In a world that’s changed overnight, it’s never been more important to have a creative and innovative team around you. As Ed McCabe said, “Creativity is one of the last remaining legal ways of gaining an unfair advantage over the competition.” A bounty of fresh ideas or a lack thereof could be the difference between your company swimming or sinking in the new business landscape. So how do we encourage creativity in the workplace? Here are 5 ideas to get you started:
1. Communicate the company vision, mission, and values to your team, and do it often
Making sure that everyone in your team knows what the ultimate goal is creates unity and ensures that everyone is working towards the same point. Once a target is set, investing time and ideas into that target becomes much easier to do.
2. Encourage collaboration
As cliché as it is to say that two heads are better than one, the phrase has stood the test of time for a reason. No two people have the same approach to ideation and problem solving and when this is utilised, it can lead to amazing innovation.
3. Don’t be afraid to take risks every now and then
The unknown is always a little intimidating, but many tech giants like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and Apple owe their successes to leaping at risky, but ultimately fruitful opportunities. While it’s always good to assess as much of the risk as possible, companies that don’t risk anything rarely achieve anything either. Don’t just collect your team’s ideas – try them.
4. Praise successes
When you see a team member doing well, or if one of their ideas pays off, make a big deal of it. It builds excitement and energy in your team and the more they see that their contributions are valued, the more likely they are to want to contribute in the future.
5. Hire a diverse and passionate team
When looking for your newest team member, take a look at the team you already have and see where there are opportunities to bring in a fresh perspective. Having a passionate team of employees with good mix of ages, ethnic backgrounds, genders, beliefs, and personalities will offer you the opportunity to look at a problem or opportunity from an angle you don’t immediately see from.
Your team is there to be a support and driving force in your efforts to reach the goals of your business. By encouraging and making space for creative thinking, you could be unlocking successes you didn’t know were possible.
