Most organizations seek innovation to progress, grow, and create competitive differentiation. But can we truly create innovation, or are we just getting out of its way?
Think of a child’s natural creativity. It’s unbridled until adults rein it in to conform to social norms. The same principle applies in organizations.
A study by Adobe found that 75% of people think they are not living up to their creative potential. Why? Fear of failure, potential repercussions, and the comfort of conformity.
As Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer at Google X, says, “Innovation is not about adding stuff. It’s about eliminating the barriers to natural creativity.”
So, how do we create an environment that doesn’t kill innovation?
- Embrace failure: A Harvard Business School study found that teams celebrating failures are more innovative.
- Encourage diverse thinking: Research in the Journal of Applied Psychology shows diverse teams are 35% more likely to outperform homogeneous ones.
- Provide time for exploration: Google’s famous 20% time policy led to innovations like Gmail and Google News.
- Foster psychological safety: A study by Google found it to be the most critical factor in high-performing teams. Accept that failure may occur, and be surprised when is does not.
Innovation isn’t something you create. It’s something you allow to happen by removing the barriers.
Let’s go back to what we do naturally. As with children, let them play. Allow the exploration and space for it to prosper.
