October FAQ — What Does Fostering an Innovative and Creative Environment Mean?
One Friday each month, I dedicate the post to looking at some questions I have heard recently from developing leaders. Sharing those questions and my thoughts about them is a way for me to spread the information to as many leaders and future leaders as possible. If you have a question about leadership, or just a situation you would like some additional insight on, please email me at Effective Retail Leader. Let’s take a look at this week’s question.
I just took over a new location, and I am trying to create a fun, yet innovative environment where people can be creative and empowered to help us be successful. Any ideas on how I can do that?
I love this question. It can be very exciting, rewarding, as well as challenging to take over a new location where things, maybe, aren’t as fun as you would like them to be. The ability to really change the environment, and enable a culture where people love their workplace and the service they provide, is an invigorating opportunity for a leader.
Culture is an important aspect of leadership and the workplace. I have written several times about what culture is, and how to enable it. I would recommend starting with, Culture is What You Do, Not Something That You Create in a Day, to get an idea of how to support culture building. As I mentioned in that article, culture is the collective actions of your team and what they do each day. It is not something you can say or just talk about. The leader creates an environment for a culture to unfold. With that said, let’s jump into some things you can do based on your question.
1. Create a supporting environment
Everyone needs to feel as though their voice can be heard. That their ideas and thoughts matter. Most people are okay with not having their ideas used, so long as they believe they are heard, and their ideas are considered. I would always recommend sharing how their contributions shaped the outcome if they were not used outright. And often, an idea not used today, can be used later. Encourage open communication, active listening, and provide opportunities for employees to contribute their perspectives and suggestions. Which leads into the next several thoughts.
2. Encourage idea sessions
This one may feel a little unusual at first, especially if you have a small team in your location. But there are different ways you can approach this. If you get the chance to have a store meeting, facilitating a brainstorming session to let everyone share ideas is a great way to show your willingness less to listen and learn. The team can share ideas with no restrictions on what they are or fear of judgement on what they are saying (and yes, make sure you set those ground rules, and model them). If you cannot have a group meeting, maybe you post something in an area everyone sees and allow them to write ideas there. Even if you have a group chat for your location, you can create a thread with idea sharing that everyone can participate in.
3. Embrace diversity or thought and people
Everyone has a different background, whether that is work related, culturally related, geographically related—whatever those differences are, diversity of thought is critical to capturing and embracing. Leveraging those experiences can open the door to many new ideas. Diversity can spark creativity and lead to innovative problem-solving approaches.
4. Celebrate new ideas
The best way to ensure you continually get ideas and sharing is to recognize it immediately when it happens. Worry less about the quality of the contribution, especially in the early stages, and encourage the behavior of contribution. You can do this in many ways, but the more public, the better, as this will show others you are serious about being excited about any new ideas that are shared. Celebrating and showcasing innovative achievements creates a culture that values and encourages creativity.
5. Model test and learn
Trying new things can be scary for everyone. The fear of a failure is real. But failure, when attempting new things, is expected. Make sure everyone knows that. Testing ideas for their validity and worth is a way of both showing you’re willing to try and not afraid to have some ideas miss the mark. Show the team what you learned from trying, and then what the next iteration will be. That will be the best way to show that failing is OK. No one gets in trouble, in fact, you’re celebrating the ‘try’ as much as anything else. Emphasize that failures are learning opportunities and encourage a growth mindset. Create a safe space for trying out new strategies, products, or processes, and provide the necessary support and resources. The only real failure comes from not trying to begin with, or continuing to the same wrong things and not learning from them.
These are just some ideas to help you get started in creating an environment that is open and encouraging to innovation and different ideas. I applaud your desire to have the team think in new ways and seek their input. In addition to what is mentioned above, give them dedicated time to think about new approaches, even five minutes a day can help ensure you’re gaining valuable insights from your team. You never know when someone will suggest something that will prove to be a tremendous breakthrough for your business.
Good luck!
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