Q&A: Practical Ways to Increase Innovation in the Workplace

Dear Tushar,

Thanks for this question – innovation is one of my favorite topics.

I have three practical suggestions for increasing innovation in the workplace.

1. Build trust-base relationships with colleagues.  I call this strengthening your organization’s “collaborative capacity” because my research shows that people do not share ideas – that is, collaborate – unless they trust each other.  And, unless you’re willing to share ideas with others, the likelihood of innovation is limited to only what resides in one individual’s head – usually not enough for sustained success!

2. Introduce diverse perspectives and new information.  Make sure you and your colleagues are continually exposed to fresh thinking – even if it is not immediately apparent that it relates to the work at hand.  It’s impossible to predict where that “ah ha” spark will come from.  Observing and learning from a variety of sources is important stimuli.

3. Ask great questions.  People don’t innovate because you ask them to innovate.  They innovate because they are intrigued by a question or problem that they’d like to solve.  Innovation is fundamentally a discretionary activity – people must be drawn to doing it.  Provocative, compelling, important questions are the magnet.
I hope this helps – best wishes for much success.

Warmly,

Tammy

Filed under: Innovation | Published: 05/12/09