One idea inspiring our new normal is that we are building the muscles to continuously live within and by the threat of a pandemic. While some of us mourn the loss of our before, many of us understand that established systems and symbols are being dismantled and provoking us to create new public and private approaches to solving critical issues.
#1 Make room for innovation
Make time for cohesive free thinking both individually and collectively with your team. Bounce your ideas off each other. But make sure that you have created a safe space where your team feels free to express their thoughts.
#2 Accept failure as an integral part of the process
Reframe the idea of failure so you may find liberation in your exploration. The only guaranteed way to fail is not to try. Every attempt is another step towards acquiring new answers and discovering new questions.
#3 Simplify the rules for creation
Oftentimes we as humans bind ourselves to rules that were not set by us. This can restrict the many layers of thought in our minds. Give 2-3 simple rules to yourself and your team. Here is our number one rule suggestion: Always keep a positive attitude during your brainstorming sessions.
#4 Create a collaborative layout to play with
The thought process can often feel like a jumbled ball of yarn during the exploration process. But that is ok! Use productivity tools to help work through the mess. Tools like; a white board using a variety of colored markers or, if you are working digitally, Jamboard by Google is a great tool to display everyone’s ideas.
#5 Change your scenery
Whether you are mostly working from your new home office or “the office”, being in the same physical space can stifle your thoughts, energy, and inspiration. One way to expand your thought process is to move around. Walk around or outside the office, take different routes to get to familiar places. Thoughts are patterns of movements in our brain and sometimes they need to be kickstarted through the movement of our bodies.
If you are reading this and thinking, “we do all these things!”, the question to ponder is how you are implementing these practices.
Having the space to wonder, play with ideas and the how of something, using simple, rather than authoritative guardrails, creates safety to explore without fear of critique and find innovation in flops.
