In my conversations with clients, I have heard many complaints regarding the difficulties of team members working effectively. It is acknowledged that teamwork has enormous rewards, but there is also a sense of frustration about my personal experiences of working in groups.
One method to increase teamwork is to harness the potential of creativity. Teams have the capacity to think creatively, but they must be encouraged by their leader.
“If you’re looking to build a team, Give the team the work that needs the participation of a group.”
To unleash the power of creativity within your team, you must identify the next project that requires every member of your team to participate and be imaginative. Use a collaborative approach to leadership to fuel the creative spark that is in your staff.
These are the best ten methods that you can ignite your creative spark!
1. Set clear goals to ensure collaboration.
You’ll get the most effective outcomes from your teams if they are clear about what they are expected to do. They should be aware of the big image and the overall vision of the company, and your expectations for them on an operational level (what outcomes or deliverables you expect to see from them.)
2. Be confident in the abilities of your team.
As a leader, you have to expect the very top from your team while making sure your expectations are high and accurate. It is a difficult balance and balancing act, yet people need to be motivated to do their very best. In terms of creative thinking – groups are more likely to think of creative solutions when you believe they are able to. However, your faith and confidence should be grounded. Set the bar higher for your best performance each step at one time.
3. Inspire and encourage new ideas.
It requires the courage to present the idea from the perspective of the team. Creativity is a way of thinking that must be embraced and appreciated by the manager. You must be willing to try new things, and you don’t judge when you are in the process of generating ideas. Encourage participants to build on ideas and not sabotage them. If you dismiss ideas too soon, it’s an easy way to lose the best ideas and hinder the ability to think creatively.
4. Conduct regular discussions about brainstorming.
Brainstorming can be an excellent method to bring new ideas to the table. Follow the precise rules of brainstorming, focus on quantity and not quality, don’t judge the ideas, leave judgment to others, assign someone to write down the ideas in the flipchart, and then tag them, and combining thoughts is delicate—the wilder, the more imaginative.
5. Build relationships.
Facilitate open communication by being transparent and trusting your team. Offer opportunities for team members to meet each other and you on an individual level.
6. Empower your employees.
A simple concept to convey but challenging to execute. Begin by sharing more about the decision-making of the team. Let your team come up with the best solution to a complex problem. They might be pleasantly surprised by their creative thinking.
7. Recognize and Reward.
Each day is sure to celebrate the achievements of both teams and individuals. It is always appreciated, and others will notice what you are noticing. If you care about working in a team, make sure that you praise the effort when it’s performed well.
8. Encourage risk-taking.
Encourage your employees to be risk-averse, and acknowledge that sometimes mistakes will be made. It is essential for employees to be aware of this; when they follow the correct steps to ensure the chances of success, mistakes will be taken as an opportunity to learn rather than a cause for blame. The fear of failure is the opposite side of the coin to the power of creativity.
9. Create diverse teams.
Diverse backgrounds, perspectives, experiences, and cultures are essential to fostering the development of creativity. Though it isn’t easy to achieve an agreement and consensus within groups of people with different perspectives, You will be able to come up with more innovative ideas and ultimately more significant benefits from a team with a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.
10. Have an enjoyable—humor fuels creativity.
Be sure to keep the spark of creativity burning with laughter and fun. The most important thing is to maintain the respect of your children.
Written by Doris Kovic, Business and Executive Coach at Leading Insight.
Leading Insight is a management consulting firm based in San Clemente, California. Its goal is to offer services that aid companies in increasing the efficiency of their workforce and increasing their efficiency and revenue. We offer a variety of services ranging from coaching for leadership and team building to business planning, visioning as well as a range of seminars on leadership and management.
