Creativity is about creating innovation and finding great solutions to problems. And business is also the same definition. So, both are very essential factors for each other.
We live in a competitive world that changes faster. To survive and become successful in this world you need to do something innovative or different. Creativity is one ability that can complete this need.
Coming up with a creative solution that solves the biggest problem in society is the basis of startups and businesses. The reason behind all successful market leader companies is the innovative product or service.
An innovative leader can open new opportunities for companies. But an innovative team can turn opportunities into success.
But the question is How encouraging team creativity?
WHAT’S IN IT?
How to Encourage Team Creativity?
1) Hire Potential Staff
Hiring employees for your companies is a very important part. Because employees are those who run or handle the company.
So, be careful while hiring staff. Hire someone on his potential not only just on their skills.
2) Create a Clear Vision of Your Company
A clear vision gives your team direction. But, their all thinking and energy goes in one direction. That helps your team to think differently or something creative.
If you involve all your team members in changing the goals and strategies of your company then they feel like they are an important part of the company. And they started giving suggestions or
ideas for new goals and also enjoy the success of your company.
That affects the overall growth of your company.
3) Give Training Your Team
Creativity is about thinking innovatively and creating it. So, it requires learning something new for it. And today’s world of competition needs to keep updated with new learning yourself.
So, give training of new things regularly to your team. New learning opens their mind. New learning also boosts their confidence.
And both an open mind and confidence to do something inspires the team to think creatively. Learning also gives direction to create that idea into reality.
“Train people well enough so anyone can hire them on 3x salary, give love enough so they don’t want to leave you also for 10x salary.”- Richard Branson
4) Listen to Your Staff
Listening is the most important skill for any leader. If you listen to your employees, they start feeling important and free. Only if your employees or teammates feel free with you, then only they interact with you and give new ideas and suggestions to you.
Positive interaction makes your relations better than boss-employee relations. Always end the meeting with open questions to your team-mates and listen to them carefully.
If you can’t listen to them then they assume you are arrogant. And they started avoiding you and the goals of your company.
But, if you listen carefully then their perspective becomes very positive towards you. That’s why all the team can connect with one goal easily and also gives new innovative ideas, suggestions. And if all members of a company work as a team then the efficiency of work and company grow fast.
That is the best way to increase the creativity of your whole team.
5) Act on Their Ideas
It is very important to listen to employees’ ideas. But most important is to act on their ideas.
If you just listen to their ideas and don’t react to them then employees start feeling you are arrogant. And after that, they don’t give any new ideas or suggestions to you.
If an idea is not good then tell them corrections but when the idea is good then take action on it. Your action encourages them to think about more innovative ideas.
6) Regularly Do Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a popular way to solve problems innovatively and generate new creative ideas. It is a process where all group members come together and discuss one topic.
Because of the participation of all members, you get many perspectives about that idea. You get many problems and solutions about that one idea.
Brainstorming also encourages your employees to think creatively and share their ideas freely with others. So, do brainstorming regularly in your company.
Remember a few things while doing brainstorming-
- Participation in discussion is a must.
- Set a time limit.
- Record everything.
- Give everyone a chance to share their ideas
7) Create a Positive Environment
It is very important to have a positive environment in your office. Make your office where employees do work freely.
Interior is a very important factor for any office. The fact is that you and your team spend more time in the office than at home. Good office interior affects the thinking of employees.
They feel fresh or depressed depending on how right your office interior is. And a fresh mood can generate more ideas. A fresh atmosphere encourages us to think creatively.
For creating a positive environment You can paint spiritual paintings on the walls of offices, put some indoor plants in the office, that small changes affect a lot.
8) Give Freedom
Different people have different styles of doing work. Some employees work better with music, some are with pen and pencil.
Everyone just loves the freedom, if you put conditions on working style employees they do not work at their full efficiency. But if you give them the freedom to their working style. It increases their efficiency and productivity.
Giving freedom also connects your employees to you. They started doing work with interest and interest generates love towards work. So, employees always try to give their best at work. It is very important to the success of any company.
Because of freedom, they started feeling better or relaxed at work. So, they can generate more and more ideas.
9) Allows to Take Breaks
Continuing work reduces the efficiency of work. It also gives stress. We get tired faster by doing continuous work.
Our brain is not a machine. It needs some breaks for rest and recharge. The scheduled break helps to store all information in our brain. And also increases the productivity of your employees.
A rested brain can think better innovative than a tired brain. So, it is very important to give short breaks to employees during office time.
It depends on you or your employee’s contract to give a paid break or non-paid break.
10) Tell Them Don’t Be Afraid to Fail
Creativity is all about taking a high risk. So, there is always a chance to fail. Some ideas are brilliant but not profitable for business but sometimes an average idea becomes profitable to your company.
If you shouted at employees for their mistakes. Then they are always afraid to share their new ideas. It reduces their creativity.
So, don’t be angry when an employee makes a mistake. Give them advice on how they can improve their mistakes and grow.
When all fear goes away from your employees then they become fearless. And they feel free to share new creative and innovative ideas.
It is very important for encouraging team creativity.
11) Give Best Awards
When any employee does some extraordinary work or gives some great idea or suggestion. Then must appreciate our award him ‘in front of all team members.
Remember, when a leader gives appreciation in front of others then the employee feels very proud of himself. Then he started work not only with more productivity but also connected the company emotionally. Once he connects with all his emotions then he thinks a lot about companies success so he can give a lot of creative and innovative ideas.
It is very important to connect all members of a company with one purpose.
Rather than searching for people who do not work properly, search for people who do better encourage them, appreciate them. After seeing this, for appreciation, lazy people also started doing their job efficiently.
“On which activity you give the award, employee do these activities repeatedly.”
– Dr Vivek Bindra
12) Make an Emotional Bond with Your Employees
Humans are emotional. They easily connected with emotion.
Remember “Salary is never the highest motivation of retention”
“You don’t need only hand and legs, you need head and heart.”- Dr Vivek Bindra
So, connecting heartly with your employees is very important. If you and your employees are connected emotionally then you get all the pain points of your employees.
Then you can help them to get out of that pain. Once you do this, then your employees connect emotionally with you.
Once they connect with you stronger than they never leave you and always think about your success.
Work with your employees as a friend or leader, not as a boss. If you work as a friend, then freely give you new innovative and different ideas.
13) Diversify Work in Your Team
If one team does one work continuously then they start feeling bored. So, automatically reduces the efficiency and productivity of their work.
Diverse your team may encourage them to learn different skills. So, the team never feels stressed. This method also inspires them to use their creativity in their work.
Conclusion
Employees are the heart of any company. Also, employees come first. So, their skills, their development, their abilities are very important to the overall growth of your company.
And creativity is an ability that is a must for success. So, make an emotional bond with your employees and always help them to think creatively. That helps your company to achieve more and more goals.
Also you can read our blog on :- 3 Ways to Deal With Change