When it comes to developing an innovative organisation and culture, creating effective collaboration habits in the organisation are essential.
In this article we’ll explore the 4 critical steps of innovative team collaboration.
Step 1: Create a Safe Space for Idea Generation and Exploration
When it comes to developing innovative organisations, creating Psychological Safety in your teams are essential. Psychological safety is a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking and idea sharing.. It can be defined as “being able to show and employ one’s self without fear of negative consequences of self-image, status or career” (Kahn 1990, p. 708).
In psychologically safe teams, team members feel accepted and respected.
Studies have shown that creating an environment where people feel safe to share their ideas, suggestions and opinions creates a breeding ground for a collective intelligence that is unmatched by any single “Great Mind Effort”
This collective intelligence will help a team join the dots of truly creative and innovative solutions. This also removes the pressure to come up with one spectacular idea and allows the team to focus on combining ideas to create an innovative configuration.
Step 2: Create a Pipeline of Action and Implementation
Innovation can be thought of as a free flowing idea generation process. But this is only half of the equation.
Innovation requires strategic and consistent action in order to be effective. Once the idea exploration phases has a concrete concept, it is critical to follow up by creating plans for prototyping, testing and implementation.
Failure to transition from ideas to planned strategic action can be critical for you and your company. Create clear action steps and communicate roles, responsibilities and timelines.
Step 3: Communication and Feedback
Creating an environment where clear, open, constructive and honest communication and feedback is encouraged is an essential ingredient in the collaborative process. Each individual needs to become aware of their own responsibility in this process as well, developing their own communication skills and abilities to give and receive feedback.
Since it is only with good feedback that ideas can progress, approaches can be tested and lessons can be learnt.
Step 4: Work Together
The reality is that many business forget that people and their potential is their biggest asset. If one individual can make an impact, just think of the exponential impact that getting every individual to buy into the process can have!
Working in a team environment will enable you to tackle obstacles together with an energy that you definitely won’t be able to achieve on your own.
Make sure that you consciously and actively encourage collaboration.
If you are battling to develop a culture of innovation and collaboration then get in touch at info@yellowseed.co.za
