A New Take on Innovation & Creativity

Just for a moment, think of the term “innovation.” What comes to mind, or better yet, who comes to mind? Most likely, the first thought that comes to mind is one of the world’s greatest inventors like Benjamin Franklin, or perhaps it’s a 21st Century innovator like Elon Musk. Now, answer this question: Are these influential innovators special? In other words, are innovators born with a special quality? Traditionally speaking, yes. The traditional viewpoint of innovation and the perspective of many is that creativity is about special people. This view describes that people are born with a special quality that makes them creativity. Only special people have special ideas and thoughts. After much research and thought, this might not be the case after all. Let’s explore more on innovation and creativity, specifically within the workplace.

 

Going Against the Traditional View

In Charles Leadbeater’s (2005) Ted Talk, he presents the idea that the traditional view of special people creating special ideas is wrong. Leadbeater believes that creativity and innovation really come from the collaboration of users, not just certain individuals. He refers to this creativity of users as “radical innovation” (Leadbeater, 2005). Big companies are unlikely to think outside the box because the norm is to go with what works. Rarely will organizations go with an idea that has a high risk of losing market shares. Sadly, employees frequently innovate through existing channels. It is a habit for people to stick with what is comfortable. Radical innovators are quite the opposite. Radical innovators will take the high risks because if those risks (innovations) pan out, they bode high rewards. Additionally, these innovators take these risks because of the passion they have for what they are doing. Having a high morale and passion for what one is doing can also encourage creativity. In other words, radical innovation can equate to more, and possibly better creativity. The mind can wander the endless possibilities. Ultimately, innovation is not limited to special people with gifts of creativity. Nonetheless, the big question continues to be, how can an organization get its employees to pursue radical innovation and continue down this path?

 

Steps to Communicating Innovation

There are two main steps that my organization and my team can take to communicate innovation and dismember the idea that creativity is just for special people. First, the path to communicating the ideas of innovation and creativity in the workplace is to have an open-source of communication. Allow ideas to flow both up and down the chain of command. Clampitt (2017) describes that organizations that operate through the Arrow approach of simply informing, or through intimidation discourage employees from engaging in discussions. This can stunt innovation. My current workplace can practice a decentralized organizational structure, which encourages the flow of innovation and employee involvement. With decentralization, leaders communicate horizontally with each other and make decisions with the input of others (Alonso, Dessein, & Matouschek, 2008, p. 147). There is a two-way flow of communication throughout the organization.

 

Second, my workplace should encourage and enable collaboration. Amabile and Khaire’s (2008) discussion on creativity said it best that “the reality today is that most innovations draw on many contributions” (p. 1). Breakthroughs no longer come from just certain individuals. When people come together with diverse perspectives, there is an explosion of creative thinking. Collaboration can also mitigate many barriers within an organization, such as authoritative styles of communication and highly structured organizational climates. Leaders can communicate that all ideas are welcome and inspire a corporate culture of collaboration for the betterment of the organization, as a whole. It equates a better bottom-line of the organization. Overall, taking both of these steps helps to indirectly promote creativity. Leaders cannot simply tell employees to start being creative and collaborate. Leaders must foster these actions.

 

Changing & Fostering an Innovative Climate

Lastly, it is equally important for organizations to continually foster an innovative climate. It is not enough for organizations to encourage creativity once. Innovation and creativity must be communicated daily, and it must become a part of the corporate culture. Köhler et al.’s (2010) study found “that the communication climate and social capital of organizations are important determinants of a company’s innovative climate” (p. 567). It is important for organizations to invest in their employees’ participation and morale. My organization, AdventHealth, cultivates an innovative culture through its philosophy and values. Some of my organization’s values include safety, compassion, collaboration, and commitment. Employee actions are rooted in these values, which helps inspire creativity.

 

Moreover, Clampitt (2017) describes that “organizations risk more by not innovating than they do by innovating” (p. 342). Things are always changing within every industry. Another way to promote innovation is to create company programs and policies that foster innovation. During the pandemic, different departments needed to collaborate to promote the values of the organization, but ultimately, maintain the patients’ safety. Additionally, instead of furloughing employees, my organization allowed employees to get redeployed to other departments. This further allowed the collaboration of employees from different departments. The bottom-line is that organizations should look to mitigate barriers by allowing innovation to flow both up and down the organizational ladder. Creativity amongst all employees will be worth it in the long-run.

 

References

Alonso, R., Dessein, W., & Matouschek, N. (2008). When does coordination require centralization? The American Economic Review, 98(1), 145-179. doi:10.1257/aer.98.1.145

Amabile, T., & Khaire, M. (2008). Creativity and the role of the leader. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2008/10/creativity-and-the-role-of-the-leader

Clampitt, P. G. (2017). Communicating for Managerial Effectiveness (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

 

Köhler, T., Janßen, C., Plath, S., Reese, J. P., Lay, J., Steinhausen, S., . . . Pfaff, H. (2010). Communication, social capital and workplace health management as determinants of the innovative climate in german banks. International Journal of Public Health, 55(6), 561-570. doi:10.1007/s00038-010-0195-7

 

Leadbeater, C. (2005). The era of open innovation [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/charles_leadbeater_the_era_of_open_innovation/transcript#t-191199