What do you do if your thought leadership lacks creativity and stifles innovation?

Having a beginner mindset will allow us to see things from a different lense. Based on my experience, being humble and willing to learn like a beginner allows me to expand my curiosity and expand my learning capabilities. We can't learn when our glass is full. Being curious is to suspend our assumptions and our judgment, and allow the kids inside of us to explore.

Exploring the journey is more fascinating than the final destination. Along the way, we discover our selves, follow our hearts, and fathom the ways to turn our vision into a living reality.

An idea comes when we are able to combine two previously known things. To create a better idea, we just need to look at things from different perspectives, different angles, different disciplines or different industries. Getting ideas from experts will result in us getting the same answer or perspective from any other experts in a similar field. But getting ideas from people from different fields will allow us to see things from different points of view. I will always love to go out and explore, the places I am not familiar with. Normally new ideas will be born.

Seek input and perspectives from a diverse range of stakeholders, both within and outside your organization. Engage in cross-functional collaboration to leverage complementary expertise and insights. Foster partnerships with industry peers, academia, and other thought leaders to exchange ideas and co-create knowledge. Embrace digital platforms and tools to facilitate virtual collaboration and break down geographical barriers. Encourage active participation and contribution from all collaborators, valuing each individual's unique perspective. Establish clear communication channels and protocols to ensure effective collaboration and coordination throughout the process.

As John Dewey said, "We don't learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience." Reflection to me is the best way to learn. Go deep and ask ourselves deep questions, and write down our thoughts. Spending our time alone will allow us to reflect. Most of the time we are too busy with our gadgets, scrolling blindlessly. That does not help us to reflect and create a new perspective.

Celebrate bold experiments and successful innovations, recognizing individuals and teams who dare to think outside the box. Foster a spirit of curiosity and adventure, inspiring others to embrace experimentation and push the limits of what's possible. Embrace a bold and adventurous mindset in your thought leadership endeavors to foster innovation. Encourage experimentation with unconventional ideas and approaches, pushing boundaries and challenging the status quo. Create a safe space for risk-taking and exploration, where failure is seen as a valuable learning opportunity rather than a setback. Allocate resources and time for bold experiments, prioritizing initiatives with the potential for high impact and transformative change.

Regularly reassess your strategies and approaches, adapting them to changing trends and dynamics in your industry. Stay curious and open-minded, actively seeking out new ideas and insights to incorporate into your thought leadership efforts. Foster a culture of learning and growth within your team, encouraging ongoing skill development and knowledge acquisition. Embrace feedback from peers, mentors, and stakeholders, using it as fuel for refinement and improvement. Emphasize the importance of agility and flexibility in your thought leadership approach, remaining responsive to emerging opportunities and challenges. Celebrate milestones and successes - evolution is a continuous journey, not a destination.

A lack of creativity and innovation in leadership can result in poor engagement and a lack of cognitive safety. If your organization does not value creativity and innovation as reflected in its decisions and actions or set a reasonable threshold for losses or failures, your leadership will not lead, they will manage.

Assess the current state of your thought leadership efforts to identify areas where creativity is lacking and innovation is stifled. Foster interdisciplinary collaboration to bring diverse perspectives and skill sets into your thought leadership initiatives. Provide opportunities for brainstorming sessions and idea generation workshops to spark innovative thinking. Challenge conventional wisdom and encourage out-of-the-box thinking to break free from stagnant patterns. Invest in ongoing education and training to develop creative problem-solving skills among your team members. Embrace failure as a natural part of the creative process and use it as a learning opportunity to refine and improve your thought leadership approach.