Eight Management Techniques for Stimulating Creativity

We’ve spent most of this chapter describing the traits of companies that remain innovative. We’d now like to discuss things individual managers can do to stimulate creativity.

1. Encourage; Don’t Nitpick. Keep in mind that there’s no shortage of good, workable ideas, but that there’s a tremendous shortage of receptivity to ideas. Don’t be like one of those “wet blankets” that shot down the radio, the telephone, Federal Express, the personal computer, and NIKE shoes as “dumb ideas.”...

1. Be Not Judgmental. Harshly critical people destroy creativity and initiative. The fear of being criticized or being made to look and feel stupid is the biggest impediment to people experimenting, initiating, trying new things. The problem is not that people are inherently uncreative, it’s that people are afraid to be creative—afraid of being laughed at, ridiculed, personally attacked, or otherwise psychologically abused. It’s the deep-rooted fear we all carry around of the seventh-grade math teacher making an example of us in front of our peers. …

1. Help Shy People. Some good ideas never go anywhere because the people who have them are too shy to speak up. In fact, some of the best ideas come from quiet people. Quiet people tend to be excellent observers and thinkers; like cats, they’re watchful and attentive, and often intensely curious. Yet they’re also often fearful of voicing their ideas….

4. Stimulate Curiosity. Relentless curiosity, the pure desire to know things, to test them, to see if something will work, fosters creativity. The most creative people ask many questions; it’s as if they never outgrew that naive childlike desire to ask why. Create an environment where it’s ok to ask questions. Ask questions yourself—not critical questions (again, don’t be a wet blanket), but open ended questions in the spirit of inquiry. A favorite question of ours is, “What did you learn from that experience?”...

1. Create Necessity. Human beings have an amazing ability to innovate their way out of seemingly impossible situations. “Necessity,” as the cliché goes, “is the mother of invention.” But cliché or not, it’s true. In fact, many great ideas have emerged precisely because a company lacked the resources to do what it ideally would have liked…

6. Allow Time Away from the Fray. Certain highly creative individuals need solitary time to do their best thinking, time away, time to think in silence. Phil Knight, founder of NIKE, believes that people get their best ideas away from the office, at the beach, or running, which is one reason why NIKE has a wide ranging campus with running trails, tennis courts, basketball courts, weight rooms, and aerobics studios. Herman Miller lets its designers choose their venue for creativity—and some choose to do much of their work at home or somewhere else off-site. .. At Patagonia, the pattern-making group (part of the design department) has a little sign posted near its area: PLEASE OBSERVE QUIET TIME. Closed from 8:00 to 12:00.

1. Catalyze Group Problem Solving. “Quiet time” is not the whole story at Patagonia. In addition to letting people have quiet, solitary incubation and thinking time, it’s essential to capture the creativity of multiple minds thrashing about together. Brainstorming and other group activities produce extraordinary ideas.

Desks at Patagonia are jumbled together in large, open bullpen-style pits (called “Bangladesk”). People are expected to work closely with others—both spontaneously and scheduled—in coming up with new ideas and solutions to problems….

8. Require Fun. “As far as I’m concerned, the most important thing is having fun,” explains Ted Nierenberg, founder of Dansk International Designs. “If you’re not having fun in what you do, lock it up and try something else.”

We’re serious about fun. Fun leads to creativity. Ask people, “Are you having fun?” Ask yourself. Set enjoyment as an absolute requirement of work; if there’s no joy, there will be little creativity. Have you ever noticed that some of the most creative people are a lot like little kids? They like to play, and, to them, work is play.

This doesn’t preclude hard work. Creativity is hard work, but it should also be fun.

Here’s a simple exercise you can do. Reflect on your actions across the last week or month and ask:

1. DID I SUBTLY UNDERMINE A RIVAL? In a bureaucracy, power is zero-sum. When a slot opens up, only one person gets promoted. In the battle to move ahead, it’s tempting to discount the contributions of others, or sow doubts about their integrity or competence.

1. DID I HOLD ON TO POWER WHEN I SHOULD HAVE SHARED IT? In a formal hierarchy, it’s the people who make the big decisions who get paid the big bucks. To justify their superior status, managers must be seen to be making the tough calls. This creates a disincentive to share authority.

1. DID I PAD A BUDGET REQUEST OR EXAGGERATE A BUSINESS CASE? Resource allocation in a bureaucracy is inflexible and conservative. Budgets often get set a year in advance, and anything that looks risky gets down-rated. Given this, it’s tempting to bid for more resources than you need or overstate the merits of your case.

1. DID I FAKE ENTHUSIASM FOR ONE OF MY BOSS’S IDEAS? In a bureaucracy, disagreeing with your boss can be a career-limiting move. Hence, individuals often swallow their reservations rather than risk being seen as disloyal.

5. DID I DISREGARD THE HUMAN COSTS OF A DECISION? If your organization treats people as mere resources, you may be pushed to make decisions that sacrifice trust and relational capital for short-term business gains.

1. DID I PLAY IT SAFE WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN BOLD? In a bureaucracy, the penalties for screwing up are often bigger than the penalties for sitting on your hands. Given that, it’s tempting to defend timidity as prudence.

1. DID I FAIL TO CHALLENGE A COUNTERPRODUCTIVE POLICY? It’s easier to whine about a stupid rule than to challenge a senior policy maker. Civil disobedience is never the safest choice, but systems don’t change until people take a stand.

1. DID I DO LESS THAN I COULD TO FOSTER THE GROWTH OF THOSE WHO WORK FOR ME? As we noted earlier, there’s often an assumption that “commodity jobs” are filled with “commodity people.” As a result, it’s easy to overlook opportunities to nurture the growth of employees doing mundane jobs.

1. DID I FAIL TO CREATE TIME AND SPACE FOR INNOVATION, OR MISS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BACK A PROMISING IDEA? There’s not much glory in being an innovation mentor. It takes time and often ends in failure. It’s easier to keep your head down than to champion a new idea, but the result is inertia and incrementalism.

1. DID I FAVOR MY TEAM AT THE EXPENSE OF THE BUSINESS OVERALL? Bureaucracies offer few rewards for sharing scarce resources with other units. Behaving parochially often produces the best personal outcomes, even when it’s suboptimal for the organization at large.

1. DID I UNFAIRLY DEFLECT BLAME OR CLAIM CREDIT? In a bureaucracy, performance assessments are typically focused on individuals rather than teams. The goal is to be Teflon when the shit hits the fan and Velcro when plaudits are being handed out. This behavior distorts reputations and misallocates rewards, but it’s the way to win in an individualistic organization.

1. DID I SACRIFICE MY VALUES FOR EXPEDIENCY? Bureaucracies value results above all else. If you exceed your targets, no one’s likely to ask what shortcuts you took. Over time, the bias for outcomes over ethics desensitizes an organization to the moral consequences of its actions.

Don’t just ask for feedback but tell and show your employees it is expected. Put feedback as the first or last item on the agenda so that it’s set apart from your operational discussions. When the moment arrives, solicit and encourage the employee to give feedback to you (the boss) and then—if you like—you can reciprocate by giving feedback to them.

Your behavior while you’re getting the feedback is a critical factor. You must show the employee that it’s safe to give feedback by responding to all criticism with gratitude and, above all, by providing “belonging cues.” As Daniel Coyle, author of The Culture Code, describes them, such cues are gestures that indicate “your feedback makes you a more important member of this tribe” or “you were candid with me and that in no way puts your job or our relationship in danger; you belong here.” I speak with my leadership team frequently about displaying “belonging cues” in situations when an employee is providing feedback to the boss, because an employee who is courageous enough to give feedback openly is likely to worry, “Will my boss hold it against me?” or “Will this harm my career?”

A belonging cue might be a small gesture, like using an appreciative tone of voice, moving physically closer to the speaker, or looking positively into that person’s eyes. Or it might be larger, like thanking that person for their courage and speaking about that courage in front of the larger team. Coyle explains that the function of a belonging cue “is to answer the ancient ever-present question glowing in our brains: Are we safe here? What’s our future with these people? Are there dangers lurking?” The more you and others in your company respond to all candid moments with belonging cues, the more courageous people will be in their candor.

So while you find a way to cover the five key questions, remember several guidelines to make the very best first impression.

1. You Don’t Have to Have All the Answers

No one expects you to know everything; in fact, people will be suspicious if you imply that you do. Avoid the temptation to think you have to be the savior and have immediate answers.

Given the magnetic pull that many leaders feel of having to have the solution to every problem, this point is worth reiterating, especially if the situation you are moving into is a sensitive one…

2. Addressing Doubts and Fears

Whether you are a new CEO coming into a company or a manager coming into a new department, your arrival is bound to create anxiety. Being sensitive to this and having a process to address it will help you minimize the upheaval. Recognize that your reputation will be preceding you as you walk into the room. By the time of your arrival, you can be sure that you’ve been researched on the Web and that your former colleagues have been called. It’s not just your individual reputation; if you are an outside hire, it extends to your previous company as well…

Libby Sartain, senior vice president of human resources at Yahoo!., describes the essential elements of a new leader assimilation process:

• When a new leader is hired, convene a meeting with that person’s new team members during the first week. With the leader in the room, give all the team members the chance to introduce themselves and say a little bit about who they are and what they do.

• Then, with the leader out the room, have the team answer these questions:

• What do we expect of this new person?

• What do we want the new leader to know about us? What do we do well? Where do we need improvements?

• What do we want to know about the new leader? What are our concerns about him or her?

• What are the burning issues in our department?

• What are the major obstacles that the new leader will face?

• Put the answers on the flip chart - but make sure they’re anonymous so that the leader won’t later be able to connect the comments to any one specific team member.

• After a break, reconvene the team with the leader and go over the items on the flip chart. Give the new leader a chance to ask questions about the comments and explore the ways in which he or she can take quick action on some of the issues.

• This discussion is a great way for the entire team to discover with the leader some of the unspoken issues, misunderstandings, and disconnects. The anonymity of this exercise can bring to the surface more issues in one day than weeks of one-on-one meetings. Dirty laundry is aired. And in this open atmosphere, the team begins to gel. The new leader can now formulate an agenda for the first few months…

3. Neutralize Lingering Resentment

…

• What should I be thinking about that I wasn’t thinking about when I was head of XYZ division?

• What should I know that I might not have known before?

• What’s on your mind?

• What would you like the new CEO to be doing?...

4. Don’t Disrespect Your Predecessor

…

Jeff Killeen had prior CEO/COO experience at Forbes and Barnes & Noble, both of which were “founder-intensive” companies, when he took over as CEO of GlobalSpec, the world’s largest search engine and online information resources for engineers. He succeeded John Schneiter, one of the company’s four founders, who was staying on as president. “There are some who look at an entrepreneurial situation and without even meeting a founder thinks a founder needs to be moved out,” Killeen says. “But unless founders become unmanageable or otherwise destructive, I believe you’re generally better served to build off their vision and make them feel like a million bucks than you are to get rid of them.

Leaders who settle issues too quickly limit their opportunity to grasp the ramifications. One of the most dangerous traps is failing to solicit the input of others on the team. Not only does this mean that you most likely won’t have all the information, but you will be absolutely certain to disenfranchise your colleagues. “It is close to fatal to decide or pronounce before you listen,” says Henry Schacht. “And in crisis situations, I think you exacerbate the problem as opposed to moving towards a sound situation. Even if at the end you come back to exactly the same decision you would have made, how you get there is as important as getting there.