Creative and Innovative Culture, Change Management ? Three Easy Tests

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation and innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation. From this simple definition, it is clear that certain cultural characteristics ought to be prevalent if creativity and innovation are to be maximised. And maximisation of these ought to be a priority for senior leaders, as those organisations that take them seriously, tend to be leaders in their field, tend to maintain their leadership position longer and are quicker to bounce back when competitors leap frog.

There are many blocks that prevent expression of problems and hinder idea generation. Some solutions include:

a) An environment of psychological safety and freedom ? accepting an individual as unconditioned worth; recognising that the individual is capable of producing but that their value is not based on producing; understanding empathetically; understanding the individual from their point of feeling and view (Vernon, 1970).

b) Tolerance of failure ? Accepting that many ideas will fail before one worthwhile one will surface and reach commercialisation; recognising that there are benefits to failure, such as competency expansion ? Blade Runner was initially a commercial failure yet Ridley Scott went on to make some very successful movies. The Economist (2003) states that 3000 bright ideas result in 100 worthwhile projects, which are winnowed down to four development programmes. And four such development programmes are required to stand any chance of getting one winner.

Though senior leaders pay lip service to the above, the reality is often much different. Below are some easy and simple tests to gauge how well your organisation is performing in practice.

a) Employee interviews. Are interviewees expected to conform to the prevalent norm of not contradicting the interviewer? If they do so, are they less likely to be selected? Interviewees who throw up many ideas and challenge existing methodologies at this stage are more likely to be expressive when they find problems in an organisation and more likely to bring them to the attention of decision makers. They are also more likely to persuade others to do the same. Thought leaders are good drivers of change and prevent complacency ? though as a result it is not unusual to find that they cause friction with senior leaders who for some reason or other may be resistant to change. Remember, today's thought leaders can easily become tomorrow's established bureaucracy.

b) Personality conflicts are quite normal within organisations. Some theories argue that all interactions on some level are conflict based. But are junior people penalised when they conflict with senior people? Even if the senior person is in the wrong, do they get their way for the sake of preserving the existing order, structure and processes? Is the junior person made to feel that his or her behaviour needs to be monitored under threat of some sort of negative result or punishment? This is i) contradictory to an environment of psychological safety and freedom and results in suppression, not expression, of problem identification and idea generation and ii) a strong indicator that the culture is moving in the wrong direction.

c) Are senior leaders confident enough to leave themselves open to evaluation from all others in an organisation? Status deference has many negatives including i) higher status individuals tend to dominate the session and reduce the participation of others, ii) people allow higher status individuals to do all the idea generation, iii) people place higher value on ideas produced by higher status individuals and iv) people have a greater tendency to allow higher status individuals to get away with bad ideas.

This topic is covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity & Innovation, which can be purchased (along with a Creativity and Innovation DIY Audit, Good Idea Generator Software and Power Point Presentation) from http://www.managing-creativity.com. You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com

---

Hiring for Success

Hiring someone new to work in your business is one... Read More

How to Use an HR Consultant

Bringing an HR consultant into your organisation can often be... Read More

3 Tests To Hire The Best

Question: What's the easiest, cheapest and quickest way to have... Read More

Eight Key Steps to Building B2B Major Account Client Alliances

Audiences who saw the fabled Broadway musical, Chorus Line, marveled... Read More

Outsourcing NOT Just for Big Business

Outsourcing has become a controversial issue and a hot topic... Read More

Keep Your Good Workers by Building Good Leaders

A recent report from the American Hospital Association's Commission on... Read More

Five Problem-Solving Success Tips

The ability to solve complicated problems quickly is more important... Read More

Dont Take New Hires for Granted

Hiring good people is only half the battle. The other... Read More

Are You Measuring Something Meaningful?

Avoiding inert measures that anaesthetise your performance management.INTRODUCTIONYou sit before... Read More

Communication: Managements Responsibility

I've just watched, again, an episode in the Back to... Read More

3 Ingredients of Highly Profitable Organizational Change

As waves of organizational change sweep across the business landscape,... Read More

MANAGING CRISIS; when you?re too good at it

When you are acclaimed for excellence during times of crisis... Read More

How to Meet Quality Standards with ISO 9001

In today's hectic business environment, it is vital that we... Read More

Focus and Shoot

One of my earliest childhood memories is watching Lew Alcindor... Read More

Sexual Harassment Policy Guidelines Part II

SEXUAL HARASSMENT COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION PROCEDUREEvery complaint will be thoroughly investigated.... Read More

Is Your Management Style Assisting or Hurting Your Business?

Many times business owners can have significant differences in management... Read More

Be a Change Agent ( Part 1)

Aligning business organizations to be successful in the present and... Read More

Turnover is Not a Problem

"Ha!" you say. "For someone to make a statement like... Read More

Operating on Perpetual Overload?

Check Out Your E-HabitsAnother week has ended. And, despite moving... Read More

Data Delivers Credibility

Over the past couple of days I've been setting up... Read More

How to Build Your Business and Still Take Time Off

We all know people who are like human dynamos. They... Read More

Stop Going to Meetings - 10 Questions to Ask Before Attending a Meeting - Get More Productive

We get invited to attend so many "meetings" but do... Read More

How to Beat the Turf Mentality

Want to hear a fascinating story? Let's sit in at... Read More

How To Learn Great Management from Our Kids

Learning comes from many places. And one of the most... Read More

You?re Hired, Now Go Home: Managing Workers at a Distance

Telecommuting or virtual work opens up a wider net of... Read More

Keeping Meetings On Track

We all have been in meetings with certain people who... Read More

Culture Management and Creativity

Many concepts in the fields of managing creativity are very... Read More

Managing Group Meetings

MANAGING SMALL MEETINGS: Keep the size of the meeting as... Read More

Does Your Management Style Remind People Of Something They Read In Dilbert?

With thanks to Jeff Foxworthy, the comedian who does the... Read More

Climb out of the Box - How to Hold Effective Meetings

Out of the box thinking is a popular fad today.... Read More

I Said Pareto Chart? Not Potato Chart!

Does this sound familiar? You were hired for the new... Read More

Getting Software Developed for Your Business

At some point, your business is going to need to... Read More

Succession Planning? ... Not on My Watch!

At first blush, it would appear there is no shortage... Read More