Leadership Series | Blog From Swati Patel

 

A collaborative culture fuels innovation. Having said that the question that arises is ‘How can you make your culture more collaborative?’ I believe that collaboration happens in about every organization, but every organization does not have a collaborative culture. So, what is the difference? A collaborative culture is one where collaboration is deliberate, regular, and continuous. Collaboration doesn’t happen if someone happens to initiate it, rather it is baked into processes of how people do their work and about their attitude while doing that work. A collaborative culture values the idea – ‘we are better together’.

So, before understanding on how to create a culture of collaborative innovation let me tell you the benefits of a collaborative culture.

·        A collaborative team is more energized, productive, and adaptable.

·     Collaboration creates a feeling of community and involvement.

·     A collaborative team is always happier and less stressed.

·     Collaborative employees are always engaged and well connected with the organization.

·     A collaborative team is a powerhouse of innovation.

As a leader, I would always recommend that to keep up with all the new ways of working, you must collaborate. Effective collaboration helps in building trust, relationships, and innovation. Setting the conditions for an innovative environment is an ongoing commitment because new trends are continuously emerging all the time. When you are collaboratively working as a team you are compelled to contribute. This guarantees the flow of new ideas. So here are few tips to create a collaborative culture of innovation.

·    Start with a purpose - Before you start anything first you should know the purpose or objective. It is the foundation on which you and your team would stand and contribute to your success and the company’s success. So always remember that without a clear objective and mission, it is extremely difficult to succeed in creating a culture of innovation.  Articulate your objectives in clear and simple language, no jargons.

·      Create the spark – People always feel good about being a part of forward-thinking teams. But engaging team members and making them excited to be a part of the process at the initial stage can be complex. So to break this complexity, you first have to have clear communication, role distribution, and proper guidance on the process. These steps will help you to engage your team and create excitement and engagement around innovation all the time. 

·    Deepening the conversation - Another good way to spark a culture of innovation is through promoting lightning talks. A lightning talk is a very crisp presentation, not more than 10 to 15 minutes given with the goal of sharing knowledge and engaging the audience to motivate action. Lightning talks are great for planting the seed and sharing knowledge about what companies need to prepare for the future, while inviting new ideas.

·      Converge and align ideas - Sparking the interest and deepening the thinking about new ideas is essential for a culture of innovation to thrive but if the team members cannot see themselves executing on those new ideas, all the innovation talk is in vain. Translating innovative insights into a concept that is tangible and executable will keep the team focused and more resilient to endure the long journey towards implementation.

·     Empower employees to collaborate - Step back from micromanagement and allow your team members have more leeway. It means building collaboration into team processes – for example, giving room in timelines for others to review projects. And it means equipping employees with the skills they need to collaborate, through everyday coaching and even special training.

Building a collaborative culture can be an involved and ongoing process. So, start the process today and take the first steps toward building and participating in a collaborative culture.