What do you do if your team in Creative Strategy lacks an innovative culture?

I'd start with an internal audit to understand the existing processes, communication flow, and team dynamics. Engage with your team through surveys or workshops to capture their perspectives on barriers to innovation—be it fear of failure, lack of resources, or restrictive processes. It's crucial to foster an environment where risk-taking is encouraged, and failure is seen as a stepping stone to learning. Initiatives like dedicated brainstorming sessions, cross-functional collaborations, and continuous learning opportunities can invigorate an innovative culture. Leadership plays a key role here; by modelling openness to new ideas and providing constructive feedback, you can set the tone for a more creative and innovative team dynamic.

Inject a dose of "Fail Fridays" where mistakes are celebrated as stepping stones to brilliance. Stir the pot with cross-industry inspiration safaris - because sometimes, a zookeeper knows what your zoo is missing. Lastly, swap your coffee breaks for "idea espresso shots" - quick, intense brainstorming sessions that wake up creativity better than caffeine.

Start by assessing why your team faces innovation challenges. Identify if it's due to resource constraints, time limitations, or skill gaps. Explore potential factors like fear of failure, criticism, or a rigid hierarchy. Pinpoint issues such as siloed departments or conflicting agendas. This diagnosis provides a foundation for targeted improvement strategies, enabling you to address root causes and foster a more innovative team environment.

A few years ago, a moment that would define my career unfolded quietly beside the conference room table. A senior colleague approached me. "Preserve your empathy," they said, a steady gaze affirming their words, "Your engagement, your emotion—these aren’t weaknesses. They're your most potent strengths." They urged me never to conform to the stoic, impassive mold often championed in business circles. Today, I stand as living proof that success doesn't demand a sacrifice of authenticity. Instead, it requires us to be unabashedly the best versions of ourselves. Remember, in a world that often prizes conformity, your unique spark is your ultimate edge. If everyone around the table is authentic, together we will be innovative.

Encourage Diversity of Ideas: Foster an environment where each team member feels free to share their ideas, regardless of their nature or origin. Diverse perspectives are the fuel for innovation. Reward Calculated Risk Taking: Create a culture where taking risks is seen as an essential step to growth. Mistakes are not failures, but opportunities for improvement. Promote Personal Development: Invest in the training and professional development of your employees. A well-trained team is better equipped to innovate and find creative solutions. Celebrate Innovative Successes: Highlight successes related to innovative ideas. Celebrating successes strengthens the culture of innovation and motivates the team to continue thinking differently.

Just as every company should have a strong brand and mission statement, it's always a tremendous exercise to create a brand and vision statement for your internal creative team. Involve the entire team in creating this and making it a fun, collaborative team-building project. Once you've developed your brand, share it widely and find ways of promoting it internally the same way a company would promote its brand externally. Internal teams should get good at "selling" themselves the way an agency would sell itself to potential clients. Even if your colleagues don't have the option not to use your services, branding your team and selling your value can enhance trust, respect, value, and the opportunity for a seat at the table for creative.

To foster an innovative culture within your team in Creative Strategy, it's crucial to define a clear vision that aligns with your organization's goals and values. Encourage open communication, collaboration, and creativity among team members. Provide opportunities for brainstorming sessions, training on creative thinking techniques, and support experimentation with new ideas. Recognise and reward innovative thinking to motivate the team. Regularly review progress toward the vision and adapt strategies as needed to cultivate a culture of innovation within the team.

Move forward by clearly defining the vision of an innovative culture for your team and organization. Outline the values, goals, and expectations you aim to promote. Specify the behaviors, attitudes, and practices you want to encourage. Establish metrics for measuring and rewarding innovation. A well-articulated vision serves as a motivational guide, inspiring your team and fostering alignment with a shared purpose in cultivating an innovative environment.

LISTEN TO YOUR DAMN TEAM! Your team will always communicate how they feel or how a certain policy/project/client is making them feel, sometimes literally (they walk up to you and have a conversation) and sometimes via small signs (eg: your most eager, creative and impromptu team member hasn’t contributed much in the last few brainstorms). As a leader it is our job to listen to them and the signs, speak to them, a honest conversation always helps. At times it may happen your team member might not know what will make them feel better, involve professional help if needed, take help from creative counsellors. Make them feel an equal and important part of this ship everyone is sailing on, and that in itself will boost their motivation.

Cede some control. If you have a status meeting, schedule the meeting itself, but open up the agenda to the team from time to time. Hand over the reigns and let them lead. Create a culture of sharing interests and innovation beyond the projects at hand: every team is made up of people with varied interests and passions. Invite them to bring their whole world views to the work and get others interested in what sparks them. Shake things up to change the dynamic.

Team involvement and voice is the #1 rule in my book. Involving the team from the beginning step can help show them the value of their contributions. When people feel valued, they're more passionate. And what does more passion get us? Innovative teams and ideas!

It's a great idea to regularly survey your team and seek input on what's working, what's not, and what can be done to improve the creative process, the opportunities for growth, the work environment, the ability to stay passionate and inspired, and other key indicators of job satisfaction. However, if you ask for feedback from your team, ensure that no negative feedback is ever punitive. Remember, even challenging feedback is a gift. A disengaged employee will tell you things are "fine" as they have one foot out the door; they've stopped caring enough to share their input or have already decided their opinions don't matter. Honesty and the hope for change are signs of an engaged employee who cares enough to make things better.

To spark innovation within a creative team, consider implementing regular 'Innovation Labs'—dedicated sessions where team members collaboratively explore new ideas without the pressure of immediate application or judgement. This safe space encourages free thinking and experimentation, allowing creativity to flourish. It's not just about finding immediate solutions, but rather fostering a culture of curiosity and continuous improvement. Facilitate these sessions with open-ended prompts related to current projects or industry trends to guide the brainstorming process. Encourage participation from all levels within the team to ensure diverse perspectives.

Design thinking is a human-centered approach to problem-solving that emphasizes empathy and understanding the user's needs. Use design thinking to identify the problem you're trying to solve and understand the user's needs. Lean is a set of principles that encourages experimentation with low-fidelity prototypes, allowing you to test and refine ideas quickly. Apply lean principles to avoid wasting time and resources. Agile is a project management methodology that emphasizes flexibility and iterative development. Break down a project into smaller, manageable chunks to receive feedback and course-correct quickly. Embrace the iterative nature of agile to adapt your creative approach based on feedback and new learnings.

Equip your team for innovation by providing the necessary tools—both physical and mental. Offer essential equipment, software, and materials, alongside frameworks, methods, and techniques. Utilize brainstorming, mind mapping, prototyping, or testing to generate and refine ideas. Implement design thinking, agile, or lean methodologies to guide and optimize the creative process. By ensuring your team has the right resources, you empower them to innovate efficiently and effectively.

Encourage alternative work environments. Breakout spaces, comfy reading nooks, or even outdoor seating can spark inspiration. Designate areas where teams can gather, brainstorm, and whiteboard ideas together. Celebrate risk-taking and experimentation to foster a culture of learning. Create a space where team members feel comfortable sharing ideas, even if they seem unconventional, without fear of judgment. Schedule outings to museums, art galleries, or even nature walks. A change of scenery can spark fresh ideas. Allow time for team members to pursue personal creative interests. This can feed into their professional work.

Establish both physical and temporal space for innovation within your team. Provide a dedicated room, flexible layout, or stimulating environment as the physical setting. Designate a regular schedule, specific duration, or protected time as the temporal aspect. This intentional space creation facilitates your team's focus, flow, and experimentation, fostering an environment where innovation can thrive.

First, acknowledge that you don't know the future, nor anyone. Then, consider that the emptiness is an opportunity to fill with things you have never done before like you were a kid – kids are the world's greatest scientists and explorers. And finally, have fun. Get out of your cozy bubble a start stumbling upon weird new stuff, and if it works, you can come back to Linkedin and call it Innovation.

Fostering a vibrant environment that sparks creativity and collaboration is key to a successful creative team. Acknowledge and celebrate creative achievements, both big and small. This shows your team that their creativity is valued and motivates them to keep coming up with new ideas. Make sure everyone feels comfortable sharing their ideas and opinions; encourage team-building and open communication. Provide opportunities to learn new skills and stay up-to-date on industry trends. This can be through workshops, conferences, or even just allowing time for self-directed learning. Give team members the chance to work on projects they're passionate about outside of core duties. This can help them stay motivated and generate fresh ideas.

Lead by example: As a leader, you must embody the innovative mindset you want to cultivate within your team. Demonstrate curiosity, embrace change, and be open to exploring new ideas, even if they challenge the status quo. Encourage risk-taking and experimentation: Create a safe space where team members feel comfortable taking calculated risks and trying out new approaches without fear of failure or criticism. Celebrate both successes and failures as learning opportunities.

Foster an innovation-friendly mindset within your team, encompassing cognitive aspects like curiosity, openness, and divergent thinking, as well as emotional elements such as passion, confidence, and resilience. Cultivating this mindset encourages creativity, continuous learning, and growth, laying the foundation for a team that thrives on innovation.

Have a regular team session where everyone highlights outside creative that excited them, was innovative, or got them to take action. Perhaps it’s an email they saw in their work inbox, an ad on a billboard, or a social media video. The important part is that your team is talking, examining the nuances, and looking outside itself for inspiration. Back out of the individual creative being examined and consider how it works or doesn’t work as part of an overall campaign strategy. These team sessions do NOT need to result in action items. They’re more about unlocking your team’s openness and critical thinking skills.

Creativity is a skill like any other - it requires consistent, dedicated practice. The first 50 ideas you generate might be mediocre, but the 51st might be brilliant enough to transform your team for the better. Thus, it's important to constantly cultivate a culture of creativity - you never know which idea will catapult your team from good to great.