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Setting the Stage for Team Creativity
By Marsha Lindquist
How many times have you either been part of a team that just didn't achieve its objectives? Maybe you're the President of the company and you want to insure the team you are putting together succeeds in achieving their objectives. There are a few things you can do to increase the probability of success.
Innovation is...
Innovation isn't easy. If you are assembling a group of professionals with a variety of backgrounds or functional responsibilities, you can increase the victory odds just by setting the stage.
Senior Management Support
This is perhaps the single most important factor. It seems like such a basic thought-I wouldn't want you to overlook it-senior management support is first. It is powerful motivation for any team to know and feel the support of senior management. Teams that are encouraged to be adventurous in their solutions will produce the most startling results. Encourage the team to deviate from their normal routine approaches and present novel ideas.
Management Oversight
When you want a team to succeed, hands-off is not the answer. It is very difficult for a team not to cooperate when they are under the visible corporate microscope. But the microscope (or maybe micro-management) is not the motivator. Positive support and close positive monitoring signals to that team, the rest of the company, and the observers that this project is important!
Social Interaction is Critical
When you compose a team of people who have worked and socialized together before, you might be making a mistake. Sometimes existing group members know each other so well they know how their thinking progresses. Sometimes they are so socially involved that they have a vested interest in making sure they agree. They might not want to upset the equilibrium they usually have. Conversely, if people work together but have little interpersonal history, they are more likely to focus more on the innovation rather than maintaining the relationships.
Safety in Numbers
Combining large groups or many different disciplines might not achieve the diversity and representation of all factions desired. While more ideas come out variety of diverse functional areas, too many inspiration groups or factions spoil the broth. This is where less is more. With more players, the chances are the team will be less open to innovation and might become bogged down in information overload. The result may be procrastination or their inability to assimilate and reconcile all of the ideas from such a diverse group.
Wide Functional Diversity
Gathering people from many different backgrounds often seems like a good idea when want new and varied outcomes. Be careful. People are often deeply entrenched in their own experiences and may be unwilling to become a contributing part of the team. They are used to working with people of similar backgrounds. They tend to talk shop and share the same operating ideas and circumstances. They are often less inclined to think about other methods and innovation that are not part of their existing situations. It is also complicated to choose players to compose a team because they may have difficulty identifying with the team and taking a stake in its success. The solution is to assemble the best team you can and challenge them to find their own associations and try to understand the other diverse perspectives in the group.
To encourage innovation when you compose a team, break long-held beliefs and build your team with a view towards top functionality in your design and composition. Then provide support and encouragement. You will reap the rewards of success with your team's brand of creativity.
About the Author
Marsha Lindquist, a business strategist for over 15 years, draws on her proven “down in the trenches” experience, creativity, and participative manner to provide real solutions to businesses to assist them in building and growing their businesses. She is an energetic presenter and is also the Chief Executive Officer of The Management Link, Inc. As well as being the author of “Why Are You Still Working Your A** Off?”, she has written and published several professional journal articles on business strategy and negotiations. She can be reached by E-mail at marsha@marshalindquist.com
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