Many leaders are frustrated by their inability to motivate people. In some cases, it is because they are using the overly simplistic “scientific management” concept made popular in the early 20th century by Frederick Taylor, who believed that employees are motivated only by money.
Organizations must develop new ways of thinking and behaving in order to succeed in a turbulent world. While many organizations possess ample efficiency and analytical capability, successful organizations must also learn to integrate adaptability and innovative capability into their repertoires. Creative problem solving attitudes, behaviors, thinking skills and processes must be learned and developed to the extent that they become second nature. Organizations that adopt this approach will discover that creativity competency serves to complement analytical capability in building a highly effective operation that can thrive in today’s demanding business environment.
Here’s the scenario: Following a conference or workshop, you return to your office brimming with enthusiasm for a new strategy or skill that you are certain will help make you faster, smarter, more efficient or more innovative. G=
Are you adding strategic value to your organization? The Profile can help you understand your innovation style and make you a more strategic problem solver. The best way to be recognized as a strategic player is to proactively bring solutions to your executive leadership team. The best solution begins and ends with the ability to correctly identify a problem and systematically develop a solution to solve it.
Does your organization value teams that work nicely together, have few personality conflicts and easily reach a consensus? If so, you may be promoting ‘group-think’ and robbing yourself of real solutions, real creativity and real innovation.
It’s tempting to believe that innovation will arrive in the form of a lightning bolt flash of inspiration. And maybe for Ben Franklin it did happen that way. But waiting for the perfect storm is a slow route to change. If storm clouds aren’t gathering on your horizon, try a more sure-fire route to innovation. Ask yourself – and everyone around you – some problem-finding questions.
