Creative Cultures and Climates in Business: How to Build Innovation in Your Organization
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Author: Sarah A Scala, M. Ed & OD, ACC
Sarah Scala Consulting partnered with MindEdge Learning as a subject matter expert on Team Creativity, Innovation, and Employee Performance. I was interviewed to produce video content about specific topics that were incorporated into their online learning courses for MindEdge’s clients. For the course focused on Creativity in Teams and Organizations, Creativity was defined as the generation of new ideas, while Innovation was defined as commercialization of those ideas to create value. This is part of a blog series about this project.
How can your organization promote a creative climate or culture?
For the course on Creativity and Teams in Organizations, I shared that a creative culture can be strengthened by providing flexible schedules. This may include the opportunity to work from home sometimes, be remote all the time, or have a different space in the office. Another way to support a creative culture is to promote safety and vulnerability when taking risks. This freedom to share often leads to new ideas. According to Researcher / Storyteller Dr. Brene Brown, innovation can't happen unless it is safe to be vulnerable.
If the culture is very stuck in what was always done in the past and it’s not safe to try different things and take some calculated risks, they can’t innovate. Feeling safe promotes creativity.
To encourage creativity, encourage new ideas whether they seem simple or crazy. Giving time for reflection when people are sharing ideas or thinking through possibilities is helpful. Providing space and time to reflect can often be helpful and allow people to further polish ideas before they recommend them or share them with their team. Promotion of mindfulness gives breaks from work. Lastly, in the United States, people don't typically use all their vacation time . Vacation provides a needed break often leading to a spark in creativity!
To learn more See my short video on Ways to Build Creative Cultures.
Check out some of the solutions that we provide in the areas of Team Development, Team Simulations, and Team Coaching.
How have you supported building a Creative Culture with your clients or organization? Comment below.
Questions? Let’s connect. I would love to hear your success stories. Please send them to: hello@sarahscala.com or visit www.sarahscala.com
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About the Author:
Sarah Scala is a senior talent management leader and executive coach with 20+ years of experience providing organization development, change management, and leadership development solutions for diverse global and local industries. She is a collaborative consultant, coach, and educator supporting performance transformation of executives, leaders, and teams. Sarah is a methodical, results-driven leader recognized for helping clients reach their highest potential, increase revenue, reduce turnover, elevate business profitability, build competencies, and improve performance.
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