How to Foster Innovation at Work - For Team
If you are not in a managerial position or in a place to make decisions for change around the company, then these are things you can start doing and spread among your teammates if you can:
1. Don’t be afraid of new challenges
When asked to do something new at work, don’t panic. This is a great chance for you to stretch out your capabilities. Think of how you can use your current strengths and skills to approach this new task. Search online for how this type of task/project is tackled, and look at various sources before starting on it yourself.
2. When faced with a problem, try first to solve it yourself before asking for help
You will be surprised at your ability to come up with solutions and fixes, and to look at new connections and ways of thinking that you were not used to before. Asking for immediate help will deprive you of this chance for self-discovery, unless of course the problem is urgent and needs and immediate fix.
3. Have random chats with co-workers
Leave your cubicle, talk to people within or outside your department. Ask them about their opinion on how the company operates, the latest product/service you have launched, and how they think things could be generally better around the office. These seemingly idle chats can really spark up great ideas for improving things, and it’s up to you to take those ideas further or keep them hanging in the office kitchen.
4. Keep asking questions
Don’t be one of those people who only do as they’re told. Always ask why things are done, how they are done, and why they’re done that way. Getting those answers allows you to see the bigger picture; and with that you can get a much better perspective and make different connections. This way, when you have an idea that would challenge the status quo, you can really see how that idea affects the whole picture and can argue in its favor.
5. Stay up-to-date
Most of what’s happening in your company is affected by what’s happening outside of it. If you don’t want to be “the last to know,” you have to stay ahead of the game by reading about your industry, researching new trends in your field of work or even in your function (ex; the latest in talent management).
6. Be bold
This usually works best when the company you’re in already encourages innovation. But even if it doesn’t, build the courage to talk to your managers and co-workers about your ideas for how to make operations smoother, how to raise the morale of the department after a disappointing sales quarter, or even how to increase sales next quarter through unconventional approaches. Yes, you might not be taken seriously at first, and your ideas may be shut down, but eventually you will be known for having original and new ideas, and people will start listening to you.
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