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How to Spark Creativity Using the Power of Friction

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In many ways, innovation has become the “product” that many of today’s leading companies create and sell to their customers. Creating one brilliant offering and reaching number one status in your category is no longer enough; 21st Century success means doing it over and over again. Across industries from food and beverage to tech and manufacturing, old standards of productivity have been disrupted because we have realized that a steady stream of new, competitive offerings (or improvements to one or two core products) is the key to exponential growth. However, continuously breaking new ground is easier said than done—the innovation team’s job is to generate their own creative tension or friction and harness it to create new solutions for problems their customers may not even be aware of yet. sparking innovation and creativity

If you’ve ever gone out on a limb to try something new, you’re probably familiar with that flutter in your stomach and the anxious rush of risk-taking. Some people actually enjoy it, and as you may already know, daredevils make fantastic innovators. It reminds me of a quote that’s often attributed to Thomas Jefferson: “If you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something you have never done.” In our personal and professional lives, most people try to avoid friction whenever possible. But taking the path of least resistance doesn’t lead to groundbreaking ideas. Usually, it’s the diversity of thought on your team and the most rebellious, dissenting points of view that push you to the edges, where great ideas are discovered.

Now think about how stressful it must be to navigate this uncharted territory with a team of professionals every single day who all have diverse ideas. It’s incredibly difficult to collaborate on innovation projects with no roadmap and only a fuzzy idea of what success will look like. The pressure to get results can create a toxic competitive atmosphere, which I wrote about in my last blog. It’s easy to forget how valuable and essential that friction is and fall into a routine of following the leader. When a problem arises that might lead to some productive friction, figuring out how to approach it as a team becomes its own challenge: because we typically avoid friction between people (conflict), friction between ideas is hard to achieve. How do we organize our efforts without totally losing that productive friction? In other words, how do we embrace a challenge with both efficiency and diversity of thought?

It’s a delicate balance to maintain in a fast-moving environment. But these three strategies can help you embrace friction as a team leader and use it to your advantage:

1.   Hear Rebel Voices and Develop Success Skills

I’ve spoken before about finding the rebel voices in your company, and it bears repeating. Because friction is so uncomfortable and potentially scary, your team members are not likely to speak up with rebellious, innovative ideas unless you actively encourage them. Use one-on-ones and team meetings to remind your team that everyone’s ideas are valued, especially ones that are a little unconventional. Demonstrate that you take their ideas seriously by presenting each one to the team for discussion. The person who came up with the idea may have some insight on its flaws and how it might be expanded or built upon.

Speaking up with a unique idea is a pretty big risk, and most innovators hold their ideas very closely. Validating an idea in turn validates the contribution of that team member. Once they start to see their differences as an advantage, the rest of the team can recognize and respect that diversity of thought as an asset. Your team members need the communication skills to “sell” their idea and the energy to sustain their Rebel mindset, which is something I will discuss in an upcoming blog. Going against the grain is fulfilling, but it can also be exhausting in an environment where diverse ideas aren’t valued.

2.   Be Transparent and Real sparking innovation and creativity

In order to come up with ideas that are outside the box yet still relevant, your team needs a clear understanding of the overarching business goals they are working toward and any other factors that have bearing on the challenge at hand. In your interactions with them as a leader, it’s critical to help your team see the bigger picture of why they are working on this initiative and how their specific work fits into that bigger picture in addition to managing who is working together on what projects. These conversations are incredible opportunities to uncover productive friction! Let your team members know that they are welcome to challenge you. Constructive feedback is much more useful than going with the flow, and it goes both ways.

What you want to avoid is being that leader who doesn’t really hear anything after a certain point; when your team senses this, they will start to censor their own ideas based on what they think you want to hear. Creating a culture of full transparency as a leader means creating an environment where your team can be comfortable giving and receiving critical feedback.

3.   Build a Solution-Minded Team

Beyond your goals for any particular project, it’s important to establish some basic agreements with your team about accepted cultural norms and the values you share, which can include respectful disagreement and constructive criticism. With these shared principles, you empower your team to do what’s best rather than what’s agreeable or easy and build trust with each interaction. Focusing on the big “why” behind your innovation goals, your ultimate mission or the legacy you are creating in your industry also helps to increase collaboration between individuals. Though each person brings a different perspective, everyone shares a similar purpose: you are rebels with a cause!

As I said in the beginning, sustaining productive friction as a team of innovators is not easy. Each new curveball and bump in the road will test you in new ways, and it takes incredible levels of energy to keep your relationships strong and avoid burnout. sparking innovation and creativity sparking innovation and creativity

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