There’s little doubt creativity is vital in the workplace, and that idea generation is the enabler of creative problem solving and innovation. The better our teams and colleagues are at generating ideas, the better the odds of surviving and thriving in our topsy-turvy world. Yet, idea generation and problem-solving practices are stale and decidedly lacking in creativity in too many organizations.
Our March Leadership Caffeine Jam Session was all about finding the magic with teams. As usual, the chat stream commentary from our attendees was fabulous. I’m sharing some insights from this 50-minute session.
Be very afraid of the conversations on the tough topics of performance, improvement, and innovation that aren’t taking place on your team or in your organization.
Don’t let the flak derail your transformation initiative. Instead, dive in to understand the core of any resistance better and strive to build your coalition. Transformation initiatives succeed on the strength of relationships, not ideas.
Clarifying your group’s values or creating a Manifesto for Success gives substance and meaning to the working environment you want to bring to life with your group members. This activity is essential and impactful whether you are leading a senior management team, a functional group, or a project team.
People resist anything that threatens their autonomy and safety. Quit leading with what you need and start focusing on what’s important to them, and you’ll watch resistance melt.
There’s a simple, powerful exercise you can run with your group that will transform the working environment for the better and provide you with the critical framework for coaching you’ve been lacking. You need to Write the Rules for Success with your group.
Creativity—the ability to look at complicated situations and identify novel solutions that solve problems, advance initiatives, or rewrite old rules—may be the most critical skill of all in our workplaces. As leaders, we need to foster it, stimulate it, and do everything we can to ensure we’re not the ones suppressing it. Sadly, creativity is something that many leaders trample all over in their daily activities.
Any event that brings people together and doesn’t tap into the knowledge and ideas of the participants is an event that misses the mark. It’s time for something different! Introducing the Leadership Caffeine Jam Sessions!
Our organization changes don’t feel like the work of transforming a shoreline or beach, but maybe they should. Imagine if the transformation team members viewed themselves as stewards of the environment and not experts playing with boxes on an organization chart in pursuit of trivial outcomes. I suspect more of those initiatives would succeed.
