Planning Innovation into your Work-life.

By Jonathan Halls

IN THIS ARTICLE:

• How physiology and well being affects innovation

• Urging employees out of their comfort zones

• Why you can't forget critique and enact

When I managed skills training for the BBC’s New Media Training unit, I introduced a policy which required all the trainers to do bench-time on a Friday.  It was a small team – there were five of us.

Doing bench-time means that none of us facilitated any workshops on Fridays.

My team generally spent three to four days running workshops and one or two days in the office.  I wanted at least one of their days outside the seminar room to be shared with their colleagues, 

So I decreed, “no-one trains on Fridays.”  Any course delivered on a Friday was delivered by a freelancer or contractor.

This routine ushered in one of the most creative and collaborative periods of work I have experienced. 

Trainers spent time with each other, shared ideas and laughed.  During this time we expanded our portfolio of courses from 18 to more than 50.

Look at your workflows.  Do they spur on innovation and creativity?  Or do they inhibit it?

Here are a few of my thoughts.  There are loads more to consider.

Physiology and well being

First, how long do your staff work?  Are they doing long days?  Consider the effects of physiology.  We know that sleep is important .  If you’re demanding extra hours from your staff, how can you expect them to get the sleep they need. 

Remember, science has proven that sleep deprivation leads to less creativity, poorer decision-making and slower performance.

How about diet and exercise?  In recent studies exercise has been found to be far more effective at beating depression than medication.  Make sure you implement this well.

One major US government agency has allowed its staff to claim three working hours a week to either go to the gym or get exercise for a run.

However, they’re so worried their staff will abuse it they’ve attached loads of conditions so the policy actually makes it highly impractical for many employees to take advantage.

They’re on the right track but of course, their policies undermine their vision  [CLICK TO VISION].  This only breaks down trust and builds cynicism.

Obviously your initiatives must not undermine production or business needs.  But often, what looks like curbing business possibilities actually makes them better.

Flexible working

A colleague who worked for me at the BBC wanted to learn French.  We agreed to flexible working hours over a four week period.  He went to school in the mornings and worked the afternoons and early evenings.

I’m sure a few eyebrows were raised when I signed off on this.  But, he still did great work for us.  Plus he enriched his own life through learning.  Learning a new language opens your mind to all sorts of possibilities.

Urging people out of their comfort zones

I’ve often had the pleasure of forcing people out of their comfort zones. 

I’ve lost count of radio presenters who fought me kicking and screaming as I pushed them into the studio to present their first program. 

It was always the same.  They’d try and convince me that they would sound awful on air.  I heard just about every excuse. 

But the majority walked out of the studio at the end of the show realizing they could do OK.  Some went on to make great radio.

The challenge to do well outside your comfort zone boils the creative juices and gets you going.  Ask your staff to rotate into different departments and learn new ways of doing things. 

Challenge them to write articles for the staff magazine.  Urge them to spend three days a year of your time doing community service.

These are the sorts of things that pull staff out of their comfort zones and prevent them ending up in a rut.

Remember to critique and enact

I’ve seen a lot of experiments with creativity.  A leader reads a book and then gets really excited about creating an innovative culture. 

So she introduces brainstorming, brings in muslea bars and herbal tea to replace coffee breaks.  Before long all the staff seem to be on a high, floating around the organization attending brainstorming sessions, stopping at the water cooler for “collaborative conversations” and generally doing a lot to power up their imagination.

Remember, the ICE model is about more than just “imagining”.  Yes, the first step is about unleashing your imagination so you have more ideas to choose from than you need. 

But the second and third stages are really about turning ideas into something tangible.  Critiquing the ideas is all about understanding the business model and organization’s vision. 

Enacting these great ideas involves good old fashioned project management.

Don’t lose sight of the fact creativity is not creativity until something has been created.  And this needs to be an important part of your vision.  Otherwise your staff will spend your time having ideas and nothing will come of them.

More than talking

Creating an innovative organization is more than just talking about it.  It requires real action.  Make sure your workplace is conducive to innovative thinking.