FOSTERING INNOVATIVE CULTURE

An innovation culture is an organizational culture that really values and supports innovation, so that people can actually make innovation happen.

What many corporations are not aware of is that innovation at work is the most crucial element of a company’s career. It brings about companies that stand out in the commodity and helps them thrive

Creating and embedding an innovation culture into your business is about making a cultural shift that makes consistent innovation the ‘path of least resistance in your working life.

The following bulletins are here to guide you to foster an innovative culture.

Encourage people to think beyond their roles

Inviting your people to venture out of their tactical and functional silos creates more opportunity for divergent thinking, allowing them to connect things that aren’t normally connected.

When you reject feedback, explain why

When you reject a team member’s input or suggestion, explain why you didn’t adopt it. Your considerate response will make it more likely that the individual will continue giving feedback.

 Clear visions

By having open ideas with vivid visions and straight strategies, the innovative culture in a company can be adopted effortlessly. Understanding the mechanics of your cultural system, you can preserve and cherish the strengths, but also introduce changes to things that can actually make a difference.

Understand the status quo – and why it is like it is

Understanding the mechanics of your cultural system, you can preserve and cherish the strengths, but also introduce changes to things that can actually make a difference.

Cultural change starts from the top

A full-blown cultural transformation is such a massive undertaking that it  always has to start from the top. It requires strong leadership and extensive   commitment from top management. Leaders really do need to become role models for the kind of behavior that is expected from everyone.

But Truly Happens from the bottom

As mentioned, while the transformation has to start from the top, it doesn’t happen if employees throughout the organization don’t buy-in, or if the ways of working within the company don’t also change at the grassroots level.

Communicate, communicate, communicate – and with purpose

The message needs to be repeated, and it needs to be consistent across all levels of the organization for a cultural change to happen.

Measure, learn, and iterate

A common mistake many make is to simply execute on the initial transformation plan, and then look for positive signals that show that you’re heading in the right direction. You need to look for objective data and signals that show where you’re not making progress, then learn why that is the case, and find ways to adjust your plan so as to address those isolated pockets where there is resistance to change.

Conclusion

Having a culture of innovation is vital for any organization that is looking to innovate and achieve or maintain a leading position in their own field.