Creativity is at the root of every successful business. Every company wants to be known as innovative and original because consumers are drawn to what’s new and exciting. But it’s each individual employee that is responsible for the ideas that create this persona. This creativity is fostered in different ways, so it is important to make sure your company is bringing out the best and brightest ideas and inspiration day in and day out. Here’s how:
Meet Less
Obviously, not all meetings are bad ideas. Getting people together to share information and collaborate is good for organizing ideas and keeping employees focused, but formal meetings should not be the place to accrue the next big creative breakthrough. Ideas are more often inspired through daily experiences and communication, and shouldn’t be crammed into a meeting. Less formal collaboration is more effective in getting the creative juices flowing, then meetings are great to bring them all these ideas together.
Encourage Failure
Very rarely will an idea come in full package without requiring any alterations or additions. This means there will be criticisms and rejections, but these are all part of the process. Leaders should encourage this type of failure because creativity can’t materialize without experimentation. One idea could always spark another, and if an employee doesn’t feel comfortable in the uncertainty that comes with creativity, they are hesitant to speak up. Make your work environment a place that welcomes all types of ideas, good or bad.
Easy on the Workload
If your mind is focused on projects and deadlines every second of the day, it doesn’t have much time to explore. Creativity tends to come when people let their minds drift. If an employee is tackling too many responsibilities, it’s hard to think past them. Allow some leeway so employees can set aside some of their daily tasks and think about other things.
Welcome New Ideas
It’s important to take into account how you receive new ideas. Often, without even noticing, people accept new ideas with a sense of indifference if they aren’t interested in them. Just because this idea isn’t a winner, doesn’t mean the next one couldn’t be. The more employees feel comfortable and appreciated presenting new ideas, the more ideas you’ll have to work with. Any opinion could stir a up a potential idea, so appreciate the creativity your employees have to offer.
Communicate Differently
Not everyone is comfortable sharing information or ideas openly. There’s something intimidating about being face to face with possible rejecters, especially those that have control over your career fate. It may be beneficial to open up different ways to communicate ideas; a great example being an intranet. An intranet provides a platform to engage employee ideas and collaboration in a conversational way. If they feel more confident in how they make their pitch, they’ll be willing to share more thoughts, more often.
Be Flexible
Like mentioned before, the best ideas come from wandering minds and the differing experiences and styles of each individual. And the most effective way to indorse these two things is to provide flexible work environments that allow a balance between work and personal lives. If people feel comfortable in their working style, they’ll feel committed to their company and producing quality work. Flexible office practices allow people to work the way they want to and find inspiration in different ways.