How to be a Catalyst for Innovation at Your Workplace

As of October 2022, a Google search for the word #innovation produced about 3,670,000,000 results. No doubt #innovation is a popular word that a lot of people and organizations want to be associated with. The reason for its popularity more than likely has to do with being known for blazing the trail, bringing in the new, better way or thing. Many definitions exist for the word #innovation and the understanding of #innovation in different fields also differs. #Innovation comes from the Latin words in and novaremeaning, “to make something new, to change.” In modern day, innovation has the added expectation of profitability. Profitability does not necessarily connotate financial benefit but a tangible positive benefit to the consumer of this #innovation. One can therefore conclude that #innovation is any ‘new profitable.’ New referring to different, unused, or unseen changes in particular spaces. Changing the shape of a pack of milk so that it does not easily spill may be new to a certain target market for example.

For millennia, human beings have innovated by improving hunting methods, tool making, agriculture, construction, transportation, and others. The story of civilization is one of innovation. We inherently look for ways to improve/better things. We seek and sift ideas and then we try to implement these ideas. Some of the inventions are not very useful whereas others have changed the world. Some only benefit a select number.?

For organizations, #innovation presents the advantages of competitive advantage, improved employee satisfaction and retention, and increased customer delight. An innovative organization realizes that innovation is not only necessary to make a profit, but also to survive. We are living in a hypercompetitive world that demands constant innovation failure to which is a certain demise.

As an individual working in an organization, you recognize the need for #innovation. A good number are employed in open innovative organizations like IBM, 3M, and Google. The rest however may find themselves working for organizations that are rigid, bureaucratic, and not open to new ideas. How can an individual working in such an organization become a catalyst for innovation and can one person truly make a difference? One person can make a difference and the tips below will help spur innovation at your workplace.

1.??????Be seen as one who is innovative. Don’t be afraid to stand out and be seen as one who is constantly improving in their delivery, interaction with others, work processes, etc. Share with your peers and supervisors how you were able to work faster, stay within project budgets, improve proposals, etc. When you are constantly making yourself better then you earn the right to propose #innovation for your organization.

2.??????Write innovation proposals and share with peers and seniors. The Kaizen concept of continuous improvement suggests that there is always room for improvement. These innovations could be required in products, processes, markets, interactions with stakeholders, or business models.

3.??????Where demonstrable, present the new. If you can develop an app, create a widget, write a program, etc. this will serve as proof that you are invested in making things better for the organization you work for and improve buy-in.

4.??????Advocate for innovation. Speak to peers and seniors about allocating resources for innovation such as time and money. Lead the pack by committing your personal resources such as hours outside of work to #innovation and share the results of these efforts. Being proactive in this way will gain the admiration especially of seniors who are likely to feel urged to support you.

5.??????If you are a person of great influence such as a senior manager or a business owner, foster an environment that encourages idea sharing without judgment, risk-taking, assessed failure, collaboration, and incentives for #innovation. Organizational cultures are determined by those at the top; an innovation culture is fostered by leaders who are focused on facilitating innovation rather than coming up with innovations themselves. Leaders should also develop innovation strategies that possess three key elements:

a.??????Strategic analysis, what can be done and how would it make a difference?

b.?????Strategic decision making, what will you do and why are you choosing that option?

c.??????Strategic action, how can you make sure the project happens, and support and review it as the innovation takes shape?

When innovating, there will be failures, however the alternative is impractical in today’s world. Start with yourself as a change/improvement agent and believe that your influence will inspire others.