4 Tips for Encouraging Innovation

Looking to build an innovative team? It’s not about bringing innovative new people into your workforce but rather empowering the people already in your organization, says a recent Harvard Business Review article by consultant Greg Satell.

He offers four tips for creating an environment in which your people can thrive:

• Hire for mission. Innovation isn’t about ideas; it’s about solving problems. Therefore, the first step to building an innovative team is to hire people interested in the problems you need to solve. If there is a true commitment to a shared mission, the ideas will come.
• Promote psychological safety. The ability of each team member to be able to voice their ideas without fear of reprisal or rebuke is key to team performance. Psychological safety promotes a more comfortable atmosphere and also increases the capacity for learning.
• Create diversity. Don’t limit your team to people whose backgrounds, experiences and outlooks match your own, as this will also limit the team’s ability to solve problems and be creative. Your team will come up with fewer ideas, and you run the risk that inherent biases will be normalized and reinforced.
• Value teamwork. When it comes to innovation, you don’t need the best people—you need the best teams. Look for people who can collaborate, listen and build strong networks.

See the full HBR article: “4 Ways to Build an Innovative Team.”