Three Typical Barriers to Innovation and How to Overcome Them

Has something been missing from your workplace recently? In slower periods, it’s possible that a team may become less inspired. When that happens, innovative thinking tends to decrease, too.?

Stagnation can occur when work gets stuck in a reactive state. Instead of moving forward with new ideas, a team may feel like they’re constantly putting out fires. While there will always be issues to deal with, living in that reactive state leads to patterns of short-term focus and a lack of strategic direction. It drains resources and people are less likely to take risks.?

All of this hinders a business’s ability to grow. That’s why innovation is key - it’s a necessary ingredient for success. By definition, innovation occurs when a new idea, device, or methodology is discovered and introduced. So, why is your team lacking motivation, and what can be done? There are three barriers that tend to hinder innovative thinking - luckily, they’re all solvable.?

1. Time

Are you making enough time for innovation to occur? When a team is spending all their hours working reactively, they’re playing catch up instead of moving the baton forward. For good ideas to be generated, managers may simply need to leave some dedicated, conscious time slots for it.?

Carve out space to reflect on how your team spends their time. After analyzing and understanding this better, you’ll be able to effectively prioritize tasks that move you towards your goals. The idea is to work smarter, not harder and find moments to conserve energy that can then be reallocated to innovative thinking.?

Tips to Boost Innovation:

• Streamline the process: Find more efficient ways to do smaller tasks that free up time.
• Automation: Technology is on your side! Automate the time-consuming jobs that are more maintenance-based and less forward-moving.?

2. Communication

Managers may be miscommunicating their expectations, thereby inadvertently excluding the team from the innovative process. Without successful communication, collaboration is impacted and potentially stalled.?

Your team will save time in the long run and streamline processes by keeping the lines of communication open. To build a strong foundation of successful communication, you should be sharing resources with the team regularly. Innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum - carve out space for them to genuinely connect as a group.

Tips to Boost Innovation:

• Cultivate spaces: Changing up the floor plan or creating designated areas for innovative work can inspire better communication and new ideas.?
• Ask for feedback: People may see things from a different perspective than you, and that’s a resource in itself. Regular check-ins help you stay connected to individuals. By doing so, you’ll be better at supporting them and the team overall.?

3. Action

It’s possible to get stuck in a constant loop of planning - there are endless ideas and options out there. Sometimes, information overload can lead to decision fatigue and a lack of actionable follow-through.

Don’t let fear stop your team - sometimes the biggest hurdle is just getting started. Encourage your employees to trust their plans and take risks. If it seems overwhelming, start with even the smallest steps and trust that momentum will naturally kick in.?

Tips to Boost Innovation:

• Staff training; Upskilling, reskilling, and cross-department training are all great, actionable ways to enhance innovative thinking.
• Shake things up: You’d be surprised by how a small shift can lead to inspiration! Try altering how your team typically conducts a day-to-day activity. For example, change when a meeting happens, where a meeting occurs, or its structure and see how it impacts the group dynamic.

If your team is going through a less-motivated period, remember that this too shall pass. As a leader, it is your job to think about the bigger picture and steer them towards it. So re-evaluate efforts, reconnect with your employees, and try new things! Before long, that innovative fire will spark once again.