of the conditioning we were raised with and especially pushes through that ole fear of failure we all seem to hold onto very tightly. I’ve found and have actually ‘experimented’ with the use of the word, actions and outcomes to help teams move forward without dwelling on failure. If it doesn’t work move on to the next! 

Be a moving experiment of embracing failure and having a willingness to go for your ideas. No fear.

Experimentation is a gift I love to see teams use as they find innovative solutions. Those who drive this behavior and approach have the gift! They can influence others simply through the process of gathering tons of ideas, vetting them and testing them. Then when something doesn’t come to fruition they help the team move quickly through it with tweaks or decide to can it all together without dwelling on it. 

Don’t be afraid to fail. Be afraid not to try.

Fail fast! You’ve heard that phrase before. It’s true. It can be the best approach for the team to keep moving with fresh perspective (not dwell on something for weeks).

‘I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.’ ~Thomas A. Edison

Encouraging experimentation in business, education and other industries will continue to innovate the traditional ways of solving problems, elevating society and bringing new perspective to old conditioning. 

The shadow of the experimenter can be not delivering or to a timeline of expectation. One way to overcome this is to ensure you have a solid project manager or Agile Scrum master on a team to hold accountability for delivery. Also, communicate, communicate, communicate updates! Keep key stakeholders involved with how things are going.

Another key gift most innovators carry with them is inclusiveness. In order to bring diverse experiences, thoughts, perspectives, skills and approach having a collective with this melting pot of ‘different’ can be all that is needed to quickly and innovate significantly. Remember those 100 or 1000 ideas needed for experimentation? Well it’s pretty difficult to get there with a small group of like-minded people with similar background and viewpoints. Instead, cast a net! 

Be the leader who embodies non-judgment and acts as a holder of presence, warmth and support by creating space for others.

My team calls this out all the time. My first question (the challenger) when they begin working with a new project team is ‘have you looked at folks from this group, team, etc.’. Also, that ole SME (subject matter expert) is so old school! There are so many folks who may not be considered the SME of an area or process who have even better viewpoints of solutions and even of identifying a problem. Typically, I’ve found SMEs (including myself) to be TOO CLOSE to the process/problem, etc. or they created that process and will hold it too close to the vest to be open to a different way of doing something. My team goes off to find the curious ones, the passionate ones, those who have experience outside of their current role, company or even industry! We love tapping into those folks less than 2-3 years at the company for their ideas and drive to innovate.

Dependency of recognition, validation and the need to prove oneself can be challenging conditioning when building your gifts of experimentation and inclusion. You don’t need to know the answers or be the smartest person in the room to find success. Bring the collective together with an approach and process to enable success with accountability and boundaries that all agree to.

A little extra to help encourage both experimentation and inclusion gifts fully include moving past ego-centric mindset. Here are some key ways to overcome and flow freely.

This is the paradigm shift of:

·      Open heart instead of defensiveness

·      Honesty/clarity/vulnerability instead of mixed signals/manipulation

·      Sovereignty instead of co-dependency

·      Commitment instead of trying

·      Excellence instead of perfectionism

·      Courage instead of hiding

·      Brilliance instead of settling

Angie

#loveyourgifts

Purpose of this blog series: I’d like to bring to light those ‘other’ gifts that truly do make a difference with our teams, business, leadership and effectiveness in the hope (yes I use this word almost daily now??) others will start to embrace their gifts, talk about them, not hide them or feel ashamed when an authority figure gives their opinion (based on that ole patriarchal system). Bringing light to your gifts and how special they are. I’ll also tackle some of the negative ways they can be viewed and attempt to share how you can embrace and recognize those gifts.

#6 in 6 part series