CREATING AN INNOVATION CULTURE
Among business leaders and students
of organizations, there is a great deal of attention being paid to the idea of
creating and leading cultures of innovation. In exploring this idea, we soon realize
that the concepts surrounding what an innovation culture is, and how to create and
lead a culture of innovation, are, in fact, not new. Throughout our history, innovation
has always been a key driver of business and market competition, and therefore,
of our organizations and teams. It is natural to us, as human beings, to strive
to find new ways to do things and creatively engage in designing products and
services that respond to markets and customers.
It’s also not new to us to engage in continuously advancing processes,
methods, and activities, the result of which is to be more innovative and deliver
new and more accomplished products and services that increase the level of
competition.
If the idea of innovation cultures
is not new to us, what is it that makes creating and sustaining them so
perplexing? One reason is that, when it comes to innovation, we typically first
focus on the process of design. Even if we’re successful, having great processes
and methods for innovation are only a part of the formula for success. What
really keeps us challenged is the human aspect and how people come together to
use the processes and systems that we intend to drive innovation. Processes and
systems are, in the end, are always dependent on how well people apply them. At
the forefront of the challenges leaders face in successfully creating and
leading a culture of innovation are two key ingredients: people and the environment
that fosters innovation.
For innovation to truly come to
life requires an environment where people can come together that promotes, encourages
and supports risk-taking, creativity, and imagination. This is not easy. For
these to exist, leaders must take on the challenge of leveraging the human desire
and motivation that result in the ingenuity they seek. In my experience, this
requires the leveraging of four key elements that influence how people create
and work in an environment of innovation: alignment,
expertise, participation and choice. While there are other factors that may
contribute to success, these four elements are aspects of human motivation that
are key to the successful creation and sustainability of an innovation culture.
Alignment. A simple and powerful force of any high
performing culture is demonstrated through the reliability of its members to
trust their understanding and alignment of the “what,” “why” and “how” things
get done.
·
The “what” is the shared understanding of the
goal and outcome of the group, team, or organization.
·
The “why” is the emotional driver that is found
in the benefit of that outcome and provides purpose. This holds true regardless
of whether it is a social benefit or merely the desire to beat the competition.
·
The “how” begins with the steps and the
processes that people engage in and quickly finds its way into the norms of
behavior that define its culture. Among these norms are planning,
decision-making, role definition, communication, how conflict is managed, and the
role of recognition and reward.
Alignment provides predictability.
This powerful aspect of culture is often overlooked. Alignment provides
consistency in how people, at an individual and group level, interpret how success
is obtained. The more predictable the environment and its corresponding rules
of behavior (which we also refer to as its norms), the more confident its
members are. This is the confidence that comes from being free of the fear
associated with the consequences of behaving and being outside the norms. Such
confidence results in less wasted energy spent on worry and conflict, and an increased
commitment to the shared outcome of the group. In other words, the greater the
level of safety and confidence, the higher the level of performance.
Expertise. Every creative endeavor has a baseline
requirement of expertise and competency, a set of skills and knowledge that
must be in place to attain success. Cultures that innovate typically accomplish
this through two means. The first is to find and add individuals with specific
knowledge and competencies. The second is to develop and train current members
and provide them with higher levels of expertise and capability. Regardless of
the approach, the intention of increasing expertise is to leverage an
ever-increasing value of know-how and skills resulting in new insights and
thinking, and that challenges people in the culture to continuously improve and
become better—to raise their game.
There is another aspect of
expertise that is vital to recognize. When a team or organization raises its
level of expertise, it typically results in higher levels of competition among
its members. It is natural for us, as human beings, to compete with one
another. In high-functioning groups, such competition results in the
collaboration through which individuals challenge and push one another. This
highlights the need to also develop interpersonal and team skills—competencies
easily overlooked—that support the cooperative competition that results in
innovation.
Participation. It is said, and it has been well documented
throughout history, that human beings are social animals. At some level, we all
desire to participate, to feel included and be a part of something bigger than
ourselves. We are motivated by the desire to be connected, to have a sense of
membership and the sense of self-value that we get when others ask us for our
thoughts and ideas. Of great importance is that such participation can only
fully manifest itself when people feel listened to. It’s one thing to ask
someone for input. It’s another to listen to it. Even if the contribution isn’t
used, it is vital for the continuation of participation that they are heard and
responded to. Often when people don’t feel a part of, and not listened to, they
withdraw and their contributions are never made. Not only does this potentially
limit or undermine innovation, the resulting conflict can often manifest in the
sabotage of collaboration and teamwork.
Participation is also fundamental
to how we challenge ourselves, and one another. My simple definition of
innovation is the building of one idea on another. Without multiple sources of
idea generation that result from participation, innovation is limited. Great
recipes for success rarely have but one ingredient. People feel wanted,
connected and important when they are invited to participate. This is a key to
any great culture of innovation.
Choice. The word choice, in of itself, represents
empowerment. It brings to mind of the power of autonomy, inventiveness,
personal responsibility, and freedom. In an innovative culture, these ideas
manifest in the ability of its members to express openly what they think, see and
feel. Both powerful and simple, choice allows the members of organizations and
teams to express their truth and to be authentic. Without such openness,
innovation is never fully expressed or established.
There’s another aspect of choice
and authenticity that is easy to inhibit. It is imagination. It’s hard to
separate imagination and innovation, let alone to detach them from creativity.
When personal choice and the
authenticity of individual expression are present in a culture, its members are
more readily inspired and are more inventive. For an innovative culture to
exist and succeed requires its people to be motivated to express not only their
proven concepts and designs. It requires the freedom to, without fear of
humiliation or rejection, to share their wildest and most radical ideas. It is
only through the authenticity and openness that results from choice, that
innovation is truly legitimized.