Tips for Managers who want to encourage Innovative Thinking

Retreats, brainstorming sessions and strategic planning meetings are some of the most common tools that managers use to generate new ideas and move their organizations forward. But is there such as thing as too much of a good thing? Is the expectation that staff continuously come up with creative ideas in tightly controlled planning sessions realistic?

Here are some tips for managers who want to help their staff generate creative ideas and help their organizations stay strong and competitive in the marketplace.

Ditch the motivational clichés. Stop telling people to “work smarter, not harder.” Such clichés can be read as an insult on your staff’s intelligence and suggest that the hard work they already do isn't valued.

Don’t micromanage your staff. Micromanaging your staff kills creativity and discourages them from taking smart risks. If someone has been tasked with finding a solution to a problem, give that staff member the space and time to fully flesh out an idea. For example, if someone is working on a 10-step process to improve customer satisfaction, let them work through those ten steps independently until they’ve arrived at a well-thought out plan.

If workers feel that they need to check in with their manager every step of the way, they may worry that their idea will get shot down before they’ve had a chance to finish it, and thus will present ideas they feel are more likely to be accepted (a recipe for the status quo) rather than ideas that are new and surprising (maybe even a little oddball at first glance).

Instead of peering over their shoulders while they work, let staff know that they are free to seek out your advice and input when needed, but that overall, you have faith they will come up with a great solution to the problem.

Don’t rely on the experts to have all the answers. The problem with thinking that the experts are the only ones who are going to be able to solve the problem is that it dismisses the insight that on-the -ground workers have into how their job is actually preformed. The Kaizen method of continuous quality improvement values the knowledge of all staff members, from people on the factory floor to mid-level managers and CEOs.

Stop asking for new ideas and start asking the right questions. Instead of demanding new ideas and “fresh thinking," define challenges more clearly. Ask sharper questions and your staff will find sharper solutions.

Provide meaningful prompts and questions. Instead of handing your employees a vague goal or ambiguous challenge, provide them with a well-defined goal. Phrase these questions and directions using concrete action words rather than passive, abstract language.

For example, telling staff to “Come up with ideas on how to save the company money” is not as effective as challenging staff to create a plan that reduces office expenses by 10% so that everyone can get a bigger bonus at the end of the year.

Don’t accuse your staff of holding back. Suggesting that your staff are holding back or not giving you their best thinking is not a useful motivational tool. Unless you can read their minds (you can’t), you have no way of knowing what your staff are really thinking. Telling them that you don’t believe they are giving you their all will only put them on the defensive. And when people are put on the defensive, their mental energy is wasted on defending their reputation. Their mental energy should be focussed on the problem at hand.

Let people work on their own, too. Don’t assume that the best ideas can only be teased out of your staff during a group brainstorming session. People have different personalities and communications styles. Shy folks might be out-talked by A-type personalities and never get a chance to share their ideas. Other people come up with their best ideas during quiet reflection at the end of the day. When introverts have a chance to work on their own, they are free to focus on their creative ideas rather than struggling to be heard in a fervent team meeting.