A large part of a team’s intrinsic value comes from its ability to innovate, turning ordinary products and services into opportunities that change the world. Whether you are about to take charge of a new team or reassessing your current one, here are three highly effective techniques to ignite their entrepreneurial spirit.
Fail Fast
Failing fast is arguably the most counterintuitive strategy to implement. Naturally, asking your team to fail fast does not mean you advocate for failure; it tells them that they have a free hand to try their boldest and most audacious ideas. The mere open discussion of failure is empowering. By broaching this taboo topic, you are acknowledging to your team that extraordinary ideas do not always succeed, but they can. It is the basis on which some of the most revolutionary companies have been founded. Remember: fail, fail fast, learn, and try again.
Micromanagement Out, Macromanagement In
Learning to let go of your tight reins at work can be akin to watching children grow up – it triggers a built-in panic response. However, you do not want to be micromanaged and neither does anyone else. Author Simon Sinek has been quoted saying “when we tell people to do their jobs, we get workers. When we trust people to get the job done, we get leaders.” It is in the unbound arena of real life that leaders are born. By creating an environment that pushes team members to find their own way to their goals, you facilitate their development as both leaders and team players. Encourage them to take ownership of the segment of a project in which they are involved, then step back and manage from afar.
Balanced Interests
No one really understands how innovation and creativity actually work – how seemingly random and unrelated old concepts interact to give life to completely new concepts. What we do know is that an environment that brings together diverse people – and people with diverse interests – is a breeding ground for revolutionary ideas. There is no need to sign everyone up for fancy innovation classes. Simply allow them to bring their personal interests to work and the workplace will transition into a social hive where people are happier because they can express a more complete version of themselves. Plus, who knows which aspect of one person’s interests triggers a world-changing idea in someone else?
In his best-seller Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Yuval Harari explains that “the scientific revolution has not been a revolution of knowledge. It has been above all a revolution of ignorance. The great discovery that launched the scientific revolution was the discovery that humans do not know the answers to their most important questions.” Innovation has always been a part of life. Create a workplace that encourages unorthodox thinking – it increases the odds that the next major advance in your industry will come from you.
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